SAT subject test for Korean

[chocolate-chip chooky]

I'm wondering if anyone here has had a child do the Korean SAT subject test.

If so, are there any particular prep materials that you found helpful? 

Thank you 🌻

[Mom0012]

My dd has not taken the Korean one, but she’s done the Latin and Spanish ones.

I would start with this book — The Official Study Guide for All SAT Subject Tests, Second Edition.  Your library may have it.  It contains one practice test for each of the different subject tests.  This will give your dd a baseline.  We had limited resources for Latin and mainly relied on the REA test prep book, but I don’t see one for Korean.  Amazon has a couple of options, though.  I would expect the Collegeboard to offer one as well so that you could get more than one official practice test, but I’m not seeing it if they do.  Though, supposedly free online practice will be available this fall.

[chocolate-chip chooky]

5 minutes ago, Mom0012 said:

My dd has not taken the Korean one, but she’s done the Latin and Spanish ones.

I would start with this book — The Official Study Guide for All SAT Subject Tests, Second Edition.  Your library may have it.  It contains one practice test for each of the different subject tests.  This will give your dd a baseline.  We had limited resources for Latin and mainly relied on the REA test prep book, but I don’t see one for Korean.  Amazon has a couple of options, though.  I would expect the Collegeboard to offer one as well so that you could get more than one official practice test, but I’m not seeing it if they do.  Though, supposedly free online practice will be available this fall.

Thank you for the suggestion. I'll start by seeking out that book.

I have found this: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat-subject-tests/subjects/languages/korean-listening 

A lot of subjects seem to have all sorts of prep material available, but there's little to be found specific to Korean.

[Mom0012]

5 minutes ago, chocolate-chip chooky said:

Thank you for the suggestion. I'll start by seeking out that book.

I have found this: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat-subject-tests/subjects/languages/korean-listening 

A lot of subjects seem to have all sorts of prep material available, but there's little to be found specific to Korean.

Yes, that is where I was looking too.  It has a link to some online practice, but lower down on the page, there is a note that “online practice is coming in the fall”.  So maybe they will have something more by then?

Honestly, the main thing you need to do for these tests is to solidify the knowledge your dd already has from her studies.  The practice materials for these types of exams tends to just be a general overview of the basics of the language, but it is good to have some practice tests.

http://klacusa.org/bbs/board.php?bo_table=page302e. I don’t know if these are good, but maybe you are familiar with this site?

[fourisenough]

1 hour ago, Mom0012 said:

My dd has not taken the Korean one, but she’s done the Latin and Spanish ones.

I would start with this book — The Official Study Guide for All SAT Subject Tests, Second Edition.  Your library may have it.  It contains one practice test for each of the different subject tests.  This will give your dd a baseline.  We had limited resources for Latin and mainly relied on the REA test prep book, but I don’t see one for Korean.  Amazon has a couple of options, though.  I would expect the Collegeboard to offer one as well so that you could get more than one official practice test, but I’m not seeing it if they do.  Though, supposedly free online practice will be available this fall.

How much Latin must a student cover to be ready for the SAT subject test? My DD will take Latin 2 next year through WHA. Will she be ready at that point or need to wait until after Latin 3? They use the Latin Alive series, if that matters.

[mumto2]

It may very well be a test where the prep isn’t laid out beyond a couple of old exams.  The German one is like that also, well there is an REA book that you can sometimes find for outrageous sums on the used market but I was also told it was not much help for the current exam.  Dd did French, Latin, and German via self study.  Her highest scores were in French and Latin which have review materials.  Her German score was far lower but still would be considered passing.  She felt that the German exam was probably designed more for people who either participate in the German language clubs or are have travelled more extensively in Germany than she has because what she was missing was more practical knowledge.

7 minutes ago, fourisenough said:

How much Latin must a student cover to be ready for the SAT subject test? My DD will take Latin 2 next year through WHA. Will she be ready at that point or need to wait until after Latin 3? They use the Latin Alive series, if that matters.

FWIW Two of the recommended curriculums by College Board on the website for the Latin SAT were Cambridge and Wheelocks.  Dd had completed Wheelocks and went through the REA.  She had also been through Cambridge but felt the vocabulary in the Wheelocks the more helpful.  I think it is probably a question of how well the vocabulary matches. 

[Mom0012]

37 minutes ago, fourisenough said:

How much Latin must a student cover to be ready for the SAT subject test? My DD will take Latin 2 next year through WHA. Will she be ready at that point or need to wait until after Latin 3? They use the Latin Alive series, if that matters.

