Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment PSAT or SAT practice test? (also SCAT & Explore Qs

Hi everyone!

I just registered my DYS/DS9 for CTY (which I have procrastinated and put off doing for years!) and for Duke TIP. The duke program says he can take the Explore test next year in 5th grade and the SAT in 7th grade. CTY gives them the SCAT which he can take any time after the registration goes through I think. Have you taken those tests?

DS likes to take tests or I wouldn't bother, his past tasting and performance in school (and life) is enough indicator of his giftedness

SO... it all got me wondering about the PSAT and SAT. I wonder how he'd do on one of those. Do you know if there is a practice site online to try it out? I think years ago, when we'd ride our dinosaurs to Barnes & Nobles, we bought books with practice tests, maybe I will look for that. Anyone else try this? I'm just curious...

Are there any other cool tests to look for? I read someone tried their elementary student with a Regents test? Where could i find those? Thanks!!

Your DS might like these:

http://www.openculture.com/2011/01/130_free_ebooks_from_kaplan_publishing.html

You can buy SAT prep books at B&N (or other bookstores). Don't wear him out on it, though. Your kids will take the SAT lots of times probably before they are done... D15 has taken the SAT twice (7th & 8th grade through a talent search). Took PSAT this year (10th grade, her school has them take the PSAT as "practice). She will take the PSAT again in 11th grade. Then she will take the SAT at least once (maybe twice) for "real" for college admission. That is a total of 7 times. I have been careful not to push SAT prep on her... until this next summer, when she is coming up on the PSAT "for real" for NMSF. I think we have paced her pretty well, but she could have burned out early.

We had her take one full practice test before taking the SAT in 7th and 8th (each time) from a prep book. That was all we did (and she rocked it, top 3 finish in one category for the talent search in our region).

You can sign him up for the SATs anytime you want to - all you need is a paper-based booklet, which are availible at your local high school guidance office.

The only real limit is a child ability to sit for 3 hours - it's long!

Enjoy,
Grinity

thanks everyone. i didn't remember the PSAT/SAT being THAT long lol I guess I have a selective memory :P

Maybe i will look it over and see what is involved first. Funny kid, we were driving to Tae Kwon Do and I was telling him my test ideas and he says, "Pleeeease say there's math on the test! Pleeeease say there's math on the test!" lol

yeah, that's long! funny, i took the thing twice and have very little memory of sitting for it. I DO remember doing gazillion practice tests and going to a prep class which i thought was b-o-r-i-n-g LOL

i wasn't planning on having him sit for it for real. i thought i'd give him the math section (or a math section at a time) and see how he does, maybe try the reading sections separately. I wanted to get an idea of where he is compared to the material on the tests. He can take the SAT in 7th grade through one of the talent searches. I thought the PSAT may be like the SAT-Lite lol so maybe something he could try.

thanks!!

One reason I think we parents don't remember it as quite that long is because it wasn't as long when we took it. There was no writing section on the SAT back when we took it, so that has been added to the length.

If you pick up a practice book, a lot of them have full-length practice tests. You could use that to either get an idea of how he would take to the real thing or as a fun, less uptight substitute.

There may be reasons why you'd want to take the SAT math when very young (e.g. early admission to SET, or some kind of advocacy leverage), but if you're interested in tests for a gifted young math student, I'd think that the MAA tests (AMC8/10/12, AIME, USAMO) would be much more appealing than the SAT/PSAT/ACT. While the SAT math tests material that is "advanced" in the sense that it covers material that isn't normally taught to younger students, the questions themselves are not challenging to a good student who has seen the material. The MAA tests go to a deeper level of understanding and give a much better taste of what math is really about.

[link]http://amc.maa.org/[/link]

thanks mark! i didn't know about the MAA, i will look into it.