Parents of the HS Class of 2015 - Page 110

sunnydayfun · 10-18-2012, 12:35 PM

The purpose of PSAT in junior year is to qualify for the NMSF. It makes sense for HS juniors whose previous scores were not anywhere near the state cutoff to have the option to opt out.

SansSerif · 10-18-2012, 12:37 PM

When do they get the PSAT scores? My daughter came home yesterday and described it as an "epic fail". Ok, then ... I expected that of the math section, since she's only a month into geometry and hasn't had Algebra II. But I was hoping the CR section would be better. Looks like she needs some vocabulary review!

suzy100 · 10-18-2012, 12:54 PM

At our school, anybody who wants to take the PSAT has to pay for it, and nobody is required to take it.

SansSerif, the scores come out sometime in early December.

Question for anybody who knows: will there be a place for D to put an email address if she is willing to allow schools to contact her based on her score? I usually would tell her not to do this, but I think in her case it will be beneficial to get her to start thinking more seriously about colleges. She does not have a collegeboard account yet. Should she sign up for that before the test?

ahsmuoh · 10-18-2012, 01:04 PM

suzy - Did you ask your DD if there was a spot to opt in or out of college emails? I don't know if this is your oldest but I would warn against wanting the onslaught of emails in 10th grade - I have a D13 and S15 and the emails and mailing in junior year after the PSAT and senior year is CRAZY - it really gets very annoying and my daughter doesn't care one bit about 99% of them! Even the ivy's that keep emailing - she just deletes! It really makes everything more confusing. Needless to say - I told my son to opt OUT of the emails and mailings.

I think most schools send the PSAT either right before or right after Winter break.

4CookieMonster · 10-18-2012, 01:08 PM

suzy100,Yes, there is a place for your daughter to put her email address on the PSAT test. I created a new gmail account for my daughter for all testing/school related materials. From what I understand, they may get a lot of information and she didn't want that mixed up with her personal email.

Also, my daughter gives me access to the school gmail so that I can check it if needed. She's been getting mailing from schools and prep places before the PSAT. I'm not sure how she was placed on this list.

SansSerif, please tell your DD don't worry about the PSAT this year. Last year my daughter was a month into Geometry and felt the same way. If you look at the score report that they will receive in December, she missed most of the Geometery. This year she took it and said that "the math was easy". It's amazing what a year will do! She did say that the vocabulary words in the CR section were hard.

We take the approach of one day at a time. My DD does the SAT question of the day and we talked about adding the word of the day. I think this takes the pressure off over time. She was very familiar with the style and structure of the exam and can focus slowly on building her vocabulary.

Gibson1514 · 10-18-2012, 01:31 PM

helpsilteplait- welcome! Our school has a similar situation. Sophomores are free, but Freshman and Juniors need to pay.

Just received a note home from the principal outlining changes to AP test exam fees. Previous years students did not pay the exam fees, the state/ county did. Given the state of our school systems budget changes need to be made. Students are now expected to pay the fees. I am thankful to be in the position that this will not be a financial burden, but I wonder how families struggling will cope. Not much help available for those in need.
There is a thought that this improve test scores- kids will only sit the exam if they think they will do well. I have heard far too many stories of students scoring 1's, they are not invested in the program. A lot in our local media about the " AP Trap"
Former college prof and AP teacher: Advanced Placement is “one of the great frauds” in high school today | Get Schooled

The separate email address for college stuff is a great idea. - no cutesy names gibsond@gmail.xxx is perfect

Looking forward to testing, xiggi has a great doc about SAT testing. I printed it out last year. I will look for the link and post.

here it is:
Xiggi's SAT prep advice

4CookieMonster · 10-18-2012, 01:42 PM

yes, I made my DD email simple so that she wouldn't forget. My DD email address was firstnamelastname2015@**********. I agree nothing cutesy.

suzy100 · 10-18-2012, 02:26 PM

4CookieMonster: suzy100,Yes, there is a place for your daughter to put her email address on the PSAT test. I created a new gmail account for my daughter for all testing/school related materials. From what I understand, they may get a lot of information and she didn't want that mixed up with her personal email.

