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Downsides to taking ACT / SAT at age 12?


Porridge
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Hello, we are thinking of having DD take the ACT or SAT this fall as a qualifying metric for some of the programs available for gifted students. Are there any downsides to testing so early? For instance, if she does not test well, and gets a low score, will that low score show up on reports sent to colleges down the line? 

Any input on differences between ACT and SAT? I had read that ACT is better for more concrete thinkers, as SAT requires more abstract thinking. My DD is 11, so she's pretty concrete right now...

Any recommendations for test prep? We have never tested in our homeschool, so my children are pretty naive about standardized tests. I was going to get the red Official ACT Prep Guide book and also check out Khan academy. 

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We went through this last year in a try for a scholarship.  As I remember the scores have no impact on colleges and won't be disclosed 4-5 years down the road.  It is however a pain in the neck to sign up if you're under 13.   The websites don't allow registration for kids that young and you have to do things by mail. So allow extra time to register. 

Generally speaking the SAT is better to take because more programs like SET only take those scores.    But it depends if you're aiming for something specific.   We ended up doing the ACT just because it was the only one that worked scheduling-wise.    

Finally for prep,  you can checkout one of the prep books from the local library and try out some sample tests to get familiar with the format. That's all we really did,  there was no real wait  and it worked fine.

 

 

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2 hours ago, JHLWTM said:

Any input on differences between ACT and SAT? I had read that ACT is better for more concrete thinkers, as SAT requires more abstract thinking.

When the SAT changed in 2016, it became much more like the ACT.  It used to be that the questions were more puzzle-like, but now they are much more straightforward.

The ACT allows much less time per item than the SAT does.  

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1 hour ago, seaben said:

We went through this last year in a try for a scholarship.  As I remember the scores have no impact on colleges and won't be disclosed 4-5 years down the road.  It is however a pain in the neck to sign up if you're under 13.   The websites don't allow registration for kids that young and you have to do things by mail. So allow extra time to register. 

Generally speaking the SAT is better to take because more programs like SET only take those scores.    But it depends if you're aiming for something specific.   We ended up doing the ACT just because it was the only one that worked scheduling-wise.    

Finally for prep,  you can checkout one of the prep books from the local library and try out some sample tests to get familiar with the format. That's all we really did,  there was no real wait  and it worked fine.

 

 

What is SET?

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My DD did the SAT at 10 and the ACT at 11. I see no disadvantages. Her score even then opened up the opportunity for not just the specific GT programs, but early college classes as well.  And if she had decided to go to high school, those scores would have served to prove she was at the correct percentile to qualify for IB or AP capstone programs. I see little drawback to doing it early. Before age 13, you either have to get a paper form or go through a talent search. 
 

I will say, though, that if schools I’m your area are closing, that might make finding a test site hard. I know of several kids who now no longer have SAT sites for the next test date. 

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