<p>My 8 year old will be taking the
SCAT (school and college ability exam) EXAM. How do we help him prepare for this?</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>No advice from me, sorry. But this is one of those thread titles that I am compelled to click on out of sheer curiousity. :)</p>
<p>When I saw this post, I assumed it was some sort of put-on. Having done a quick google, alas, perhaps not.</p>
<p>So here’s my advice. Given the fact that your 8-year-old doesn’t stand a chance of Ivy League admission unless it’s all locked up by the time he (or she) turns 10, I suggest that you do the following:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Keep him (or her) inside as much as possible. (It’s hard to imagine that anything useful could be learned outside.)</p></li>
<li><p>Keep him (or her) away from other children as much as possible. (After all, at least 99% of these other kids aren’t in the top 1%.)</p></li>
<li><p>Keep him (or her) from doing anything that a “normal” 8-year-old might want to do. (Since the more “normal” your child is, the less “gifted” he [or she] is.)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>I thought it might be about Ella Fitzgerald.</p>
<p>But I’ll give you a serious answer. This test is given for various reasons, such as getting into programs like Hopkins’ Center for Talented Youth (CTY). So it’s not a facetious question. The answer is probably that your son is already well prepared for the test if he’s doing well in school and has been recommended for some program that requires it. If he’s nervous about standardized tests, I suppose you could have him take some sample tests (I don’t know if there are SCAT prep books, but I wouldn’t be surprised). Really, though, I would suggest that the best preparation is a good night’s sleep and a lot of positive encouragement from his parents.</p>
<p>I guess the question is…why is your child taking this test?</p>
<p>Seems to me that if an eight year old is taking this test for CTY or some other gifted/talented recognition or advanced study placement, the child should not need to prepare. </p>
<p>But isn’t an eight year old too young for CTY??</p>
<p>Assuming you are taking it for a talent search, you shouldn’t have your son do extra preparation. The point is to see how kids do with an out of level exam for which they shouldn’t know the material. If you get a practice exam when you sign up, your son should do it so that he is familiar with the format, but that’s plenty - really.</p>
<p>I’ll admit when I opened this thread, I had no idea what it was about and thought it had something to do with jazz singing as my kid sings jazz and has had to sing scat. </p>
<p>But OK, I was WAY off. I had to look up SCAT test. I was not familiar with the term. However, when my youngest child was in fifth and sixth grade, she did do the Talent Search through JHU/CTY. She was ten and then eleven. But I think the test had a different name at the time. It wasn’t SCAT. Anyway, I don’t recall ANY preparation at all. I think it is to gauge the student’s current level and I don’t think kids prep for this and I can’t see doing that. My kid had no intentions of attending CTY summer programs but simply participated in the test and garnered awards/achievements. She also did the CTY talent search in seventh and eighth grades (which involved taking the SATs), again, just to do an academic recognition thing. She had no interest in the summer programs but did win awards. Later, she did take a CTY course long distance in writing. </p>
<p>The most prep I can imagine doing is if there is a sample practice test provided, your child could become familiar with the format. Otherwise, the idea is to just gauge his level and prep is not needed.</p>
<p>When I saw the thread title, I thought someone was dealing with wild animal “evidence” from a hunting trip…:)</p>
<p>^^Ditto, since yesterday I read an article about how a Lab in the PNW was trained to sniff for orca scat, so it could be tested to determine why the orcas are dying off.</p>
<p>Truth be told, besides thinking of scat as in jazz music, I was also thinking of animal “evidence” too but just mentioned the cleaner of the two thoughts I had. :D</p>
<p>soozie, it used to be the PLUS test.</p>
<p>patgo, I concur with those who say no prep is needed beyond, perhaps, a sample test. A good night’s sleep and relaxed parents who tell the kid the test is just to see how he does, that there may be questions he can’t answer and that’s okay, and who take him out for ice cream afterwards are all that’s really needed.</p>
<p>From plus to scat - LOL! FindAPlace, I thought of the same article!</p>
<p>(Here in Seattle we have SLUT - South Lake Union Transit (a trolley that runs from the lake to downtown).</p>
<p>owlice…ah, that’s what it was called…PLUS!</p>
<p>Yes. If there is a practice test to become comfortable with the format, fine.</p>
<p>Other than that, a laid back approach that includes sharing the fact that there will probably be questions on material he doesn’t know–no big deal–and no pressure.</p>
<p>Perhaps about Mel Torme? Scatman Caruthers? John Scatman? Or just a dislike of felines?</p>
<p>I believe these are the standardized tests we took a millennia ago. The basic info applies as to any new experience–lots of rest and good nutrition the day before and morning of the exam. I know schools that provide breakfasts to students who may not have otherwise eaten before they take the exam.</p>
<p>There is absolutely NO need for any tutoring. The test is really just to see how your kiddo has learned what he supposedly has been taught to date and is more a reflection of his instructors and school than the student. That said, encourage your child to listen to the instructions and ask if he doesn’t understand any of them.</p>
<p>This thread is almost five years old. Perhaps,starting a new thread would be better. You might also find more information on a forum other than a college forum.</p>
<p>I believe the most important thing is to keep everything as low key as possible, so your child doesn’t start developing test taking anxiety and just does as well as he or she can without that added burden.</p>
<p>Taking standardized tests early is not only helpful for the talent searches, it is very helpful in getting the habit of standardized tests established, so they are not as momentous later on.</p>
<p>So think WAY ahead. What skills do you want kiddo to learn that will help with the SAT when it does mater?</p>
<p>Some ideas
- Get the little SCAT prep booklet and read it through and practice reading the INSTRUCTIONS, doing the practice questions, and filling in the bubbles and their name. Do they need a calculator? What type?</p>
<p>2) Somewhere it will say whether you lose points for a wrong answer. If so, teach not to guess unless you can eliminate 1 or 2 choices (not guess wildly). Tell your child that the test is made so many smart people do not know the right answer to each question on purpose. This is not like a test in school that covers material everyone should know. </p>
<p>3) DO NOT STRESS. This is a test just to be cool, and any score is very good, we love you and will celebrate that you just did it. You are not being compared to anybody but yourself, maybe next year you can see how much better you did.</p>
<p>4) Sometimes the test is a little too long, so try to set up a system to keep track of time and not spend too much time on any 1 question. </p>
<p>Think of how hard it is for your child to face this long test, with no prior experience, and fear of failure. Try hard to make this a positive learning experience, most definitely go out for ice cream after, and be sure to CELEBRATE ANY SCORE. </p>
<p>My 2 Ds took loads of EXPLORE, SCAT, Spatial test battery (that one is fun), and eventually SATs through the talent searches. Any SAT score before age 13 is automatically wiped (but can be kept if requested in writing).</p>
<p>The SCAT test is only 22 minutes per each of the 2 sections, so not VERY long, according to what I read. Most of us and our kids had really NO prep (in fact we and our parents had no idea we were having exams until after scores arrived–or if the kiddo brought home a note from school, encouraging well-rested and nourished kid for exam).</p>