Dmmetler Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I ordered the breakdown on DD's scores, which didn't give questions, and finally had time to sit down with it and really look at it (it is NOT a user-friendly report!). The big thing that was apparent was that not only did she skip a lot of math questions, many of them were the easier ones. She tended to do the difficult ones, and get them right. She also, in the last two math sections, skipped a question and then ended up off for the rest of the section, which makes me think those were gridding errors due to fatigue. Math was the only area she skipped questions in. Her earlier math sections were actually pretty good. She got all the vocabulary right, and nearly all of the non-essay writing. Of course, that's the one section her desired program doesn't look at. Reading was hit or miss. I'm guessing we hit the "interesting vs less interesting passage" thing again that we hit on the EXPLORE, where there were a couple of passages that just didn't catch her interest and she skimmed vs reading. If you omit those few passages, she has nearly a perfect score there as well. Any suggestions on how to get a kid to slow down and pay attention when the passage isn't quite as engaging? So, does anyone have any ideas on how to help her prepare? Having gone through that seems to have perked her up a bit (she was VERY down on whether she was really "good enough" to do college classes since she didn't qualify for her dream school), and she's much more willing to try again now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Is she taking the January SAT which would be the last one under the old format? My DS11 took the practise SAT for the old format and hated the number of sections. He finds it too disjointed. That was the reason other than writing and the penalty that we didnt sign him up for the old SAT. My oldest read the passage, questions than passage again for tests but he is a much faster reader than my youngest. If she see the SAT as a game to squeeze as much points as possible out of the system would that help her read more thoroughly instead of skim? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 (edited) I wonder if it's just something that has to be learned as more testing is done? I think if the score is important to her, which it seems to be, then as she gets more tests under her belt, she will internalize the need to slow down and pay attention. I'm 35 and I still have to remind myself to slow down and pay attention when things get boring. :laugh: ETA: I'm not an SAT expert at all. I took the test once without studying and scored a very average score. :leaving: Edited January 7, 2016 by Runningmom80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 The new sat will not have a guessing penalty which will help. The sat is a marathon of a test that one needs to train for like a race. It's not only the difficulty of the questions; it is being able to keep that pace and alertness for hours. Taking it several times or at least completing full length timed practice tests is a proven strategy. If there is a way to order a scored copy of the test (showing exactly what was missed) that can be helpful for studying specific skills. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 She took the SAT in November, so she can't take it again for Talent search until next Fall, which is fine. She'll take the ACT in the Spring, and we'll go from there. The ACT counts for yearly testing and the old SAT didn't-I'm not sure if the new SAT will or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 (edited) Just a word of caution about the ACT. I'm hearing of some weird skewing of scores after they changed the essay format. But if you are skipping the writing section it should be fine. For SAT, time really, really made a huge difference here. There's a big gap between his already very good 2014 scores and his current practice scores (biggest gap is in writing for him because that was his weak point then but for her, it could be just more reading practice and testing practice that's needed). We're keeping fingers crossed that the practice scores are not all flukes. Can you teach her to engage actively? Use a pencil, underline sentences she thinks are important, quickly keyword summarize a paragraph's main idea and eliminate obviously wrong choices? Barron recommends some good tips. Another tip is to read in digestible pieces (especially the longer, harder ones). Edited January 7, 2016 by quark 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 This is the book that I like best regarding strategies (Barron's SAT 2400). It teaches the active pencil strategy. I haven't read all the tips but the ones I have look spot on. Do bear in mind that some of our kids might not need to read or follow these strategies because their own natural strategies might be a lot more comfortable as well as effective for the time crunch. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 We're not doing the ACT essay this time. It doesn't seem to really be helpful for her right now, and it makes the test shorter. We're planning to do the ACT at the same school she's done the EXPLORE at, so it's a venue she knows and has been at for talent search purposes before. And, just the fact that it has a science section makes her more relaxed-for her, reading science non-fiction passages is fun :). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Get enough rest for the ACT. DS11 had all correct for science but was too tired to finish that section. His only wrong for math was in the prealgebra section :lol: I think his test center (our local high school) gave a longer break because they start on time but ended late and he ate everything. We packed him a lunch worth in a gallon size ziploc bag. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 How long did it take to receive your scores by mail? My dd took the SAT for Duke TIP on Dec. 5 and we haven't received our scores yet. Did you get an online account? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 We got hers about Mid-December (before we left for Christmas, but not all that much) for the November test date. I got them sooner from CTY-they had them in her online account by the weekend after Thanksgiving. It took about a month to get the score breakdown once I requested it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 We got hers about Mid-December (before we left for Christmas, but not all that much) for the November test date. I got them sooner from CTY-they had them in her online account by the weekend after Thanksgiving. The college that I had her report sent to got it before I did, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 I ordered the breakdown on DD's scores, which didn't give questions, and finally had time to sit down with it and really look at it (it is NOT a user-friendly report!). Hi: Thanks we did receive my dd's scores this week. Could you elaborate on what you ordered? What the report called and what information does it provide? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted January 13, 2016 Author Share Posted January 13, 2016 Student answer service. It gives the student's answer (letter only), whether it's correct/incorrect, the subtopic, and the level of difficulty. In DD's case, it was helpful in that it showed a pattern of omitted questions being followed by a long string of incorrect answers-which is a sign of gridding error more than actual lack of knowledge. For some test dates, you can get the question and answer service, which would have been more useful, but wasn't available in November. https://sat.collegeboard.org/scores/verify-sat-scores 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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