Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment When is it too young for SAT?

I think it's common for people to have their kids take prep courses for the SAT, esp. even if they are applying for SET, etc.
Years ago, I used to teach for Kaplan for SAT/ACT when I was in college and also MCAT when I was in medical school.
I remember I was teaching the SAT when one of the students came up to me at the break and said she found the math part very hard, esp. since she had never had Geometry.
I found it strange that a high schooler taking the SAT had never had Geometry and told her that. She then told me that she was only 10 and was taking the SAT to try and qualify for a gifted program! I looked carefully at her and realized that she was very young-looking and had a Hello Kitty pencil box!
My son took the SCAT test for CTY at age 8 and age 9 at a testing center where everybody else was around 50 years old and taking the GRE, GMAT, or some engineering licensure exam. He didn't seem to notice or care that he was the only child.

It may just be me, but I cannot imagine doing any type of prep for talent search testing. We did try to at least look at the review questions they sent for the Explore so the kids would have some idea as to what the test would look like, but we were trying to get an idea as to what they knew/could do without prep, not what we could teach them to do with a bunch of studying or learning how best to get all the points you could out of the test.

For high schoolers taking the SAT/ACT, etc. I can see doing prep b/c the scores are higher stakes, but at 10 or 11, I wouldn't do it. It would negate the purpose of the testing for me.

One thing to think about is that my kid was sick of the SAT by the time she graduated from high school. She had take the SAT or PSAT 6 times by then! She took it in 7th grade with no prep, finished in top 3 in our state. She was not happy with her math score, so prepped a bit (maybe 2 hours!) for 8th grade, and raised her score enough to finish 3rd in NUMATS for her CR score. Then... her school has kids take the PSAT in 10th & 11th grade. And she took the SAT twice to get the scores she wanted in her junior year. She was heartily tired of that test by the time she was done with the last sitting.

So... the long haul is something to think about. You could have a nine year old take it. But be sure you are thinking about why you would do it. Are you having trouble getting the placement you need for him? Do you need it for entrance to talent search classes or something like THINK? If it is just because you have had him testing every year, and this seems like a logical step, consider taking a couple of years off.

DS10 is taking the SAT on the 26th. Almost no prep yet (Maybe he will have time for a couple practice tests before he goes) We signed him up via paper and it will be held at a local HS with no accomadations. I don't expect it to be a big deal, although he is about 75-80 lbs and about 4 10 (and a 1/2, as he says). After reading this I will help him with answers for questions from HS students during the break. I am a little concerned about PSAT issues for National Merit down the road. However thats down the road a bit. He is mostly trying for SET and does not expect to make it this time, But maybe. The written part is just for fun, and he should try to do his best on the Language arts but not much is expected, its not his strong suit. I do worry about burn out because of the test leangth, hopefully he does not get bogged down in it.

I can see that test taking strategies might actually be necessary for the SAT since it will probably be the first test that will be very hard for DS and he can potentially get bog down with a hard question and not use his time wisely.

Thanks, Dottie. That's good to know. I may be thinking of the AP tests.

The curiosity factor has occured to me as well. We got questions even when DS and DD took the SCAT at age 7. They are both small and look young as well so had been mistaken for Kindergarteners in second grade.

I am beginnning to lean towards either having DS look at the questions that are on the SAT or having him try each full section at separate times so he knows what to expect and feel confident when he has to take the full test. The writing section is actually the only part to which DS might object.

Neither DS nor DD was phased by the adults at Prometric (for the SCAT) because the personnel at the center told them the tests that the adults were taking. However, they did comment about the older kdis at the Explore test. I am not sure if they were in fact the youngest but they were the smallest by far.

Well, if DS takes the test within the next two years, it would not be for talent search testing since our local talent search doesn't provide SAT testing until 7th grade. In fact, there would not be any stakes at all. At the same time, it would not be ideal if he was not comfortable with the test.

That's a valid point about the over-exposure to SAT. I am not exactly sure I would have DS take it in the near future. Part of it is curiosity. The MAP test has him at a level way beyond what he has covered (Pre-Algebra). For example, the algebra and geometry I understand siince simpler versions of them are introduced in elementary math and pre-algegra but I am puzzled by the trigonemtry and other less common topics. I question how vigorous the MAP test actually is so it would be helpful to see his performance on a well-vetted test actually covering high school topics.