My dd took it after Latin 3 with Lukeion.  She didn’t do Latin 1 and 2 with Lukeion, though.  She used Lingua Latina for those years vs. Wheelock’s.  Check with WHA and see what they say, but I would think, ideally, the best time to take it would be after Latin Readings so that your dd can solidify her knowledge.  However, she will have covered all the material for the exam by the end of Latin 3.

 

[chocolate-chip chooky]

1 hour ago, Mom0012 said:

Yes, that is where I was looking too.  It has a link to some online practice, but lower down on the page, there is a note that “online practice is coming in the fall”.  So maybe they will have something more by then?

Honestly, the main thing you need to do for these tests is to solidify the knowledge your dd already has from her studies.  The practice materials for these types of exams tends to just be a general overview of the basics of the language, but it is good to have some practice tests.

http://klacusa.org/bbs/board.php?bo_table=page302e. I don’t know if these are good, but maybe you are familiar with this site?

Oh, thank you! I had not come across that link before. I wonder if they post to Australia.... 🤞

[JennyD]

Have you checked out the curve for this test?  I looked at the SAT2 for Modern Hebrew a while back and while the test was not excessively difficult, the curve was brutal.

[chocolate-chip chooky]

8 hours ago, JennyD said:

Have you checked out the curve for this test?  I looked at the SAT2 for Modern Hebrew a while back and while the test was not excessively difficult, the curve was brutal.

I'm in Australia and only recently found out that SAT subject tests were an option here, so I'm an absolute newbie with so much to learn ... Can you please explain what you mean about the curve?  I'm guessing you mean that it's hard to get a high score, as so many test-takers are getting good results. Am I on the right track?

 

Thanks heaps for your input ☺️

[JennyD]

4 hours ago, chocolate-chip chooky said:

 I'm guessing you mean that it's hard to get a high score, as so many test-takers are getting good results.

 

I don't know if it's hard to get a high score itself, but most students who take the test do score very highly, so I think your DD would only want to take the test if she is sure she can do really well.

https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/sat/pdf/sat-subject-tests-percentile-ranks.pdf

[Arcadia]

On 3/17/2019 at 4:15 PM, chocolate-chip chooky said:

A lot of subjects seem to have all sorts of prep material available, but there's little to be found specific to Korean.

 

For foreign languages, French and Spanish test prep books are the easy to find ones. I am near an unofficial Koreantown and Korean tutoring centers will prep for the Korean tests (as well as other standardized tests).

6 hours ago, chocolate-chip chooky said:

I'm in Australia and only recently found out that SAT subject tests were an option here, so I'm an absolute newbie with so much to learn ... 

 

Have you look into Test of Proficiency in Korea as there is international test centers.

“Objectives of TOPIK

• TOPIK aims to set a Korean language learning path for those who do not speak Korean as their native tongue, and to promote the  Korean language by officially evaluating their Korean Language proficiency.

Use of Test Results

• Korean Government Scholarship Program (KGSP) participants taking the Korean language course
• Entrance into Korean Universities as a non-native Korean Speaker
• Employment in companies and public institutions in both Korea and abroad
• Aquisition of a Korean Language Instructor certification as non-native Korean speaker
• Obtaining permanent residency or other specific Visa types in Korea
• For use in the ‘Korea Immigration and Integration Program’ operated by the Ministry of Justice” http://www.topik.go.kr/usr/cmm/subLocation.do?menuSeq=2210101

[chocolate-chip chooky]

6 hours ago, JennyD said:

 

I don't know if it's hard to get a high score itself, but most students who take the test do score very highly, so I think your DD would only want to take the test if she is sure she can do really well.

https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/sat/pdf/sat-subject-tests-percentile-ranks.pdf

I hadn't seen that table before - thank you!

Wow. So, a 800 in Korean is 62nd percentile. 770 is 30th percentile.  So that means 38% of test-takers are getting an 800 and 70% are scoring 770 and up?

Does this imply that an 800 in Korean isn't as ....I'm searching for the right word...helpful? impressive? 

And I wonder if this means the test is quite easy or if it means a lot of native speakers are taking it.

[chocolate-chip chooky]

@Arcadia Thank you for the link. I had not heard of that before. I'll definitely be looking into that more. So helpful!

 

At this point, my goal is to gather some formal evidence of my daughter's capabilities for applications to unis here.

Having Korean as a pre-requisite is not necessary, but it would likely be handy if she aims for early entry.

I'd like to collate a portfolio of evidence of a range of her studies for this purpose. The SAT subject tests are one option, but it's so helpful to find out other options too. Thank you!