Whitneyz Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Should emphasis be placed on Math, writing, and grammar? She will be taking an SAT prep course this summer. She's an athlete who does massive training. I haven't always pushed her in school. She's in Alg II (TT), Apologia Biology, Rosetta Stone for Spanish, History Odyssey Level 2 includes some reading and writing(Pandia Press), and finally, an SAT-type workbook for vocab. She's an ok student, but always trying to do the least school and get away with it. I constantly have to watch, which I confess is hard with 4 more younger children. Her big plus for college will be her athletic talent, but as 15 year olds can be unpredictable I'm starting to hear her voice discontent with her sport. Yikes!!! I think I need to get her up and running with some literature analysis type reading, essay writing, and grammar. Am I right? And just continue as she was with Alg II. She's ok there, about 86%. Thanks so much for advice, Whitney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 A little advice-- Yes, stress those 3 things--that's all that's on the test. Have her learn how to edit/look for mistakes in writing. Practice 5 paragraph persuasive essays, timed (25 mins). Make sure she understands the tricks of the test--she should get that in her prep class. Teach her how to scan for ideas and information--again, the test prep ought to be quite helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lux Et Veritas Academy Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I agree with Chris- Learning the secrets of the tests can be a persons most valuable strength. The best way to prepare for verbal is reading and reading many different types of genres. The math will include pre-alg, alg and geo. Take a ton of practice exams. She might want to review vocabulary- there are a ton of online free sites for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimseycat Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I agree with what everyone listed above for prep. I would also go on the collegeboard website and download examples of essays that are a 6,5,4,3,2,1 etc... this was very helpful for my son when he took the test in Jan. They might have these in a sample test booklet as well. He had a better idea of what they were expecting after looking at those. Definitely practice writing out a complete essay in 25 min. My son didn't get to finish his last sentence because he ran out of time. He did score a 6/6 though!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitneyz Posted March 22, 2009 Author Share Posted March 22, 2009 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ria Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Why not sign her up for the SAT this spring? Have her take it without any practice or prep, and see how she does. Yes, it will cost you some money, but it will give you a precise answer about where you need to focus. And, from what I understand, you can now pick which SAT test scores to send to colleges, so this can't possibly hurt her in any way. This is what I did with my ds (16) and ds (14). Ds 16 took the SATs last spring as a sophomore. The results told us exactly what he needed to work on, and he went into his next SAT (this fall) confident (he knew what the test was like) and well-prepared. He increased almost 100 points in each category and won't be needing to retest! DS 14 took his SATs this fall; he's a freshman. Like his brother, he no longer has any trepidation about taking the SAT. I'll have him retake it again as a sophomore, and then probably once more as a junior. Ria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 (edited) Why not sign her up for the SAT this spring? Have her take it without any practice or prep, and see how she does. Yes, it will cost you some money, but it will give you a precise answer about where you need to focus. And, from what I understand, you can now pick which SAT test scores to send to colleges, so this can't possibly hurt her in any way. While one is now able to select which SAT scores to send, there are some colleges that are requiring that all scores be sent for both the SAT and ACT. Here's an article that addresses the issue: SAT Changes Policy, Opening Rift With Colleges. I agree with Ria though in having your child take the SAT to get a good idea of strengths and weaknesses. What I did was have my child take the test at home under test conditions. Regards, Kareni Edited March 22, 2009 by Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValRN Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 test conditions. How do you do that? I mean, how do you go about getting the SAT test to administer at home? Val Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 test conditions. How do you do that? I mean, how do you go about getting the SAT test to administer at home?Val I think that the best you can do is buy a test review book and then give a timed test. This should give you a relative idea of how your student will perform. The prep books have answer keys and scoring rubrics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Also Princeton Review (and perhaps some other test preps) will administer a free practice SAT. The student receives a score and analysis of weak and strong areas. It's to woo the student in for a prep course, but provides a great practice session. HTH, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielle Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 One little warning about the tests in the prep books--my dd has ALWAYS scored higher on the actual tests (by as much as 100 points per area) than she ever scored on the prep tests. She's been taking either the ACT or SAT since 6th grade for the talent search competition. At first she got really freaked at the scores the prep books came up with and took 3 prep tests in one book, each improving. I had exactly the same experience way back when when I used a GRE prep book--makes you wonder if the books are rigged to scare you, then make you feel they were effective. Maybe I'm just paranoid... Anyway, maybe warn your dc that the prep book isn't the final score. Danielle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 SAT at home under..... test conditions. How do you do that? I mean, how do you go about getting the SAT test to administer at home? Many of the test prep books have sample SAT tests with answers and essay scoring information. I'd recommend obtaining a book published by the College Board (who puts out the actual SAT) since, one hopes, that those tests are most like the actual SAT test. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jellogirl Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Some people make such a big fuss about test prep. :) Have her take the PSAT. PLAN and ACT are great too, especially if you haven't done annual standardized testing. Have her do the SAT just for practice. Check your library for prep guides or even buy some. It's not as complicated as most people think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74Heaven Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Why not sign her up for the SAT this spring? Have her take it without any practice or prep, and see how she does. Yes, it will cost you some money, but it will give you a precise answer about where you need to focus. And, from what I understand, you can now pick which SAT test scores to send to colleges, so this can't possibly hurt her in any way. This is what I did with my ds (16) and ds (14). Ds 16 took the SATs last spring as a sophomore. The results told us exactly what he needed to work on, and he went into his next SAT (this fall) confident (he knew what the test was like) and well-prepared. He increased almost 100 points in each category and won't be needing to retest! DS 14 took his SATs this fall; he's a freshman. Like his brother, he no longer has any trepidation about taking the SAT. I'll have him retake it again as a sophomore, and then probably once more as a junior. Ria Would you suggest taking the SAT ea year instead of the $15 PSAT? My dtrs have taken the PSAT and it didn't have an essay and I think the essay will be the oldest's biggest struggle. Thoughts? Repeated SATs or PSAT soph/jr and SAT as jr and/or Sr? Thanks Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ria Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Would you suggest taking the SAT ea year instead of the $15 PSAT? My dtrs have taken the PSAT and it didn't have an essay and I think the essay will be the oldest's biggest struggle. Thoughts? Repeated SATs or PSAT soph/jr and SAT as jr and/or Sr? Thanks Lisa I prefer the SAT. It's the real deal and has the essay. There's no trying to figure out how the test would compare to the SAT since it is the SAT, lol. All you really need is a baseline test to give you the information you need (which is, what sections does my child need help with?). Sometimes the results are very clear; my 16-yr old's SAT (taken when he was 15) showed he needed to improve in math. He did a little more studying (not much, but he did go over some things with dh) and improved almost 100 points. My 14-yr old's SATs showed what I expected...he's probably going to want to take the PSATs because he just might get a scholarship. Ria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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