<p>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!)</p>
<p>How I wish that high school students today could reclaim that same Sixties insouciance when they take the the SAT and ACT.</p>
<p>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!</p>
<p>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.
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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. ;)</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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!</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>I was cleaning out my room the other day, and I was looking through my YEAR old sat books, and I even tried to do a couple of problems, only to realize that there is no way that I can score a 1500/2200 again…Rofl, its only been 12 months too…I’d probably get a REALLY low score…</p>
<p>Sally,
This was such an interesting article. I subscribe to the SAT question of the day, partly to empathize with my twin juniors. I can breeze through the CR and W questions with nary a mistake, but when I open the link in the morning and see that it’s a math question, I just delete it! ;)</p>