<p>My son went to CTY for four years. He loved the social aspect and some years the class wasn’t bad either, but you have to be a certain kind of person, I think, to enjoy taking a class in a single subject for several hours per day and in the evening as well. (He took science classes all four times.) When he got to ninth grade, he joined the football team and decided he would much rather spend his summers playing football! </p>
<p>As a reference point, he took the SATs in seventh grade and scored 590 math and 570 verbal. His recent scores as a junior (two test sittings) were 760 math and 670 verbal (and 630 writing).</p>
<p>500m/380v (and 340 on the writing)…not very good at all!!!111 1220/2400
then 630m/520v (480 on the writing)…1150 much better// 1630/2400</p>
<p>10th PSAT’s
640v/670m…i can accept (this is with a 650 on the writing=1960/2400)</p>
<p>i will be going into my junior year now, so i didn’t take my SAT’s yet.</p>
<p>But i took the math level 2 SAT subject test my sophmore year, and scored a 800…i only took 3 practice tests. (not bad considering that i hadn’t even finished my precalc course)</p>
<p>I wish they hadn’t taken out the analogies and having 2/3 of the test be verbal-based means males won’t perform as well as females (since males usually have higher mathematical/logical intelligence but women statistically have higher verbal/emotional intelligence - I’m not sexist and I apologize if that claim is in error - it’s just a statistical fact I’ve heard a few times)</p>
<p>7th Grade SAT: 600 M 500 CR = 1100/1600 (it was the old one)
11th Grade SAT: 800 M, 730 CR, 740 W = 2270/2400, 1530/1600
11th Grade ACT: 34 M, 32 E, 29 R, 29 S = 31 composite</p>
<p>Freshman year SAT: 570 CR, 720 M, 590 W (1880 composite)</p>
<p>Haven’t taken the real SAT yet (rising junior) but practice testing has me in the 2300+ range. For me, improvement came not through knowledge of more materials but rather through understanding on how to arrive at the correct answer. The SAT is all about strategy; the answer is usually clear if one looks in the right place, particularly for CR.</p>
<p>I will post here in nearly a year when I get some real scores. :)</p>
<p>My 7th grade son just found out that he qualified to take either the SAT or ACT in the DUKE TIP program. When my older boys did that, only the SAT was offered. Does anyone have an opinion on how he should decide between the SAT and ACT? He can only choose one.</p>
<p>My son’s 7th grade SATs:
690V, don’t recall M but it was high enough to qualify for distance learning courses thru CTY but about 10 points below the score required to enroll in summer science/math courses.
Eventual SATs:
800 CR, 730M, 780W</p>
<p>He never did any prep. He went to CTY for 4 years and loved it. He also took a distance course in math.</p>
<p>Barfly, conventional wisdom says that the ACT is more straightforward than the SAT and less inclined to include tricky questions. My suggestion would be to have him take a look at a couple sections of each and see if he finds one more fun that the other.</p>
<p>Did your older boys take both tests; and do better on one vs. the other? Maybe that’s an indicator.
Many people on CC say the ACT is a better test of what you’ve actually learned-- which might make the SAT a better test for a 7th grader. Would they accept the results of a second test if you took it outside the talent search process?</p>
<p>Thanks for the good advice, Consolation and ILoveLA. His oldest brother did great on PSAT and ACT, less well on SAT. I did better on ACT many moons ago. Middle brother is a sophomore, so no data there. Anyway, family history suggests ACT might be a better choice. I will keep that in mind, then have him take Consolations advice and try a few questions from each and see which he finds more fun! “Fun-ness” would be a great tie-breaker. </p>
<p>I’m not concerned about whether his results will make him elligible for courses, etc., because I just don’t think he would be interested at this time in his life. If it doesn’t involve a ball, he tunes it out!</p>
<p>Barfly, I would recommend the ACT without the writing section. It is shorter than the SAT, and you want your son to have a good first experience with this type of test.</p>