Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment ACT/SAT Early?

Some of the most prestigious high schools around here are getting rid of AP programs. They claim that they prevent students from getting deep into a subject matter because they are only learning to the test. Have you found this trend happening anywhere else?

We are very behind the times--no IB in sight. Our high ability students take AP courses. In fact the state legislature passed a bill (and funded it) such that every high school student will be required to take at least one concurrent enrollment class, one AP class or one online course as a graduation requirement. I don't know if I believe every single high school student should do this (will that dilute AP classes?), but now it's law.

Cym, does your son want to take the SAT as a sophomore? I probably wouldn't make my DS take it if none of his friends were and he didn't want to. None of my friends took it early and, living in a small town, it would have been unpleasant to have take it as a sophomore in the same room as the seniors from my school. But if everyone is doing it, then it seems like a no-brainer.

As for planning ahead, there is a ton to do besides look at scores, as I am sure you are aware: Lots of interesting schools with lots of differnt academic foci, student bodies with different personalities, lots of finanacial aid materials and obscure scholarships. The test score is really just a fraction of the picture. Surfing the net and finding out about schools that might suit his personality would probably be a huge help. I think kids should be the ones who make the actual decisions, but a parent can help narrow down options to 10-20 best fit schools so it's less overwhelming.

I haven't asked DS yet--generally I'd collect data and present the pros & cons. His friends are definitely not doing it, but that doesn't seem to bother DS to do something his friends aren't doing. I think at this stage I'll need to spoon feed DS the college search stuff to hopefully get him started thinking about what he likes/doesn't like. I agree with you, acs, that kids should make the decisions.

I'd like to take a little trip and see some campuses with DS, but all the guides say not to do it when school is out of session. That's the best time for us. Hmmm.

Well, I think if that's the ONLY time you're going to visit the campus, you shouldn't do it when school is out. But if you can go back to his top picks when they're in session, then I don't think going during the summer wouldn't be a problem.

I agree that you absolutely need to see a campus in action, but a preliminary visit could be handled in the summer. Especially on a big campus, a summer visit can let your son (and you!) get the lay of the land when things are less crazed. It might allow him to shave a few days off a visit during the school year so he can just go for one day and night, rather than needing a longer visit to get everything done. Just call ahead, obviously, to be sure professors are around and that sort of thing.

If you to don't mind going back the schools later, then I'd say go for it! Do the visits now.

cym wrote "I was asking because of two reasons. My son took the SAT/ACT in 7th and 8th grade. I didn't want him to wait 3 years before taking them again."

Many kids take SAT in 7th and 8th grade for CTY. These scores won't show up in SAT report to college so they can take as many as they want for practice without any negative impacts.

Any test done in high school will show up in SAT report. The conventional wisdom says that student should not take more than 3 times, preferably once or twice. I don't think that you want them to take SAT too early given the limited chances. They will have better chance score higher in reading/writing sections in junior year. For Math, take test in 10th or 11th grade may make little difference.

I would suggest that your kids start SAT prep in sophomore year, but take first SAT test in October or November of junior year. They have an entire summer to prepare for it. If the score is not good enough, do another in May or June of junior year. If it is still not good, they have one last chance in early months of senior year. Or they can switch to ACT for one last try.

What "limited chances?" There's no limit on the number of times kids can take it, though perhaps there's a limit to the number of times they *want* to take it.

And I've never heard anyone say "take the SAT only once." That's not any conventional wisdom I've heard, and it flies in the face of logic. Taking the SAT at least a couple of times makes a lot more sense to me, since practice makes perfect.

I've never heard of an "SAT report" that goes out listing all scores. I'm pretty sure that schools get the *best* score a student has achieved, so the more you take the test, the better your chances for a high score, within reason. There's no penalty--aside from the financial cost of the test itself and the time required to take it--for taking the SAT multiple times.

I don't mean to be argumentative, but I don't think this info is accurate.

Actually, ALL of the high school scores are sent, though it may be that a student can request that a particular score be stricken. College admissions officers say that it doesn't hurt to take an exam a few times, and that they only consider the high scores in each area. So a kid may get 800/800/800= 2400 by combining the best on three individual SAT tests, though of course that doesn't look quite as impressive as a "natural" 2400. I have also heard anecdotally that repeat testers are looked on with some suspicion, so it is better to avoid testing more than 3 times "on the record".
Young students who wish to have the scores remain on the record must request this from the college board.

This might be helpful: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061219151932AAa0Yb7

Thanks, Lorel. That makes more sense to me.