<p>I was reading my thread from 2009, and I posted this! "FWIW, I don’t think my son has any interest in Math, he’s just better at it than he is at things like History and English. And the "problem sets’ thing settles it! He may change a lot in a year or two, but you won’t see me pushing him in that direction! " LOL.</p>
<p>I just don’t believe someone making a Hunchy comment in 1970 in an ivy league school meant anything closer what it means as mentioned by a Fitzsimmons of Harvard yesterday.</p>
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<p>What do you think a score of 700 or lower (the horror!) prevents a person from achieving, collegealum314? A score of 700 on SAT math would have put someone at the 93rd percentile in 2012. I can see how, holistic admissions notwithstanding, that person would not be a shoo in for elite college admissions (because, as Pizzagirl said upthread, the intense demand for spots at elite schools gives them the option to “cherry pick” among strong candidates). And maybe that person would not be a likely suspect for the Fields Medal. But do you really think that someone who scores better than 93 percent of the test takers on the math section has a marginal understanding of math? Your perspective may be skewed by your own brilliance in this area (I assume, since you suggest that anyone who gets more than one or two questions wrong on the SAT that you had a tip-top score). </p>
<p>Would you mind telling me (if not, I understand) if you currently have a job and, if so, for how long you’ve been working? Are you managing people? What is your field? Are you working in a corporate environment with people who come from different academic backgrounds or strictly with high-altitude math achievers?</p>
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<p>How could you have missed post #1356? :)</p>
<h1>1522. That’s funny ,Shrinkrap! Sorry your son is still having to work so hard but it says really good things about him that he is still hanging in there. Good luck to him!</h1>
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<p>The SAT tests what should be junior high school level math for good students. A score of 700 IMO is equivalent to getting a B or B+ in junior high math – at the end of high school. Of course, there is plenty of room in the world for B math students. Most people are not going to be physicists and mathematicians.</p>
<p>How do you explain then a 710 SAT kid getting nothing but A’s in college in calculus, differential equations, physics,statistics,etc? Obviously, some kids that you consider to be a B or B + level math student can do well in college.</p>
<p>^ what was that kid’s score in ACT math? Personally, I don’t think SAT I math measures much more than basic math skills and it is true that the math skills needed are rudimentary, i.e., junior high to 9th grade level. Some kids just don’t test well in that type of math test.</p>
<p>Well, texaspg, That kid was one of my kids and he did not take the ACT(and also did no prep for the SAT). I just don’t see that 710 or 700 or (horrors) getting under 700 means you should not pursue math. And I also know, math is not for everyone and some kids prefer to pursue other things.</p>
<p>Subject Math tests (Math I and Math II) are better indicators of future Math prowess. I do know people who have scored a 5 in AP Calculus BC who seemed unable to cross 720+ unless they took it multiple times.</p>
<p>This kid did not take calculus in high school(just didn’t want to) or take Math subject tests. Older kid had 780 M SAT and 800 on SAT ll and 5 on AP Calculus BC. Younger son has done just as well in college (if not better) as older son.</p>
<p>^OTOH, topping an older sibling is a strong motivator since they are measured by that yardstick. :p</p>
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<p>Complete bull.</p>
<p>Yes, texaspg,He was somewhat of a slacker in high school (to the frustration of parents and teachers). He was all state in his sport but studying was not his cup of tea. He had alot to live up to following his brother. Luckily, he has turned it around in college where it really counts.</p>
<p>To absweet: thanks for your civil post. It’s a difficult and complex question to answer as to what various indexes of academic performance mean, how they should be interpreted, and what limitations (if any) that they imply. I will try to come back to that question to give a more complete explanation.</p>
<p>However, I think it is to one’s advantage when given tests of various kinds (class, standardized exams, any challenging activity) to try to find significance in it. If you think the test is worthless and is an indication of money and nothing more, it’s going to be difficult to motivate oneself to aquire what skills you need. </p>
<p>I don’t know what grades in math class a 700 corresponds to, but all you need is algebra I and II and geometry to ace the SAT I and II math. The highest regular track usually completes that by freshman year of high school. It’s possible more advanced classes reinforce those basic skills, so it might help to be more advanced by the time you take the class.</p>
<p>"How could you have missed post #1356? "</p>
<p>Well, I will read again ( I did WAY better on the reading portion), but i don’t think you are giving your opinion of whether a high SAT score, without studying, is a STUDENTS “accomplishment”. I gather it is an accomplishment of the two gene pools.</p>
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Was that a typo? No regular track will have finished that before the end of junior year. The most advanced class at many schools will finish those courses as sophomores with a tiny handful perhaps as freshman. (At least that’s how it is at our very large, pretty good suburban school.) No one gets to start Algebra until 8th grade unless you kick and scream. (Which I did and it was like pulling teeth to get them to let my son advance in middle school. Thankfully the high school was always much more accommodating.)</p>
<p>I think the hardest thing about doing well in SAT math is reading the questions correctly. My older son got tripped up every time, by misreading the questions and/or leaving out steps on easy easy problems. He always did better on hard tests than easy ones.</p>
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<p>+1 10characters</p>
<p>^^Yes, you’re right, I guess the highest regular track would take algebra as an 8th grader. There was a handful at my junior high who took it as a 7th grader, but I guess you wouldn’t consider that a regular track. I was a weird case–not sure what the others had to do to get into the class.</p>
<p>So, we’ve gone from Asian genetic superiority- to their high scores being a matter of pushing test prep and study- to all you need is to have gotten through Alg I and II ? (At least for the S2’s.)</p>