Nuance

7th grade: CR: 710 M: 670 W: 630

Lol, my first post. I've been lurking, mostly. My writing score sucked, since I had a 6 on my essay. And I omitted eight questions in maths. <.< I had a friend with 660/770/570 in 7th grade, so my score doesn't even compare.

lwilliams1922

wow this is a great thread

my dd took the SAT last year at 12 and the PSAT this fall.
She had no prep at all and didn't even know she was taking the test till that morning.
Her grades were not good in school yet she always scored in the top 5% of grade level testing. Her school issues revolve around the need to learn organizational skills.

I'm homeschooling her now to help her learn organization and explore some specialized interest not avail to her previously (Latin, mythology, logic, rhetoric, additional literature, readings from original sources in history, math curriculum suited for visual learners....)

7th grade: 420w 420cr didn't take math
8th grade PSAT 57w 51cr 33 m (still hasn't started pre alg)

I plan to have her take the ACT this spring but I need to evaluate if and how I could prepare her for the science.
We may also do the SAT again as she tends to do better after getting a feel for the test format and content.

I would like to see a 600 on the CR and Writing for 8th grade

Nuance

What's the point in taking the SAT repeatedly when you're in middle school? Generally, you take it as part of a talent search to assess your ability, due to the ceiling effect on grade-level tests, but that's as far as it goes.

The SAT is great for assessing a younger child's ability because they haven't learned the material yet, but after you prep your kid for the test, it's no longer a question of aptitude but how well they can take a test. In the end, it doesn't matter whether your kid was taught pre-algebra in school or not. If they are truly gifted they will score well nonetheless, which is why, privately, talent search officials would rather you not prep your kid for the SAT. They want to see how these kids can do cold and pick out the really talented ones.

Two 420's are good for your daughter's age (the average for Duke TIP last year was 411), and she would benefit from accelerated coursework, but a 420 probably doesn't call for subject skipping. Don't push her too hard. :\ I've seen kids like that, and it's not pretty. Sure, they're freaking geniuses, but emotionally and socially they're like a train wreck.

jjsamson92

7th grade: like 450's on both sections
10th-690 V 500 M 640 W
11th 730 V 620 M 640 W-finally going to school helped a lot with the math.

lwilliams1922

DD actually enjoys standardized testing (other than math). If she is having a good experience and her scores are rising I see no problems in letting her take the test again.

I can't say if dd is gifted or not. I do know that she was an early reader and always had a knack for English. Math on the other hand has always been a struggle so it's fine is she waits on the math section. I don't THINK I push her because if she doesn't want to do something she has no problem letting me know.

I would much rather see her progress over the years and not stress in the last year. I've never suggested she should skip a subject, especially with her being so young for her grade.

Do any other middle school kids just enjoy the higher level tests?

Nuance

I think your daughter may be moderately gifted, but I'm far from a psychologist. You'd have to have her take an IQ test like the SB-V if you want to know for sure.

It's nice to know that some parents take it nice and easy with their kids at this age, because in high school it gets a lot tougher. They might as well enjoy being in middle school while it lasts.

I can't speak for my friends, but I have no problems with above-level testing in general, unless the material is something I obviously don't know. I can't say I "enjoy" these tests, but it was interesting to take a test with different material than what I was used to. (ELAs, TerraNova, etc.) However, the SAT test taking experience was horrible. It's nearly four hours, with just three five-minute breaks. It was exhuasting, and I would have probably done better with longer breaks. You can't complain, though, since everyone is subject to the same rules with the SAT.

Edit: Have you ever considered sending your daughter to CTY for a summer? I haven't went there yet, but I talked to a lot of people, and everyone agreed it was excellent. I don't think she qualifies (560 M and 470 V, I think it was?), but if she works hard at it, you never know. It's a three-week intensive program, where you take a class of your choice for seven hours, five days a week, and Sunday evenings. It didn't seem overwhelming at all to the CTYers that I talked to, and it was often fun because the class could get sidetracked and the teachers' unorthodox teaching methods.

What's great about CTY is that it unites gifted people around the country, and lets you take courses that would not be normally offered at school. For instance, they offer Cryptology, Ethics, and Astronomy course. There are dances, sports, and other activities besides academics as well. I'd better not get too ahead of myself here, though. xD

If you're interested, you can check out cty.jhu.edu and realcty.org. RealCTY is a wiki complied by CTY students, and I think it really captures the essence of what CTY is about.

teenage_cliche

To continue the hijacking, I went to CTY for three years and loved every second. A bit expensive, but if the money isn't too big an issue I would VERY highly recommend it. You learn a lot of really interesting things, and it's cool to live for a few weeks on a college campus without your parents, but the main reason I shamelessly plug it as I do is that you get to be surrounded by kids your age who are just as intelligent and interesting as you are. And, if you pick your classes and daily activities right, you get to discuss political philosophy while pretending to be a ninja.


