<p>Keshira - your assumption is a rational one, but I doubt that there is anyway I could persuade my student to do a prep course. It is just her nature. I am happy for it - she is an unconventional thinker - but that same behavioral trait also makes for very challenging parenting. I pick my battles oh so carefully, if at all. Not having much parenting in my own youth (well, really none since I was 16 years on), I find the responses here helpful. </p>
<p>And I do want to make a couple of points - there is a difference between keeping SAT scores and the like in perspective - they should not be a be all and end all - but that doesn’t mean they are meaningless either, if used properly as a tool. By this mean is a student scoring 1700 or 1800 likely be able to do the same level of college work as a 2300 scorer? There are always a scant few exceptions, but by and large that kind of point difference is fairly meaningful, and to this extent, the scores should guide as to what kind of institution is appropriate in terms of challenge and curricula. I saw this in graduate school, where 70th percentile standardized test scorers admitted thought they were just as prepared (or so the school’s diversity camp led them to believe) as the 96th percentile scorers that reflected the mean of the school - they largely weren’t - and I felt they were never prepared to deal with the inevitable deep disappointment that would ensue - something that would not have happened if they went to a better matched school. </p>
<p>And as far as bragging rights go - I am not against bragging rights per se - we all have egos here - but let’s face it - if one want to go for bragging rights - pursue something meaningful rather than obtaining a score on a standardized test. The test itself accomplishes nothing - only helps get a foot in the door - but that door swings open based on a number of factors, and even then, once in any door, the most important thing by far is traversing the right hallways and ending up at the right kind of exit - a long, measured process that bears little relationship to the instant gratification offered by a good SAT score.</p>