Gifted Bulletin Board

Welcome to the Gifted Issues Discussion Forum.

We invite you to share your experiences and to post information about advocacy, research and other gifted education issues on this free public discussion forum.
CLICK HERE to Log In. Click here for the Board Rules.

Links


Learn about Davidson Academy Online - for profoundly gifted students living anywhere in the U.S. & Canada.

The Davidson Institute is a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted students through the following programs:

  • Fellows Scholarship
  • Young Scholars
  • Davidson Academy
  • THINK Summer Institute

  • Subscribe to the Davidson Institute's eNews-Update Newsletter >

    Free Gifted Resources & Guides >

    Who's Online Now
    0 members (), 591 guests, and 14 robots.
    Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
    Newest Members
    streble, DeliciousPizza, prominentdigitiz, parentologyco, Smartlady60
    11,413 Registered Users
    March
    S M T W T F S
    1 2
    3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
    31
    Previous Thread
    Next Thread
    Print Thread
    Page 1 of 2 1 2
    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    B
    Member
    OP Offline
    Member
    B
    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    OK I'm confused about what test to have my DS15 starting as a H.S. sophomore take this fall and school is asking us to decide at H.S. registration. School is trying to push a Pre-Act test for 10th graders and seems to be offering it the same date as the PSAT so you can only take one or the other. Back in my day you ONLY took the PSAT in 11th, but I've heard it's very common to take the PSAT the fall of 10th grade for "practice". And that doing so with only minimal "prep" is a good way to get an idea how much prep work he would end up needing.

    To add confusion.. the pre-act test the school was administering the past number of years was the PLAN but that test seem to be no longer offered and the only information is they will be giving a PACT Test. Not sure what that is.. ACT seems to be replacing the PLAN with ACT Aspire. Can't find anyting online about a PACT test.

    When my DD was a sophmore, I signed her up for the PLAN without knowing anything about it, and then decided not to have her take it since it didn't seem like a good idea for her at the time. She tests poorly. And she ended up taking the ACT at the end of her junior year.

    I have always assumed that my son would do well on the PSAT/SAT. He usually tests VERY well. And I always assumed he would do better with the SAT than ACT. But I've read other posts that have made me wonder if that is true. Timed things case him trouble, and he can be so literal it gets him in trouble. A friend suggested that I have DS take the PSAT both 10th & 11th year even though it doesn't count till 11th grade. Adding to the confusion is the fact that the SAT/PSAT will be all new my son's junior year. So if he takes the PSAT in 11th year, it will be a different test than the one he takes in 10th.

    In addition his school offers unofficial "practice" tests, particularly one in the spring that is designed to help decided witch test to take? This is all gotten so confusing.

    Last edited by bluemagic; 08/18/14 08:37 PM.
    Joined: Apr 2012
    Posts: 453
    N
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    N
    Joined: Apr 2012
    Posts: 453
    While our district, as well as most others near here, does not administer the PLAN, I am certain that districts that administer both do NOT offer them the same day.

    There is always a Wednesday date and a Saturday date for the PSAT in mid-October. From what I can find on the PLAN, the school orders the materials and administers it, but there is a large window of time (many months) in which they can administer the test. The only reason a district would offer them the same day is to be lazy pains in the behind.

    I don't know what PACT is, unless it is just a change in acronym (to make it like P-SAT, making it P-ACT). I understand that ASPIRE replaces EXPLORE, not PLAN.

    In our district they have gone to paying for all 9-11th graders to take the Wednesday PSAT. I assume your school is giving the PSAT on Wednesday, so perhaps you can find a nearby school that gives it on Saturday and he could take it there?

    Yes, the PSAT will change in his junior year, but the SAT won't change until spring of his junior year. If he likes the current format, he can take it spring of 10th or fall of 11th grade.

    If timed things cause him trouble, then the ACT might be tougher for him. The questions are not tricky, but there are a lot in a short period of time.

    I would take advantage of any PSAT/PLAN opportunities because colleges don't see those results. So what if you bomb it? And best to understand which test is right for you, and which sections you need to prep, while in 10th grade.

    Last edited by NotSoGifted; 08/19/14 06:50 AM. Reason: Typo
    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    B
    Member
    OP Offline
    Member
    B
    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    No our school will not be giving the PSAT on Wednesday. I have never heard of it doing it. Plus they don't pay for all kids to take the PSAT (no budget for that), nor from what I can tell encourage them to take it in 10th. And this is at a school that ranks every years as having top numbers of students who make national merit semi-finalists. The only calendar I found showed them giving both tests on the same SAT morning.

    And when I get to the ACT/PLAN web site it says that the PLAN is no longer available. I did send an email out to the school to see if they can clarify this. I'm not signing my kid up for a test I know nothing about.

    Joined: Mar 2010
    Posts: 228
    M
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    M
    Joined: Mar 2010
    Posts: 228
    I'll be interested to know what you find out. Our school does something similar. In the past, 10th graders have taken the PLAN, but starting this year, they'll take the ASPIRE (my understanding is that it does replace both EXPLORE and PLAN). However, in 11th grade, if you think your child is likely to be in competition for NM, you sign him or her up for the PSAT, and if not, he or she takes a practice ACT (like your school, parents choose, but they aren't given much information). In addition, this year our state will start testing with the PARCC. I'm really not sure what will happen with my 7th and 9th grade sons, and our school system does a pretty bad job of communicating testing options. In some ways, I wish that ds14 could take a practice PSAT in 10th grade, because that is when the new PSAT is coming out, and it would be helpful to take a run at it when it doesn't count. Good luck sorting it all out, and for those of us a few years behind, let us know what happens!

