Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment SAT for 12 year old

I hope someone is able to advise or give me some insights on how to read the SAT test result for DS2, who took the test earlier this month. He is 12 years old, Grade 6. There seems to be only SAT percentiles for 18 year olds but not 12 year olds.

Critical Reading = 590, Writing = 610, Math = 690.

His WISC IV taken in 2010 had an GAI of 153.

He has many behavioral problems in school and I homeschooled him for a year last year having no other viable option. He went back to a new and more accomodative school this year and still has problems (much less though) in class. I have put him in college classes a couple of hours a week and he is doing much better there than in Grade 6. He is also scoring A's in college since last year, but I am not sure if it is because I am managing his schedule that he is able to cope, or he is really good enough for college. I am also worried that he might not be matured enough.

Is sending him to college full-time relevant? Does anyone know or have tried any good programs for children with a similar profile?

Thank you very much in advance!

My dd14 had somewhat lower CR and Writing scores on the SAT at 11 (mid 500s if I recall correctly) and her math score was a good bit lower at that point. She was a 7th grader at that age, so an 8th grader at your ds' age. I am very confident that she would do fine with college courses in most subjects, but not math yet. She's a 10th grader now.

With the ability and above level achievement scores your ds has, it is not at all surprising to me that 6th grade is not a fit. I also see no reason whatsoever that college courses would not be a fit unless they didn't work for him socially.

The few things that I'd consider in your situation would be applying to DYS (I'd really expect that he'd have no problem being accepted), and considering seeing if he can move up to 7th or even 8th grade for those subjects where he is not already going to college. Would the school be on board with a grade skip? We've found it to be a good thing for my dd who, again, isn't as advanced as your ds.

Those are great scores- for a 12 year old. Presumably they will improve alot over the next few years too.
For me, the question is always- where do you want him to go to college? You will likely not get into an elite college with scores like that. Do you want him to go to your local community college or even a state university? Or if you can wait a few years, he could likely get into a "better" university.
That is always a controversial topic- elite university or state university.
However, I bring this up because I expect my kids could get great scores at a young age (my kids are still little) but we have not grade-skipped them and will simply wait it out since they want to go to elite colleges.

I agree-- I don't think that anyone can give you advice about a particular child, because they are all so very different.

When you add in the kind of asynchrony that comes along with this kind of cognitive ability, those differences add together to become children who are virtually singularities.

My DD's not taken the SAT, but her other performance/abilities indicate that she's probably somewhere in this neighborhood as well.

A lot about decision-making has to revolve around what the individual child finds tolerable cognitively/academically, and feasible from a maturity standpoint.

We have opted to radically accelerate my daughter + 3-5 years and keep her in "gifted" programming-- with the understanding that such programming isn't intended for PG children like her, but for bright/MG kids. Her personality does NOT lend itself to tolerating cognitive loads which are 'radically' less than her proximal zone, but her maturity is only about +1-2 yrs if that. Placement becomes more fluid in high schools with flexible class placements and AP coursework.

We've also opted to keep her in a virtual school setting so that she doesn't lose the ability to be a very young adolescent with age-appropriate emotional maturity. This way she retains several peer groups and can keep her innate developmental curve as long as-- and as extensively as-- possible.

We're trying to KEEP her from a collegiate environment until her executive skills are up to the tasks that environment presents. She is rapidly making large gains in self-regulation, time-management, and the like. But those skills are still at the low end of average when compared with her typically-aged academic peers (who are 3-6 years her senior, recall).

I doubt that we'd have been able to delay her sufficiently to allow for an elite college admission at more typical age. She's been ready, willing, and able with college level material since she was about 10-11, and we've kind of patched together add-on enrichment in her coursework in English, Social Science, and Science to make the 'accelerated' versions of those courses more tolerable while we work on her writing and mathematics skills, which are actually at late-high school levels (or were last year when she was 12, anyway). It's becoming increasingly chafing to keep her in high school coursework, though-- this will be her last real year in any high school classes. (She's 13.)

I can't fathom the nightmare we'd be having with her if we were trying to get her to do algebra I and other seventh grade material right now. There's no way she'd be compliant. But that is an individual thing, as noted above. Other kids may put up with it far better.

In short, I only have anecdote to offer. I don't know that we've chosen especially wisely, either. We won't know for another decade, probably.

