Dd took SAT this am....said it was a *fiasco*

[MSPolly]

I guess there was a kid with no pic ID. He was from over a 30 minute drive away. They let him sit for the test with the promise that his parents would BRING his driver's license. But then, between each section, they took a 5 minute break to allow him to continue to try to call home!

Then there was a debate on whether to allow *him* to keep his cell phone *on* during the test...in case the parents returned his call. She doesn't know what that decision ended up being because she never heard his phone ring. However, she did say that during one test section, someone came and called the proctor to the door to talk to her.

They were the LAST group to come out...a good 30 minutes after the rest of the group. I asked her if she thought they were given too much time. She said she was concerned about that at first because the proctors were so distracted, but she DID notice they were using a timer and continued to use it throughout, so that alleviated her concerns.

She said there was *another* kid, whose DL had expired....but he was just flat turned away.

Soooo....needless to say, there was scuttlebutt, as some of the kids seemed to know the guy sent away.

Now she wonders if someone will complain and cause the tests to be thrown out or something. This was her test for National Merit Finalist Status.

Sheesh.

[Blue Hen]

Hopefully everything will be just fine and that it didn't distract her too much.

DS took it this morning too. He said he had the nicest proctor this time. He took it in 7th, 8th and last March and the ACT so just a little experience with various proctor styles. This woman spoke 'sweetly' and asked the kids if they wanted 5 minute breaks between the tests. He also said that she just had a very calm attitude about the test --- how nice!

He was thrown that there were FOUR math sections rather than the normal THREE. He felt the one section was the easiest math he had ever seen too. What is up with that?

Carole

[MSPolly]

Dd said there is always one section on the SAT that is experimental and not scored. She said that you have no way of knowing until your test is scored.

She is fried and can't remember how many math sections she had! :lol

[Blue Hen]

I'll answer my own question:

The Unscored Section
In addition to the nine scored sections of the SAT, there is one 25-minute section that we use to ensure that the SAT continues to be a fair and valid test. Don't be worried: the section does not count towards your score. It may be a critical reading, mathematics, or writing multiple-choice section.

It is common test development to use an unscored section to try out new questions for future editions of the test. It also ensures that scores on new editions of the SAT are comparable to scores on earlier editions of the test. This helps to ensure the fairness of the SAT, which is one of our primary objectives.

Test Order
The SAT is comprised of 10 total testing sections. The first section is always a 25-minute essay, and the last section is always a 10-minute multiple-choice writing section. Sections two through seven are 25-minute sections. Sections eight and nine are 20-minute sections. Test-takers sitting next to each other in the same session may have test books with entirely different content orders for sections two through nine (mathematics, critical reading, and writing).

Now he's hoping that it was this one math section and not this other math section. ugh...... now the wait begins.........again.

Carole

[MSPolly]

Oh, and thank you! I hope your ds did well too.

She feels pretty good about it, all things considered. I guess if her score is surprisingly different to others, then it might merit saying something....otherwise, we won't.

She was concerned that the kid that was turned away vs the kid that was allowed to sit *in lieu of* proper ID might stir something up.

[MSPolly]

:lol We *simul-posted* :lol

Yes, I hope it turns out well for both!

[Blue Hen]

That's the way my DS is too. However he has an essay to write and half-a-dozen computer programs to write today! A skate team mate is here and he and my other son are playing HALO. We have to be up at 2:30am to drive over 2 hrs to a skate meet tomorrow morning so he won't have time tomorrow to do this work. Talk about a FULL weekend.

[MSPolly]

Oh wow! Early morning!

Well, if it's any consolation to him, my dd had her share of things to come home to! LOL!

She is also preparing for piano auditions....

I told her...after May, you have three months to sit and stare. LOL!

[Nicole M]

It doesn't make sense to me that the kid with no picture ID was let in, but the one with an expired ID was not. I mean, it's a picture, it has his name on it...?

My son should call any minute to be picked up from the SAT. (We're on the west coast.) Our excitement this morning was a phone call from the bus stop at 6:58am, "Mom! Could you check the bus schedule? The bus was either way early or it's way late." Apparently he planned his trip according to the weekDAY schedule, not the weekEND schedule. On the weekends, they don't come by until 8. Oops. Fortunately, the bus stop is a block away. No biggie, but since I was in the shower when he called, it was more excitement than I wanted.

I wonder who gets hired as proctors for these exams? The first time my son took the test, the proctor kept "accidentally" giving them extra time, which meant they had only 5 minute breaks instead of 10.

[Blue Hen]

This was the first time my DS was given any breaks between the test sections. I cannot imagine taking section after section without breaks but that was what happened to him last March.

Oh MY! The bus and shower and...... as I drove DS to the school I thought about how nervous I would have been all morning, wondering if DS had found his way to the school IFFFF he had been able to drive himself there. That would have been too nerve-wrecking for me.

Carole

[Laurel-in-CA]

Sigh. My dd was sick last night so we are rescheduling her for Nov. 7th. By then her broken left arm should be working better, too.

[MSPolly]

I hope your dd feels better!

I hope everyone who tested today did well!