<p>My son has taken four AP tests and three SAT subject tests. The SAT subject tests seem an awful lot easier than the AP tests. It seems as though, if someone has taken an AP test in a given subject, there is nothing more to demonstrate by taking the SAT in the same subject.</p>
<p>Also, since there is a math section on the regular SAT, why have two math subject tests as well? My son got nearly the same score (within 10 points) on the Math II subject test and the regular SAT math section. I'm sure not everyone's scores are this close, but it still made me wonder if there is any point in having three SAT math tests.</p>
<p>Any thoughts?</p>
<p>P.S. No credit will be given for the answer, "SAT subject tests are useful because some colleges require you to take them."</p>
<p>The material on the math subject tests are very different from the material on the SAT math section, which is considered, “elementary” or “basic”. Also, subject tests are more based around “curriculum” and subject knowledge. Some colleges want to see what students can excel at; and subject tests are the best methods of showing dominance. AP courses are more college-work related and deal with credits. They aren’t discounted or anything, though.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply, Islander4. Please tell me what you mean by “showing dominance” in a subject. Do you mean that AP tests show what you have already learned in a subject, but subject tests show what you have the potential to learn, even if you haven’t had the coursework yet?</p>
<p>AP tests are based off of what is learned in courses created by the College Board. Subject tests are designed to test what a student has learned in high school (as well as give students a chance to evince their supposed mastery) and measure how well they do in a particular field. The funny thing about the subject tests, though, is that they are heavily derived from AP material or subject material not always taught in most high schools.</p>
<p>Way back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, SAT subject test demonstrated subject matter knowledge of a mid/high range high school curriculum. Take high school chem, then take high school chem subject test. It created a level playing field or metric for teaching of high school subjects.</p>
<p>Somehow in the intervening years, one needed to do advanced work, take a second year or a college course to do well in the subject tests. It stopped being a test of high-school level knowledge. So the admissions folks no longer have any metric for measuring high school level work.</p>
<p>How I wish it were still like that! I’ve posted in other threads how unhappy I am that colleges continue to emphasize high school grades, which are often very different for students of comparable ability at different schools. A test geared toward a “standard” high school curriculum would help level that playing field.</p>
<p>If this trend continues, will AP tests one day supplant SAT subject tests completely? So far it doesn’t seem to be happening—I know of no colleges that accept AP scores in lieu of SAT subject test scores—but isn’t it a logical progression?</p>
<p>I can’t see that happening anytime soon. AP courses are challenging, difficult, and above the norm of most high school curricula. Plus, they don’t cover all the fields of the subject tests. Besides, the College Board won’t cause such a phenomenon to happen anytime soon. The corporation may be “not-for-profit”, but it’s not going to do anything that would disrupt one of its revenue sources.</p>
<p>Not all schools offer APs. Some schools charge students for each AP exam which limits the number and socioeconomic type of students that can take the exam. Also, some schools won’t let students take AP classes without “testing in” to the class, so as to not pull down the pass rate.</p>
<p>Because students across America have uneven access to AP exams, it’s unfair to completely depend on AP exams to show a student’s understanding of material beyond the SAT I material. SAT IIs are much more widely available and on a more standardized basis, so they tend to even the playing field a little while still testing the same type of material as what’s on the AP exams.</p>
<p>Personally I found the SAT subject tests more difficult than the APs. Yes, the individual questions are easier, but each one counts much more against you; and besides, 1-5 just isn’t a very accurate range. I value my 800 in US History much more than my 5 - I feel like the SAT II really gave me a chance to demonstrate my knowledge, however corny and ridiculous that may sound!</p>
<p>anonymityyy, corny and ridiculous or not, I feel the same way. It’s very satisfying to ace a standardized test. To me it was a way of saying to the world, “I may have gotten a C, but doggone it, I know my stuff!”</p>
<p>They’re very useful for those like me who don’t have access to AP classes. Without standardized tests, I don’t think I’d have any way to demonstrate that I’m capable of competing with kids taking more advanced courseloads than I have access to.</p>
<p>I agree with anon–the curve on some AP tests is so large that someone who got a 680 and someone who got an 800 on the subject test would still receive the same score. While neither are bad scores in the least, one is far more desirable than the other, but would be represented the exact same way if we moved to AP-only.</p>