<p>My younger son just recieved an invitation to take either the SAT/ACT as part of the Duke TIP program. My older S is a freshman now and took the SAT so my initial thought was the ACT (to avoid comparrison) but with the new SAT the scores would be different anyway. Assuming a younger student benefits from the experience which would you recommend?</p>
<p>take a look at samples of both. Some kids do better on one and some on the other, and it doesn’t particularly relate to age.</p>
<p>I took the SAT through the Duke TIP program in the 7th grade, but looking back I wish I had taken the ACT. (This might be very different now because I haven’t taken either of these tests in over ten years) As some one in the field of gifted education, I can tell you that talent searches like Duke TIP are not using the ACT/SAT to measure academic achievement like with high school students. Research has shown that 7th graders who take these tests at this level are actually demonstrating advanced reasoning (since they are being tested on material that they usually have not been taught.) At the time, the SAT penalized you for wrong answers, but the ACT does not. Therefore, a young student taking the ACT would be rewarded for something they used their reasoning skills to figure out, but wouldn’t be scared to mark it if they weren’t 100% sure. I remember being anxious to mark an answer I wasn’t sure of because of the penalty. Also, I think the ACT tends to be easier on the younger students because of two sections: reading and science reasoning. Both of these sections can yield high scores for young kids with great reading comprehension. Because the SAT only does verbal and math, I feel like it doesn’t allow them to use their reasoning skills to their benefit as well. Math will more than likely be the lower score for either test because there is so much that your student hasn’t been introduced to yet. Hopefully this is helpful. Having the opportunity to take either will be a good experience because it will reduce the anxiety of not knowing what to expect when it’s time to take it for “real.”</p>
<p>I am a middle school counselor in the midwest. Our kids get invited to participate in the Northwestern University program. I usually recommend that 7th graders take the ACT and 8th graders take the SAT. First, the ACT is the predominant test in our area so if the kids only do this once, they should do the one that they are most likely to take in high school. (You may want to find out which test is the dominate one in your state.) The ACT is also more like the standardized tests they are used to taking in school. The format will look more familiar to them and they are less likely to feel overwhelmed. Finally, in our area, many, many more middle school kids take the ACT as part of talent search. Because of that, they have talent search only test sites where the students are taking the ACT with other middle school students rather than with high schoolers. (If they take the SAT they have to do it at the same sites as high school students.)You may want to see if there are such sites available in your area. Again, 7th graders may feel more comfortable testing with age mates rather than doing it at a high school.</p>
<p>When my daughter was a 7th grader she didn’t get a choice of ACT for TIP, and we live in a TIP state! I think Teach may have a point - the ACT might be better for 7th graders, although the math is a little more advanced. When my daughter took the SAT, the 7th graders were at the same testing site as the high school kids, but took the test in rooms reserved for them, so they were actually separate from the high schoolers.</p>
<p>The vast majority (probably 95%) of the kids here take the ACT in 7th for TIP. And most years that’s around 150 kids. My kids both think that was the better test at that age. They both prefer the SAT in high school (but only because of the science section of the ACT, which is less science than reading they tell me). The 7th graders from every public & private school take the ACT together at a different school than the high schoolers. The SAT kids take it with the high schoolers. </p>
<p>Also, my youngest went to Duke 2 summers and absolutely loved it. It’s expensive, but worth it IMO. The academics were fun and challenging, but he loved being around “kids like him.” (Those are his words.)</p>
<p>Well, it’s only 7th grade. Really, what difference does it make?? </p>
<p>That being said, my D picked the SAT in 7th grade because it was supposed to be a ‘reasoning’ test, while the ACT was supposed to test what you had learned in school. It seemed to make a lot more sense to trust her own reasoning skills than to be tested on subjects she was years from taking. (She later did a TIP summer program and loved it.)</p>
<p>Last year - Jr year - she chose the ACT because she was spooked by early reports that the new SAT was a ‘grueling marathon’. Our state is an ‘ACT state’, but that wasn’t really a factor in either decision. She got a 33 composite and is not retaking either one.</p>
<p>Both my boys took the ACT via Duke Tip in 7th grade. No real reason other than it is more subject areas, hence better chance to score well in at east one subject. Kids tested alongside high schoolers, which both honestly enjoyed, as they were under no pressure to do well but observed stressed high schoolers. My youngest tested in same room with his brother’s girlfriend. If I had known I would have had her drive him to the test sight!!</p>
<p>I always suggest parents allow kids to do this, as it is a great “no loss” testing experience. 7th graders have nothing to lose, but potentially receive acknowledgement for a strong showing in a test they will have to take in a few years anyway. Some sevies actually prepare for the exam, however, my kids went in pretty blind and both did quite well. Preparing would have defeated the purpose of the “no stress” testing environment.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your responses. I know its no biggie, but as I have to choose I wanted your imput. My S would like to take the SAT - so I suppose I should let him make the choice. The SAT is dominant in our area, but with the reports of last years exam being a Marathon and his older brothers recent success as a High School student (800 Verbal) I think the ACT is the better choice.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about one son’s 7th grade SAT being compared with another’s 11th or 12th grade SAT. Even if those kids were equally bright, the former is likely to be a 300 points below the latter – but the younger one may well catch up in future. I think you’re right to avoid putting sibs on the same scale, so to speak, but they will surely differ in many other ways and this isn’t one that you should worry about. (I also had an older one who got nearly perfect SAT I and SAT II scores, scores that the one who was three years younger could only hope to achieve – but then again, she never hoped to achieve those because she marched to a different tune and had different interests.)</p>
<p>My kids both took the SAT when they were in 7th & 8th grade as part of the John Hopkins Talent Search. Both did OK (actually son’s scores got him scholarships to take 2 free courses at a local university & he actually did take one course). </p>
<p>I think taking any test helps the kids get more familiar with the format & what’s expected of them. The scores will NOT be part of their record unless they take it after 8th grade. The 1st time son took the test, he took it with the computer format & loved it because he didn’t have to fill in any bubbles (just worked at a computer terminal). It did cost extra & you couldn’t go back & review or change answers. The subsequent testing for both kids was done in a nearby HS, but the younger kids were kept in separate rooms & not mingled with the HS kids. For what it’s worth, some kids even in 7th grade score high enough that they would be admitted at many colleges, but sometimes the scoring is quite uneven (much higher in one subject than the other). My kids started receiving college mail after those exams, particularly from schools they listed on their registration forms.</p>
<p>SAT is by far the main test taken in our state, tho many do take ACT in their junior year, especially if they may apply to schools that require or accept it.</p>
<p>very helpful, thanks!</p>
<p>My kids enjoyed freaking out the seniors and did better than most of them to boot. I don’t think it much matters which you take, we live in SAT country so it didn’t come up. I think the SAT essays are pretty hard for a 7th or 8th grader - neither of my kids liked them, while the sorts of questions on ACT essays I think are much easier to address. (If you even do ACT with writing for the talent search programs.)</p>
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