hey! :]
I’m a student w/accommodations on the SAT and I am more than willing to give some tips.
It might be a long process for your kid, depending on their adaptability with the test, but I took the SAT 4x and PSAT 1x and I’ve finally got my desired score of 1300+ (I got a 1310* on the August 24 administration).
*Breakdown: 660 Reading and Writing, 650 Math (w/o superscoring!)
my accomodations:
time and one-half (for both math and reading & writing. I am mentioning this because I know that if you have extra time in only Math you are not permitted to get extra time for the Reading part of the examination.), extra breaks, and small group setting (except this one is implied at a lot of test centers).
Personally, I think that taking the SAT in a different location outside of my school is easier for me because the stressors I get from taking things within my district are hard to manage.
I took my first sitting of the SAT in my school and found it overwhelming. Plus, I got a 1080 (but then again I was battling a mental health situation at the same time).
Plus, there was not much discrepancy from my PSAT, because I got a 1000 on it and was elated that I got 4 digits. I went into the PSAT super cold, I did very little preparation over the summer.
That breakdown - 440: Evidence Based Reading & Writing; 560: Math.
The only problem: I took the PSAT in October and literally did very little preparation for the March SAT. Please tell them that they should do preparation if they’re taking both within a large gap.
Anyways, I took my May, June, and August sittings in different schools, and it’s definitely harder to cope with the fact that you can’t be comfortable and know where everything is because it’s not your school, but it becomes manageable.
Plus, all the proctors and staff are really there to help you take the SAT under the BEST conditions and circumstances possible.
If you feel it’s strictly necessary, you could contact the school. That’s something I can’t really comment on, because I’ve never had to, but the locations I’ve taken the exam at were accommodation friendly, and I think all test centers should be the same way.
I get your concern with the test being “high stakes”, as it is. From a personal standpoint, the newer digital SAT is adaptive - in two ways.
Obviously, it’s adaptive in the sense that you can progress based on Module 1 progress, but from a personal perspective, the new SAT is also even more adaptive to extended time testers, because in the past, we (I’m referring to the collective group of test takers with accommodations) would stay in the testing center for longer periods of time.
I do have a question for you, actually: Do you know how your kid paces themself for in-class exams?
Last thing, I realized that you mentioned a snack question.
This may sound…off…but I took snacks for my PSAT & all 4 of my SAT sittings.
However, for my August examination, I was going to eat my pistachios. Which, nut allergies are a big thing and I completely forgot that nuts are a common allergen.
So I chose not to eat them.
Funny enough, my highest score was recorded when I chose not to eat.
But I believe that for the first one or first two to bring a snack, as sitting in a room over long durations can get tiring and may induce hunger.
If they do bring a snack, I recommend Frooze Balls [1] - they’re tiny and cause minimal distraction, while also filling you up pretty well.
But also, make sure they bring water!! Water…obviously with its multiple benefits is obvious on the To-Bring List.
Lastly, if you have any questions from a student’s perspective, you can reply to this post or direct message me, your choice!