Re: Pirates
DS would love that. He did about 3 years of fencing, several weeks of sailing camps, and one week of archery camp. No shooting. :ar!
I just mentioned it to him, and he’d already heard about it from friends. He says it’s really hard to get into those four PE classes at MIT, because “Who wouldn’t want a Pirate Licence from MIT?”
Does anyone know if the ACT ever repeats tests?
@RightCoaster Wow, I thought College Board only repeated SAT tests overseas (where cheating is rampant because of that). There are also some kids reporting they had the same test as March on the test thread at http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1894638-june-2016-sat-us-only-thread.html#latest
I’m not making a huge deal out of it, but it does seem weird that you would get the same test as the one you just
took 2 months ago. I’m certain this would’ve benefited my kid, as he reviewed all of his incorrect answers a while back. He probably would’ve done much better taking the same test again! And to have 2 kids at the same small town cook out claim they got the same test just seemed weird to me. Why wouldn’t there be some kind of mechanism in place to stop that? Seems odd.
I imagine giving the same test as one given 2 months ago was not what CB intended. Sounds like a CB error and I hope for all those that took the test yesterday CB doesn’t cancel the results. That’s just an unbelievable and unacceptable error for CB to make.
Did the students who took it in March have access to the correct answers in their score report or online account so that if they got the same one for the June exam they’d really have a big advantage if they had gone over the March exam?
I think they had access to their scores/answers although I’m not 100% certain, as my wife has been handling test prep stuff with my son. But I’m pretty sure my son got his scores back and looked them over with my wife ( not positive though!)
The 2 kids that told us they got the same test were good students and scored in the 700’s on the 1st test in march. I didn’t ask them if they had studied what they’d missed on the 1st test. They were not making a big deal about it,just slipped it into the conversation. It was a brief discussion and I didn’t think much about it until we got home and I was able to talk to my son that had taken the test earlier in the day.
thanks much @RightCoaster – if I were a student taking the exam and learned of this, I would definitely feel that it is unfair for some students to get the same test they already took. I don’t know how often this happens- I heard the old SAT got recycled prior to its retirement and at least 1 was reused.
I’ll check later with my wife to confirm we got the answers from March test and will let you know later.
Maybe my son will get lucky next week and get the same ACT test or at least the “ACT For Dummies” version 
There must be one test that is easier than others right? Ha.
Ours has been resisting getting her full license for a good while, but it’d be useful for her to have—so she took and passed the driving test yesterday (Saturday) without getting her license yet, since licenses are only issued on weekdays. (The state contracts out to private companies to run the road tests.) I called the insurance company (background: neither my wife nor I have ever had a non-parking ticket or an at-fault accident, so we don’t pay all that much for a good package), and found out that the moment she gets her license, our insurance premiums nearly precisely literally double. :((
I started a separate thread on the reused SAT, because I think this is something that would interest the test prep consultant types who inhabit the SAT/ACT prep forums and like to rail on the College Board: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/1896485-college-board-repeats-march-sat-as-one-of-forms-at-june-sat-sitting.html#latest
For a student who scored 700+ and so only missed a few questions, they probably know at least some of the questions they got wrong or guessed on, even if they don’t see the questions after the test. And anyway, students go on Reddit or whatever to talk endlessly about specific questions.
I thought they only reused old tests in Asia/Europe and then it is tests that are a year or so old.
1/10 of probability, or 10% chance that someone gets the same yest as last time, according to D, as there are 10 tests and March test is an independent event.
Shipman seems almost like a secret society. I would hazard a guess that kids are chosen partially on stats, but mostly based on ECs, especially volunteering:
Re the ACT – as I have heard it, each time it is administered a section or two are easier/harder than the last – so if math is a bit easier one time then reading/English would be harder and it would switch the next time.
hoo, got some catching up to do! I started on page 425 the last time I was on. I’m fighting a head cold that is making want to do nothing but sleep, which I’m doing :). I just woke up from nap #2 and helped D and H put together a new desk for her room. H brought home a HUGE monitor from work that had a gouge in the corner of the screen and was going to be tossed, so he gave it to her. The video quality is mind boggling!!!
@WhereIsMyKindle wrote
I remember in images and smells, not words at all. It’s like my memory is all scented pictures. My husband remembers all the hilarious things people say, though. Super good memory for words and numbers.