Also, my daughter gives me access to the school gmail so that I can check it if needed.

OK, thanks for this info! I did create a separate email account for all college-related things for her.

ahsmuoh, I have an older stepson who is now a freshman in college but I wasn't really involved in this process for him at all, so much of this is new to me. My inclination for my D15 was always to tell her NOT to put an email address, but in her case some of the mailings may motivate her (even if her mother knows they are essentially spam

.) I'll leave it up to her either way.

Welcome helpsilteplait!!

PinotNoir · 10-18-2012, 02:31 PM

The other thing about checking the box to receive college spam is that sometimes you get free applications to colleges, often with quick turn around on admission decisions.

3girls3cats · 10-18-2012, 03:44 PM

sunnydayfun, the scores can vary pretty dramatically so I wouldn't suggest kids opting out of the PSAT junior year too quickly. My D went from a score that was <190 to a 230 the next year. SanSerif, there is a lot of room for growth from one year to the next. I can't help but smile at the description though: "epic fail" gotta love it. Is she the kind of kid who tends to think that way?

My D felt that the test was not horribly hard but she realizes that speed is a challenge for her. She had to omit a math grid-in answer that she didn't have time to complete and she didn't have time to check her answers generally. She is a very careful, contemplative and thorough kind of thinker and as a result tends to take too long in all her academic tasks. She often finds she doesn't have time to check answers or edit writing on tests and essays. It hasn't been an obstacle yet but I think it will be more of an issue going forward as speed becomes increasingly important for school success.

I forgot to tell D about providing or not providing her email address. I hope she didn't. Ahsmuoh, my first child received the onslaught of mail and I counseled the 2nd to opt out. The flood of spam that D1 received was ridiculous.

limner · 10-18-2012, 04:25 PM

Hi All,

Dropping back in--again. It's hard to keep up with you! As a re-introduction, I'm the mom with a HS D15 and a Carleton College S11 (who's now getting a master's in urban planning). And I just got a master's in SW--the main reason for my sporadic participation!

My D15 is taking AP Euro Co, AP Lang/Co, AP Gov, Honors French II, Honors Bio I, Honors Algebra, Advanced Theatre, and Female Vocal II.

My daughter also took the PSAT yesterday. She just shrugged when I asked how it went.

I guess we'll find out in December anyway. I wish I'd remembered about the e-mail sign-up. I think my son put in a gmail account that he used just for schools. It's a 9-year spread between them, so I guess I can my forgetfulness shouldn't be surprising.

Hope I can keep up with you all this time!

sunnydayfun · 10-18-2012, 08:37 PM

Wow, 3girls3cats, that was a great improvement in your D’s PSAT scores. In our HS, juniors have to pay for the PSAT (while sophomores do not) so it is not mandatory for juniors to take it if they don't want to compete. School does encourage every student to take it and the majority of students do participate. As now, our senior class has 44 NMSF out of about 1300 students, which is only about 3% of the class.

OHMomof2 · 10-18-2012, 10:56 PM

welcome back limner! I had to start a new user account here due to a tech issue, but I remember

suzy100 · 10-19-2012, 08:53 AM

OHMomof2, what was your previous username? (Of course if you'd rather not say, that's fine and sorry for the intrusion.)

Congrats on getting your master's limner - very exciting! Boy, it sounds like your D has a rough schedule.

PN, thanks for the heads up about free apps - I was not aware.

Happy Friday everyone!

Pepper03 · 10-19-2012, 11:10 AM

Welcome back limner!

What a horrible week this has been. I am sure the PSAT was a total disaster! Who cares it doesn't count this year! Between sports, illness and tests plus several big projects all being due TODAY this has been one awful week for the poor little lady.

sunny what a huge school. We have a small school here and every couple of years we have an NMSF-my son was the last one and I hope we can add another next year-who knows-this is the first time she has taken any College Board test so I have no idea how she will do but with everything going on she had no prep. She already knows the math won't be good as there were a few things she had no idea about and she ran out of time.

My son had about a 30 point increase but I think from what she tells me she is going to need a huge one to have a shot-if it isn't possible I will have her think about looking into the ACT.