Anyway, back on track:

8th grade SAT: 570 CR, 590 M, 610 W
11th grade SAT: 740 CR, 770 M, 730 W.

kitkat22

I'm in 7th grade, and I KNOW I can do the SAT/ACT and probably do ok, but I haven't asked my parents, nor do I think they'd let me. What to do? (Oh, and I know it's too late to do this year but....) Also; reading downward, I see it's a bad thing to prep...does looking at common SAT words count? Unfortunately, as I write this out, it seems obvious it does. *sigh*

doubleoh8

Not posting to brag, but to give hope to all those 7th graders who aren't doing as well as they liked on the SATs and are worried about the future.

7th grade: 1180 (this was the old SAT)
7th grade: 1730 (new SAT)

I'm sorry I don't remember my score break downs, but for the 2nd 7th grade test, I think my CR was high 600's, writing low 500's, and math was low 600's.

11th grade (December): 2230 (CR:790 M:770 W:700)
11th grade (March): 2400

with a bit of hard work, I'm sure anyone could do what I did.

Btw, just a side note; to second teenagecliche, yes I would HIGHLY recommend CTY. It will honestly be an experience you will remember and treasure the rest of your life.

J'adoube

kitkat: tell them to look at it as an inexpensive diagnostic tool (that's why the no prep recommendation). If you think you are competitive, you need an independent opinion as to where you and your schooling stand in relationship to your peers.

MereMom

This is a wonderfully helpful thread. My youngest DD took EXPLORE in 3rd, 4th, & 5th (Northwestern NUMATS CTD top 1% 2 of 3 yrs), and ACT (also through NUMATS also top 1% 2 of 3 yrs) 6th, 7th & 8th. 6th Grade score 24, 7th grade 28, 8th grade 30 (35 in Reading). Last year she got an offer to interview for a scholarship at Phillips Andover, but she is very young (just turned 13 a month ago), so we didn't pursue further with the school

Should she be concentrating on SAT from here on out (NUMATS allows 9th graders to take ACT & SAT through them) to see how competitive she might be for east coast universities? Or will being from the Midwest and sticking with the ACT help her chances?

PS, It wasn'tour idea for her to start taking these tests so early- the school GT teacher required her to take them as part of her grade acceleration program (DD skipped K and went directly into 1st grade - She has since been accelerated another grade level in Math and will be in the Honors Math Track to Complete AP Calc BC Senior year).

tokenadult

No college cares anymore about the distinction between the ACT and SAT. (This is a Frequently Asked Question at information sessions of coastal universities in the Midwest, and I have heard the answer many times.)

All four-year U.S. colleges now accept ACT test - USATODAY.com

She should take both tests through NUMATS, just for the experience and practice, and for whatever difference in information the two different tests provide. Our habit here in NUMATS testing is to alternate brand names year by year, doing a College Board test one year, and an ACT test (EXPLORE or ACT, as age-appropriate) in the alternate year. I have other local friends whose children do both brands of test each year.

Millancad

I took it in 6th grade as an elementary schooler at a Montessori school, so I don't know what level I was in math was because we didn't have classes like that.
Then in 8th grade, having taken Algebra I AA and Geometry AA.
PSAT in 10th with Pre-Cal AA and in 11th with AP Calc BC.
SAT twice in 11th with AP Calc BC.

Scores
SAT 6th: Verbal 590, Math 480
SAT 8th: CR 640, M 640, W 550
PSAT 10th: CR 75, M 65, W 67
PSAT 11th: CR 72, M 74, W 80
SAT 11th: CR 770, M 690, W 650
SAT 11th: CR 800, M 700, W 800

Not exactly a steady increase, but good enough. I could probably do better in math considering my 74 on the PSAT, but I've been taking the SAT for 5 years and the novelty has begun to wear off.

And even though I took the tests for CTY and I got the letters from CTY, my parents never let me go. Grrr.

Muastot

7th Grade - M: 560 R: 510
8th Grade - M: 600 R: 520
9th Grade (projected) - M: 650 R: 580
12th Grade (projected) - M: 740 R: 680

Concerto3

I got a 30 in either6th or 7th, can't remember, and 600s

Junior year: 34 and 2320