Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment first SAT test today

DS 10 took SATs for the first time today. His brother (12) took it too, but that was his 2nd time. Only a handful of testers--much different scene than December ACT. The two boys were exhausted (it's a long test!). I hope it went well. Poor kid had to miss a double header soccer game to test, but he was ok with that

Ooh, I hope they did well! What did they say about it?

My DS12 took it yesterday also. It was his second time. The first was the only prep, despite the fact that I had bought the online Kaplan prep through homeschool coop. He has never even logged on, partly due to a long commute to and from school and a heavy workload, but mostly due to refusal to practice for a practice test.

He was unhappy that the tester made everyone in the lecture hall do the essay first thing even though I had told him that he wouldn�t have to because he was registered through a talent search. I wanted him to reserve his energy for the math portion.

He didn�t quite finish most sections, but felt confident that his completed math selections were correct. We will see.

My son who has motor dyspraxia would have difficulty with the length of the test. Someone on the another gifted message board who has cerebral palsy recommended having my son take the ACT instead of the SAT. I think she said the writing is optional on the ACT.

But I think I should probably have my son try the Explore test before letting him do the ACT because he has no experience taking tests and he seems to still have some fatigue issues. I wanted him to try the Explore this year but we didn't get signed up for it in time. We just had too much going on.

Oh, I thought the writing was optional for the SAT and the ACT and that talent search kids didn�t do the essay. My mistake!

Lori, my kids liked the SAT better and thought it was easier than the ACT which is opposite than what I usually read. I also think that you can arrange for testing accommodations for a physical or learning disability. I�m not sure how that works, but you might start with calling the 800 number for information.

Also, call your local middle school about the Explore. Many kids take the Explore in 8th grade in either the fall or spring. They might be glad to have your gifted son�s score averaged into theirs. Aside from that, in many areas, schools are obligated to assist HS parents when requested. Even if they are not required to, the assistance is so minimal and it is simply �the right thing to do�. You certainly deserve the $7.50 favor return for your thousands in taxes.

The ACT has a little more variety than the SAT. The ACT has sections for English, Math, Reading, and Science. The writing section is optional- students who elect not to take it can leave early. If the student does the essay, it is scored from 2-12 and also combined with English in a second score.

The SAT has sections for Math, Reading, and Writing. The essay is not optional, but students can choose to leave it blank and receive a zero. That will affect the writing score though, and bring it down considerably. For many younger students, this is not an issue.

When my son took the SAT, he noticed that everyone began with the essay. After that, some students went on to a math section, while others in the same room began with reading. (He could tell about the math because people pulled out their calculators.)

Some kids seem to perform better on the SAT, while others do better on the ACT.

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How much did his writing score "suffered" because of that?

I also told my guys not to spend too much energy on the essay. DS 10 took me too seriously and said he wrote 2 sentences. His brother said, "You had 20 more minutes--you should have just casually written a little more..." I don't care for the first effort (he's younger than when I've usually had them tested). How long do SAT results take & can you access them online or is it wait for the mail things--I don't remember anymore, they all blur.