Does it help to know that you aren't alone and that others in your position also feel bemused and more than a little overwhelmed by the big picture resonance of what we're asked to do for these kids as parents?

Oh-- and for percentiles at younger-than-typical ages, I think that Duke's talent search program keeps such stats. You might check with them.

Thank you so much Cricket2, jack'smom, HowlerKarma and ljoy for the information and views! Helped a lot. Given the views, I do see the advantage of getting better scores and getting into a better college. Therefore, I am thinking whether DS should do the SAT again, since this is his first try and he is probably more familiar with the format now.

The only worry about college is, as HowlerKarma mentioned, his executive skills. He is currently attending college classes for academic writing, math and programming. I finished both Algebra I and II with him last year while he was homeschooling, together with Grade 12 Geography, History and Literature.

I found the information from Duke informative and I think he has some work on Critical Reading to do, and work on the essay part as he did not finish his SAT essay. DS has eye tracking problems but because his comprehension is good, the psychologist told us he is able to compensate that. He tends to skip lines. I am not sure if that lowered his CR score.

He has had sufficient problems in school since he was eight, being suspended at least 20 times. These have made me homeschool him for a year and look to teach him other things while he gets suspended each time. The strange thing is that in the college environment, he has little interactions with the older students and no problem with professors or peers. And to answer Cricket2, he was also kept out of the gifted classroom and disallowed grade-skipping in the former school because he was disruptive. It has been almost impossible for him to be compliant in any grade level classroom so far. In this new grade school, they offered him Grade 10. DS refused to grade skip because of his massive anxiety problem as a result of traumatic schooling experiences. He is uncomfortable mixing with Grade 10 or Grade 11 teenagers, who are 4 years older.

Having observed him in a school setting and in the university, and given his traumatic experiences in schools, he seems to be more at ease in the university setting, but happier to play with his peers.

Given the advice here, I am thinking of buying some SAT books, help him along and prepare for Dec tests and perhaps aim to dual enrol him in a more elite university and a high school(for social interactions). I'd appreciate any view. Your views and sharing had been most thought provoking and helpful.

Ahhhh-- see, I think that is a VERY telling statement.

I don't know that I would really try to keep him enrolled in a high school setting at all in light of the problems you've already experienced with below-level work in that environment (that is, a secondary one). It doesn't sound as though he is all that open to the high school social scene, and under the circumstances, I'm not so sure that I'd push it with him. It might be easier if he can parse the different portions of his life with completely separate peer groups. KWIM? This is what my daughter has historically done, preferring to socialize with kids around her own age until quite recently, but commune intellectually with adults or older MG/HG kids. She was pretty intimidated (esp. socially) by the kids 3-4 yrs older than her up until this past year or so. Now, not so much, because they are more INTERESTING to her than her agemates, and they seem to accept her just fine, in spite of her insecurities.

It sounds as though your DS has had reasonably good experiences in the college setting, and not so much in the secondary setting of high school/middle school.

I might just call him "homeschooled" and work college admission from there, honestly.

Have you explored on-line offerings that would be more appropriate for him during the next year or two? CTY and EPGY should have some things that he would really enjoy.

DD had similar scores when she took the SAT about a yea ago, just before turning 13.

My advice is contrary to many as I am not a big fan of acceleration. It might be worth one more search if you can find a really good school system where your son fits in.

We happen to be in one such public school system, and while DD is near the top of her class, there are a few that are even stronger. She has the confidence of doing well in school, and the benefit of fitting in with her age peers.

Hi mithawk,curious about your DD, which grade is she in and is she accelerated? I am still trying to find a high school, it has been difficult and I am not about to give up, though university presents another option for us.

HowlerKarma, I have explored online offerings, including EPGY where he finished Grade 10 Math work and LAW about 3 years ago. I will put him on the CTY Talent Search since he will be officially starting Grade 7 soon. He has also taken undergrad and grad distant and in-campus classes.

Thank you for sharing similar experiences. I am happy to learn that it is possible to grow out of the intimidation of students a few years older. So far, I have observed that the much older kids are a lot more accommodative and the slightly older kids are more judgmental.

BTW, DS's three older siblings were all early entrants, but they never had school or social problems, and never had anxiety issues. They were 14 when they took the SAT and scored above 700 for all categories, so I knew they were ready. He is only 12, and had so many issues in the past, and his scores were not as high, I wasn't sure where he stands.

The good advice I get here will give me a good idea where to look for answers.