Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion SCAT Practice Resources and Social Help

We'd probably have him try EXPLORE in grade 3 regardless (then wait and see for SAT in grade 4), so I don't feel we really need the SCAT in grade 2 result to make a decision. On the other hand it's not much time, effort or money to take SCAT so my real question is would he be missing anything much by not taking it.

Another question is, he'll be fine with the level of math in EXPLORE when he's in grade 3 (it's grade 8, right) but he won't be near that level in other subjects. He'll be fine with the math level, but he'll be out of his depth in other subjects. How is it for little math whizzes to take these above level multi-subject tests when the other subjects could be a write-off?

My ds took the SCAT in 6th grade. He was able to take it in a Prometric Testing Center, which had lots of cubbies and was pretty quiet (Prometric, here anyway, is mostly for things like professional licensing exams, so the crowd is pretty tame, age 18+ and serious).

We found NO commercial SCAT prep materials. To my mind, the big task was just to get him comfortable with the instructions and the expectations of the test. So we sat down and went through the CTY samples. Then I wrote a couple of additional problems based on the CTY samples, just so he could feel comfortable with the process.

Other than that, you could do vocabulary prep, since the verbal is all analogies (as I recall). We did not do anything like that. The math is quirkier; not sure there's any way to prep beyond understanding the instructions.

What's the motivation for taking SCAT?

To answer 22B's question: our motivation was that it is the entry point for CTY's summer programs and year-round courses. The SCAT score determines what kinds of courses the child can take.

Thanks. That wouldn't be a reason for us. I guess I'm not seeing a strong reason for it. I think we'll wait for EXPLORE in grade 3 instead.