    Joined: Apr 2014
    Posts: 39
    P
    Junior Member
    Offline
    Junior Member
    P
    Joined: Apr 2014
    Posts: 39
    My son took both PSAT and PLAN his sophomore year without any prep. This is just practice, and your son will have a whole year to prepare for the "real" PSAT. He will see where he is good at, and what needs improving. So, in my opinion, it doesn't matter much which one he'll take, but PSAT may be a better choice simply because of NM.

    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    B
    Member
    OP Offline
    Member
    B
    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    I would consider them both, BUT I think the school is going to offer them at the same time. My son doesn't mind taking tests. Plus, the PLAN is no longer available and I don't understand what the school intends to replace it with. I do plan to have him do the PSAT in 11th, and am leaning towards a test run of the PSAT in 10th since he might be in the ballpark for NM.

    Last edited by bluemagic; 08/19/14 05:59 PM.
    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    B
    Member
    OP Offline
    Member
    B
    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    Councelor got back to me and said that PSAT is only for juniors. (I know that isn't true.) And the PACT is the ACT Aspire.

    Last edited by bluemagic; 08/19/14 06:00 PM.
    Joined: Apr 2012
    Posts: 453
    N
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    N
    Joined: Apr 2012
    Posts: 453
    Tell the counselor that you will pay for the PSAT. That or take it at a different school - just give a nearby school a call.

    Joined: Apr 2013
    Posts: 5,244
    Likes: 1
    I
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    I
    Joined: Apr 2013
    Posts: 5,244
    Likes: 1
    Originally Posted by bluemagic
    Councelor got back to me and said that PSAT is only for juniors. (I know that isn't true.)
    You are correct. Possibly information from the college board will enlighten the school. The college board PSAT pages on score reports include this statement which refers to Freshmen (9th graders) and Sophomores (10th graders) taking the PSAT:
    Quote
    Ninth grade students can see how their performance on the PSAT/NMSQT compares to that of other ninth grade test-takers in the nation. This information is presented in percentile ranges, so each student sees a percentile range where he or she falls (for example, between the fifty-first and sixty-first percentiles) compared to all ninth-graders. Ninth grade percentile ranges are provided in My College QuickStart™. The paper score report continues to provide all students in grades 10 and below with comparisons to tenth-graders.
    and
    Quote
    Juniors frequently take the SAT six or seven months after taking the PSAT/NMSQT. Sophomores will not take the SAT for 18 months, so there may be a greater likelihood that these intervening activities will influence sophomores' SAT scores.
    and (saving the best for last)
    Quote
    A study of 710,595 students who took the PSAT/NMSQT in October 2007 as sophomores and again in October 2008 as juniors found an average gain of 3.3 points higher in critical reading, 4.0 points in math, and 3.3 points in writing skills based on a score of 20 to 80.

    Keep in mind that these are averages: some students earn scores in their junior year that are significantly higher; others receive lower scores. In general, juniors with low sophomore scores have larger score gains than do those with high sophomore scores.

    The data does not show to what extent average gains from one year to the next might be due to learning and consequent growth in the skills measured by the test, and to what extent average gains might be due to the practice effect of taking the test for a second time.

    Learn more about PSAT/NMSQT Score Change from Sophomore to Junior Year (.pdf/53K).
    and that .pdf file includes:
    Quote
    More than 3.5 million students take the test each year. Approximately 1.5 million of those students are high school juniors (11th graders), and the remainder are students in the tenth grade (sophomores) or younger.

    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    B
    Member
    OP Offline
    Member
    B
    Joined: Mar 2013
    Posts: 1,489
    Yes.. I know it's not just for juniors. I think school is trying to combat the super high pressure to start SAT test prep for kids really young by trying to tell parents it's only for junior year. Many of the parents are super obsessed by these tests, and some kids start SAT prep very young. There might be a reason for not taking the PSAT this year, as the PSAT will be brand "new" for the 2015/16 school year, the PSAT won't be as good to use as practice.

    My guess is I can just "register" my son for the PSAT. That the person registering the students, isn't the person who I asked. That there isn't any rule against it. I have no problem having my son take the ACT Aspire, I get the impression it's partly a career assessment tool and it wouldn't hurt for my son to take one of those. And I think that assessment is the counseling department wants them to take this test for the this assessment tool.

    If I have to CHOOSE, I would have my son PSAT this fall. At least the news was I can sign up later, it will just cost more. I'm leaning toward signing him up for the PSAT and seeing what happens.

    Page 1 of 2 1 2

    Moderated by  M-Moderator 

    Link Copied to Clipboard
    Recent Posts
    Testing with accommodations
    by aeh - 03/27/24 01:58 PM
    Quotations that resonate with gifted people
    by indigo - 03/27/24 12:38 PM
    For those interested in astronomy, eclipses...
    by indigo - 03/23/24 06:11 PM
    California Tries to Close the Gap in Math
    by thx1138 - 03/22/24 03:43 AM
    Gifted kids in Illinois. Recommendations?
    by indigo - 03/20/24 05:41 AM
    Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5