I drove D17 to and from the SAT test (no essay) since it was in a way the heck out of the place about 40 minutes from the house (the ones close by were filled), and I didn’t want her to stress about getting there and not do as well on the test. The way she’s wired if I didn’t be her “got your pencil, charge your calculator, don’t forget your pants” voice in her ear she wouldn’t think about any of those things.
She said it was VERY similar to the old SAT test she took in Dec, and not like the new PSAT at all, so who knows. She says she missed 3 on the non-calculator part of the test because she ran out of time.
I want to see how she did before we send off the scores. I think she can do four for free by June 15, but I may be mis-remembering that. We haven’t sent any off yet, so I don’t know if we get to pick and choose either the dec one and this one, or they just whoosh send them all to wherever.
Next week is the ACT and then the two SAT II’s in October, and then (hopefully) she’s done. I can’t see taking the ACT more than once (she’s doing the writing part as well). If she does make the NMSF cut off but doesn’t have the confirming score for the SAT she might have to take that one again. Ugh, I hope not.
D18 starts studying for the PSAT tomorrow with Magoosh. She finishes driver’s ed today, and our agreement was that she’d do 30 min of Magoosh up to the PSAT, and then take the SAT in June like her sister, sticking with the magoosh on weeknights.
No assignments over the summer as far as I know. There might be a reading assignment for D17 in her lit class, she won’t do it until a week before school, though, I know her.
Hi @whataboutcollege welcome to the circus. We’re also merit hunting for D17.
@2muchquan wrote
Every time we get anything D says “more propaganda!”
What are supplements, btw? I’m assuming you don’t mean Flintstone’s vitamins…
I know that the January 2016 Old SAT (the very last one) was a recycled one from 2014. October I think. The thread discussing questions in 2014 confirmed it.
So a few juniors who took the SAT in freshman year took that test twice. In the SAT thread, some were saying ‘really? I took both times, but I don’t remember a thing’ to others ‘yes, I remember and I got 2350+ this time.’ I’m pretty sure there is a significant advantage taking the same test again even if one does not remember a thing.
This was 15 months apart. 2 months apart is just too soon! :-&
Not that it matters to me as DS17 has no plan of taking the new SAT. But still! :-&
DS says “Trash!” and tosses the mailings to recycling.
U Chicago sends so much.
@MotherOfDragons Supplements are the supplementary essays the colleges put out in addition to the Common App essays. They are often “Why This School?” type of questions.
Kids take Gummy Vites still for supplements
I thought you can send the scores by Wednesday 6/8th evening, or was it the cancelation. In any case, you can have one free report sent to the NMSC. Send another later if D gets to take another one. I think you can choose which dates to send but the current test is chosen always by default for free ones.
@RightCoaster I’m sure your DS doesn’t need a dummies’ version of the ACT but difficulty does vary. DS prepped pretty well for the October test last year then just did a quick refresher for December. He felt about the same after each, but his science subscore jumped 8 pts. Other sections he scored within a point or two of his October score. It just depends on the questions you get that day, I guess.
Eta: I see @CA1543 response now. That’s interesting.
Woot, D passed her driving test! @dfbdfb, we were in pretty much the same position as you. D realized last Wednesday that her permit was going to expire this coming Tuesday. Thank goodness I was able to make an appointment with one of those private companies today (and she had a 2 hour lesson right before the test with the same instructor). So, tomorrow the SAT and license office Tuesday. I haven’t even looked at insurance yet, so I have mixed feelings that you reminded me. ^#(^
On the SAT repeating, that definitely seems like an error. Someone (here or in another thread) mentioned that kids with accommodations (which D has) get a different test. Makes sense because I know last time D had to take it the Wednesday after the official date. This time she was supposed to take it Saturday but the school test coordinator called in a panic Friday late afternoon because they didn’t have enough proctors (maybe each accommodations kid gets their own, but not sure) and wanted to see if we could switch. I’ll ask her tomorrow if it was the same test out of curiosity.
My mom had to keep a close eye on the Flintstones vitamins after she realized I was eating four or five at a time instead of one. But they were so delicious!
@IABooks ah yes, no need for a “dummies” test. My son is a decent student. I was just trying to say I would be happy if he got the “dummies” version because maybe he could ace the science section and then we’d just be done with testing!!
@snoozn I thought our insurance would go thru the roof when adding son to our policy, but it only increased a few hundred dollars. Nice surprise!
We keep getting nicer propaganda as we get closer to application time. Nice big colorful brochures. We used to get more postcard type letters. I like to look at them even if son17 has no interest. I’ve definitely learned a few things reading the junk mail, so I don’t mind it.