Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy should 7th grader take SAT?

I'm sure this topic has come up here before, but our DS in 7th grade is considering taking the SAT this May. He is currently taking Alg 2 in person at the high school (with a 3.97) and taking 8th grade GT ELA and remaining grade-level classes at the middle school.

We have encountered opinions within our family and friend circle that vary from very Pro to very skeptical about why we would do this. I am just wondering if anybody has any pros v cons about this? We realize this test will not be factored into his college applications, but thought perhaps as he was finishing Alg 2 it may be a good baseline and also practice for this type of test.

Hopefully, some of you have encountered this decision before and have some concrete reasoning why we would do "such a thing" haha

The only reason not to take the test is if you're concerned that the score will be required to be reported to colleges. I believe that scores obtained prior to 9th grade aren't automatically reported even if "all" scores need to be reported. So, if this is the case (and I would confirm that it is prior to testing), I'd say go for it!

We did, for essentially the same reasons you've listed. And I believe the default now is for scores obtained prior to high school to be deleted unless you explicitly request that they be retained.

FWIW, the "practice" reason turned out to be particularly useful, as one of our children learned you should not assume that you are done with a section early, and should instead keep working until you actually see the little "stop" symbol on the page...

My DS participated in above level testing with the (now defunct) TIP program and I would say it was beneficial experience for him, as it provided some extra confidence for future standardized tests.