Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Old news that's new to me: Justin Chapman

Just curious, do you know the actual numbers? On her website she claims her overall score increased a lot, but she doesn't break it down.

Testing doesn't just test ABILITY with the material, though-- that's the missing link there. There's no way to modify one's base processing speed or working memory; that's how I explain it.

DD and I neither one are capable of a perfect 800 on the SAT-M. DH is.

On any given day, though, she and I both can do it on the verbal sections. I'm not convinced that this is entirely the result of better verbal skills as compared with math ability, either-- (it's just a matter of the test itself being a hostile environment for doing rapid calculations extremely accurately for us), and not impacting our verbal abilities negatively in the same manner.

Unlimited time and ideal conditions DO result in perfect 800's for her and me both, for whatever that is worth. But that isn't what the SAT is like when you actually TAKE it.

It's grossly unfair, but someone who has a better working memory than I do, or simply doesn't make the stupid arithmetic errors under pressure-- can outscore me every time. {shrug} It is what it is. It doesn't mean anything at all about my math ability, by the way-- I certainly mastered math through trig and well beyond.

Anyway-- that's my explanation for why her scores didn't budge much. You can only move them so as to optimize them for your own innate limitations within the test format. For a lucky few, their understanding and approach are the limiting factors. For the rest of us, we'll eventually reach a point of diminishing returns re: prepping.

Ah, there used to be an overall graph page, but it's gone. Piecing together, maths scores were:

Jan 510
Mar 530
May 530
June 570
Oct 560
Nov 540

I must have missed one, as she says she took it seven times, but you get the picture.

And this is part of the reason why these kids who take the top elite test prep classes, don't actually budge their scores as much as they would like. They do a bit but after a certain point spending more times on prep doesn't seem to help much. Certainly not in proportion to the amount of time they spend. The classes I'm thinking of you have to get a certain score on a pre-test just to be enrolled.

I don't think I would be able to get an perfect score on the SAT either. I would make too many silly mistakes, too much time pressure. And I think my son will be like that. My DH didn't but I think he just didn't really try, his first try was good enough to get him into "top rated" unviversity so why bother. (SAT prep and scores weren't as crazy then.) He I bet he could have since he did get a perfect score on the GRE.

On the other hand, I notice that her web page has a whole lot about room conditions and snacks and comparing prep companies, and not much about . . . actually learning math. While I agree that the ability to benefit from prep is probably g-loaded, I bet it is even way more g-loaded when the person is allowed to be in charge of their own prep. I too would like to see what ColinsMum could have done with her.

Agreed! How hard is it (I say rhetorically) to master trigonometry at the level of the SAT?

Hmmm. I was going to do zero prep for DD's upcoming test but maybe I maybe I should do something...

My opinion is you probably should do something, although something could be as little as buying a book or checking out the SAT's own web-site. So she can read a few tips and work through at least one sample test so she knows what to expect. Depends on what you are trying to accomplish. There are tricks to the SAT that are different from other multiple choice tests.

Sorry, I should have clarified since the discussion has turned toward SAT from K admission test. My DD is going through admission process this fall for a private K-12 school and their cutoff is around 92%ile to 95%ile, depending on the year. They give an abbreviated of standard IQ test. Maybe I should be panicking since I know many children who are applying have been going to a test prep center since age 2 as well as working with a tutor but I didn't want to go down that road. I didn't want test prep to define her childhood.

I don't think I can make DD "smarter" in the next few months. So in that sense, there isn't much point in prepping her but I'm not sure if getting her a workbook like this would be too close to cheating for my own comfort level:

http://www.amazon.com/Gifted-Talent...=8-5&keywords=test+prep++gifted+talented

ETA: We're also applying to an academic hothousing school that gives IQ and achievement test. I think DD would get in there. The other school also looks more into her social skills and other global readiness and she'd be one of the youngest girls for the application pool. That is why I think she has to ace the IQ test so they'd have a reason to overlook her quirkiness and immaturity. She can be charming and endearing if she wants to but it comes and goes.

No I wouldn't prep for an IQ test. (And didn't my DS15 just took one last week.) I was talking about the SAT. SAT is an achievement test, I would prep for that. Some kids here take the SAT in junior high to qualify for different "gifted" programs so I wasn't sure.

Edited to add, I just looked at the link and that makes me sad. My attitude to the preschool years is let them play, and it's frustrating to see people put their preschoolers through this stress. Even the one "gifted" school is my area doesn't require an sort of testing for their K program, just an interview. (I should say didn't don't know if it changed.)

One more thing what I might do with a preschool kid is have them practice their social skills. Tests for preschool/K are usually given one-on-one. And this can hurt a bright but shy/introverted child.