SAT II Test Questions

[Janice in NJ]

OK - question for those in the "know."

OK - it's finally time... the momma-guidance counselor steps up to the plate.... We have not visited the high school for ANY reason yet. But it's time to start taking these tests. (I don't know why I'm so anxious about stepping into this new world where things suddenly "count." .... but I am.... unreasonably anxious. So please bear with me.... I figure if I dump all of my anxiety somewhere - here? ;) - my kids might not see it... as much! :001_smile:)

SAT II Subject Tests:

If we plan to take two of these on the May 2nd date, it looks like we would have an on-line score report by May 21st. At that point we would know if we wanted to keep those two scores OR if we wanted to retest again on June 6th and cancel those scores. However at that point (5/21) it's too late to sign up for the June 6th test....

So do I register for the TWO test dates (May 2 & June 6th)? Can we cancel for the 6/6 test if we like the May scores? Is there a place to cancel? Are we just out the $$$ or does the no-show appear on his record? How does that work?

I'm really not looking to "scam" the test or anything, it's just that this will be this young man's VERY first testing experience. Ever. Apart from the momma's tests - which just doesn't simulate things the way it should. Anyway. He'll probably do fine, but I want to give him a safety net - a it's-cool-if-you-botch-it, we'll-just-do-it-again plan. AND I don't want to wait for a "re-do" until the fall. If we work toward these tests, we need to be done with these subjects THIS year; pushing them into next year would require him to keep this stuff really fresh and that puts too much pressure on next fall's schedule. KWIM?

One more questions if you don't mind....How accurate are the practice tests in the prep books (We took the Barron's tests; I've ordered the Princeton book from the library)? Cause we're looking at some good scores and I'm generally a PESSIMIST!!!! (This can't be; we must be missing something. Does this hsing thing really work? etc, etc, etc HATE that part of my personality, but it does loom there - poking at me:glare:) :001_smile:

THANKS for any help that you can offer.

Peace,
Janice - the momma who wishes that the practice tests he just took were the real thing and that we were just all done with this business NOW!

Enjoy your little people
Enjoy your journey

[Gwen in VA]

I'm no help on the question about retaking the tests -- I've never heard of anyone retaking an SAT2, though it is certainly possible.

I do have an opinion on how accurate the tests are though. My kids' real scores were always higher than the test prep book scores -- often by as much as 100 points and once by 140 points!

Our guess is that the test prep books don't want to give the student the idea that he'll score 800 and then on the real test he actually scores 650. So the test prep books' tests are much harder (and in some cases contain many more inaccuracies) than the real test.

[Janice in NJ]

The scores were higher even on an SAT 2?

[Gwen in VA]

Yes -- my kids' scores were a fair amount higher on the real SAT2's than they were on the practice SAT2 tests.

[Kathy in Richmond]

A few comments -

You can sign up for both dates if you want. If you don't show up for the second testing, you can apply that registration fee (minus a $22 'change fee') toward a future date.

If you do sign up for both dates, I'd advise you to just sign up for 1 test for the June date. You can add the second test that morning - they will bill you later (my dd did this in Dec).

My kids found the Barrons' study guides to be the hardest - they always scored higher on the real SAT Subject tests than on those Barrons' tests.

Get a copy of the College Board Official Study Guide for the SAT Subject Tests if you can. It includes one real former exam of each type they offer. That will give you the best idea of where your student stands!

And take heart - I felt the exact same way at the beginning of high school. We were *very* happy doing our family-centered studies up until then, and I also didn't want to play the outside evaluation & jump-through-hoops game. But we needed to back up our mommy grades for the colleges they were interested in, and they did a terrific job with the testing. Sounds like your son is on track to do an outstanding job, too. Sometimes we moms get more nervous than they do!

Kathy

[Karenciavo]

Late reg for June ends 5/19 and scores from May come out 5/21? Not very convenient. :glare: I signed my Ben up for June, does that make me an optimist or foolish? :D

[Janice in NJ]

Thanks Kathy! Perfect - just what I needed to know!

[Janice in NJ]

Thanks, Gwen! I swear I'm going to owe you SOMETHING by the time this is all over! Dinner? A nice trip somewhere? You've given me so much good advice.

Seriously though - thanks for sharing your BTDT experience. It means a lot.
Janice

[Janice in NJ]

Hi Karen,

This morning I was trying to think my way through this over coffee with my dh. He commented that it seems unreasonable to always have a "what if" plan. Really? What about ___ or _____ or ______. I rattled off about ten circumstances that I/he/we are currently dealing with where things didn't go as planned OR other folks that we were counting on haven't handled "their" part of life's equations didn't - so it has fallen back on us.

So the momma has to know the dealio and make the plans and leave room for life's "oops." (We seem to have more than our share of those despite my diligence. :001_smile: )

Peace,
Janice

[Gwen in VA]

Two years ago my ds1 took the January SAT. When I picked him up after the test, he was pretty upset. He said that he had messed up the essay and since that's the first thing, the rest of the day went downhill from there according to him.

We went home and did the sensible thing with the available data -- we signed him up for the March test date. $$$$$

Then we got his scores. Well, he didn't get a 12 on the essay, but there was no way that we were going to let him retake the SAT. So was the money that we spent signing him up for the March SAT wasted? Not on your life -- it bought us some breathing room.

Does the College Board have stock that is publicly traded? I have done my bit to enrich that company!

[Brenda in MA]

If we plan to take two of these on the May 2nd date, it looks like we would have an on-line score report by May 21st. At that point we would know if we wanted to keep those two scores OR if we wanted to retest again on June 6th and cancel those scores.

One more questions if you don't mind....How accurate are the practice tests in the prep books (We took the Barron's tests; I've ordered the Princeton book from the library)? Cause we're looking at some good scores and I'm generally a PESSIMIST!!!!

I guess I feel like the pessimist on this thread, but -- to my knowledge, you can't cancel SAT2 scores after they are issued. You can only cancel either the day they were taken or may be up to a day or two later, but you won't know what the score was when you cancel. Also, you have to cancel all the scores from that test date, not just the score from a particular test. Check the College Board to confirm this.

As far as reporting goes -- with the College Board's new "score choice" policy, as I understand it, you should only be able to report the SAT2 scores you want to report to the colleges. So if he did take the test again hoping for a better score, you could choose to only report the higher score.

Right now, when you order a score report, all the SAT & SAT2 scores you've taken since 9th grade are reported. "Score choice" should be better, but there is some fine print associated with the new policy in that the College Board is allowing colleges to "opt out" and request that score reports sent to them contain all the scores, not just the ones you want to send.

Brenda