Sally_Rubenstone

The Wall Street Journal's Sue Shellenbarger is a braver soul than I am! At exactly my age (57) she decided to try the SAT again, on a challenge from her teenage son. See: What I Learned From the SATs - WSJ.com

I can totally identify with her when she says, "My entire preparation for the SAT in 1967 consisted of setting my wind-up alarm clock the night before." I took the SAT--just once--in the spring of 1968, when I was a junior (and I'm not sure why Sue did it a year ahead of me since I'm nearly 58). I also had a clock radio by then, which was the only electronic gizmo I owned, except for my bonnet hairdryer. (Some CC moms must remember those!)

How I wish that high school students today could reclaim that same Sixties insouciance when they take the the SAT and ACT.

rodney

Actually shocked how high her scores were; kudos all around.......

zap

Hmmm, I've always wondered how older people who have had plenty of life time experiences would do on the SAT.

That was a good find. I enjoyed reading it.

Dagol12

That was a nice ready, but I felt she was exaggerating. The SAT's aren't THAT bad...

dreamsofivy

The piece was definitely a bit hyperbolic, but overall it was very nicely put. I mean, the idea of not speaking for a whole day after the test is a bit ridiculous, as all I could do was gab about it afterwards. Some people are built for it and some are not. More power to her though! Her efforts were really admirable, and her verbal score was amazing!

Zupchurch

Was a really good article, though extremely exaggerated.
Thanks for the read!

Sally_Rubenstone

As I said in my Original Post, I'm not brave enough to find out. My 1968 SAT scores were similar to the author's. But, although I did a bit better in math than she did back then, I can't imagine coming anywhere close to her 2009 math results. In fact, I would be shocked (and delighted!) to fare as well as she did even on the practice test, where she landed in the 400's. When my 6th-grade son was computing the area of geometric shapes the other day, I watched in wonder, vaguely aware that I used to be able to do that--along with far more complex geometry--but now I have no clue how to start.
,
But I don't get why the article proclaims that the Sue Shellenbarger last took the test 41 years ago--in 1967. As shaky as my math skills are today, wasn't that 42 years ago? Well, perhaps she took them in December of 1967, not May, so we're splitting hairs. Don't make me do that either. I also forget how to multiply and divide fractions.

Secret Asian Man

I guess it makes sense if you think about it. The critical reading on the SAT naturally goes up with age because you're constantly adding vocabulary and increasing your reading ability. The math score would tend to go down because it's not usually something you use in everyday life.

Sally_Rubenstone

But even though one's vocabulary typically improves with age, I still wonder how I'd respond to a traditional test-taking situation. When I was in high school, I rarely went a week without facing at least a couple tests. But, as an adult, the types of "tests" I take are quite different. That Number-2 pencil and answer sheet would feel very foreign to me!

mario9999

This has been done before..... I recall some New York Times writer scored a 1460 when he took it as a student, and consequently scored a 1480 in his mid forties.

anonymityyy

Haha, I notice how the professional writer got a 10/12 on the essay...

KansasKid2010

Studies usually show that fluid intelligence, which is math/problem solving tends to go down with age, while crystallized intelligence, which is vocabulary/knowledge tends to stay constant or even increase a little.

shen0211

^^anonymityy-- haha, i found the 10/12 on the essay ironic as well.

anhtimmy

I'm the exact opposite. I fail at CR :]

Detreacy

this article really shows how completely useless the essay portion of the SAT is. a professional writer getting only a 10/12. wow. you can't judge a persons writing skill based on a piece of work made in 25 minutes.