Matryoshka Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Have you looked at the middle 50% of the writing for competitive schools? It is lower than you would think. I have heard they don't put much stock into an essay that students can't sufficiently think through and revise. My dd scores 33 on both Reading and English but can't seem to score higher than an 8 on the writing. Duke's writing scores are 8-10. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Well, that stinks. Is the writing section also out of 36, or is it out of a lower number? And if so many obviously excellent students are doing so 'poorly' on the writing portion, wouldn't that suggest t that perhaps the writing section of the test is very poorly designed, rather than that all those kids actually don't write well? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann.without.an.e Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Well, that stinks. Is the writing section also out of 36, or is it out of a lower number? And if so many obviously excellent students are doing so 'poorly' on the writing portion, wouldn't that suggest t that perhaps the writing section of the test is very poorly designed, rather than that all those kids actually don't write well? It is out of 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann.without.an.e Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Still no scores. Sigh...oh well, I have a rocket team to pack. But it is a little maddening. Crazy, we have dd's writing section score back today. You should have your scores! I read once that if the student scores significantly better than the previous exam they must pull it and hand score. Maybe that happened?? :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 Have you looked at the middle 50% of the writing for competitive schools? It is lower than you would think. I have heard they don't put much stock into an essay that students can't sufficiently think through and revise. My dd scores 33 on both Reading and English but can't seem to score higher than an 8 on the writing. Duke's writing scores are 8-10. I wouldn't worry too much about it. My ds scored 35 on English and 32 on Reading and can't break 8 on the essay. We're not worried about it. He got the same essay score he got last year even though he had nearly a year of AP English Lang with PAHS under his belt for this one and he felt much, much better about the essay. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 My ds scored 35 on English and 32 on Reading and can't break 8 on the essay. We're not worried about it. He got the same essay score he got last year even though he had nearly a year of AP English Lang with PAHS under his belt for this one and he felt much, much better about the essay. I don't recall if middle son even got an 8 on the essay. He writes well and has even won essay competitions throughout his high school years (definitely writing those essays himself), but he can't do it quickly. His brain takes longer to process his thoughts. It worried me for a bit, but admissions folks assured me it wouldn't be a problem. It didn't seem to be. It hasn't been a problem in college either. He's written several papers and essay or short answer tests there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann.without.an.e Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 My ds scored 35 on English and 32 on Reading and can't break 8 on the essay. We're not worried about it. He got the same essay score he got last year even though he had nearly a year of AP English Lang with PAHS under his belt for this one and he felt much, much better about the essay. Thanks for sharing. It helps to know that my dd isn't alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann.without.an.e Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I don't recall if middle son even got an 8 on the essay. He writes well and has even won essay competitions throughout his high school years (definitely writing those essays himself), but he can't do it quickly. His brain takes longer to process his thoughts. It worried me for a bit, but admissions folks assured me it wouldn't be a problem. It didn't seem to be. It hasn't been a problem in college either. He's written several papers and essay or short answer tests there. I keep reading that it isn't really much of a factor. They know that it is not a real reflection of writing ability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anne1456 Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 My son's scores finally posted and he is very happy! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Hooray, we have scores! 8th grade Goals were met: (1) Qualify for JHU CTY online (2) Satisfy my curiosity (3) Determine that the ACT would be a good test for him to focus on. Given that test prep for the science section consisted of me showing him two sample passages the night before the test, I am really pleasantly surprised by his science score. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 I got my 8th graders scores (through a talent search) and he did great for a first try! He qualified for the all the online accelerated stuff but I'm too cheap. Thinking about CC class for next year!? He did not do the writing section this time but maybe I'll have him try next time? Is that required for admissions generally? 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 No scores here. :( Glad other's scores are showing up....I know they are still grading. :lol: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 Ah, well, her writing score showed up today, and it's much lower than her composite score. Like, she should really take it again if only she didn't have to take the whole test again low. She's going to be really disappointed. I'm hoping her A's in English composition at university set it off somewhat. This is what I am dreading. No writing score here yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 He did not do the writing section this time but maybe I'll have him try next time? Is that required for admissions generally? It really depends upon the school. I had my guys do the writing portion just to be "good" with all schools, but it's not necessary if all schools you're looking at don't require it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 And we have scores! And they are good scores too! No writing score yet, but the other ones were there this morning. And now I think I can breathe, this grand experiment called homeschooling is not an absolute failure. The scores are good enough to validate my mommy grades. They have learned something. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 We have scores, really good scores overall. :) Technically ds will never have to take the exam again because he managed to get 2 points above his required for where he wants to go in English! Their science scores were lower than anticipated. Both of them identical. But several points lower then the practice exams. I know that there was one question that upset dd in that part and made it hard for her to finish. Ds agreed but wasn't overly upset. So not totally surprised but dreading dd's disappointment because she is a perfectionist. Both are still sleeping but suspect they will want another go at the test for that reason alone. :lol: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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