@Heading2HS What exactly are you looking for? Have you checked both web sites?
my child is double SET at age 12 (6th grade). He tried a few exam on Khan Academy. I am wondering what kids/parents could get from CTY SET? It’s very challenge for parents to manage such kind of kids. We have to give him enough things to do after the summer camp, otherwise he will spend hours on video games …
My DD13 just qualified for SET with a verbal score of 770. Math was 690 with 5 missed. The June SAT Math especially has been controversial for its harsh grading curve. Knowing her, my guess is that she would have been double SET in a different month. FWIW, she has only done upto algebra 1, the 5 questions she missed were on topics she has not been exposed to, and I heard that you need to have actually studied the math for the new SAT. Don’t know how far that is true though as this is our first experience with the SAT.
oh and she did no test prep apart from couple of the SAT exams from the college board to get used to the format - calculator/no calculator etc. But she is an avid reader so no special prep needed.
@cambridgemum I agree these kids have a ton of energy. My DD has way too many interests and not enough time. If your kid likes videos games, does he code? Perhaps teach him to be a producer of games, rather than just a consumer? Good luck!
It is mid-summer, and a peak reading time.
During the school year, we mostly let the kids read what they want to and when they want to - so long as they are reading, which they always do.
During the extended breaks, in the past, we have tried to persuade them to read different books.
Good books should be fun, important, and good, and different from what they read. (I know they read fun and good books. I am not sure they read enough important books and certainly not enough non-fictions.) We had very limited successes. At times, it feels like the more we try the less our messages get across. I might even guess that in their eyes the parents/emperors have no clothes.
How do you influence your SET children on what they reading? I am interested in knowing what list of books you would consider good/great for SET readers.
Happy Summer and happy reading.
Wow, so I finally just read this entire thread. Yesterday, I had only read the first couple of posts.
Someone questioned how many SET members there are? DD13’s invitation mentions that SET has served over 7000 since its inception (not sure of that date, as I found conflicting information when I googled earlier!)
As someone said, Grand Honors includes kids who are tested using SCAT. DD13 was invited to Grand Honors when she was 11 by scoring 99 %ile on Math of SCAT. Verbal was also excellent, but I think it was the Math. I actually called CTY to say we had accidentally received an invitation to Grand Honors – DD13 had taken SCAT, not SAT, and I was told they also give Grand Honors to the tippy top kids on the other tests. That’s the reason I said DD13 would probably have been double SET in another month.
There is something called Rusiian School of Math here that kids can go to after school. It is my understanding that at least some of those kids are made to take the SAT every year. Almost all of DD13’s friends attend RSM and took the SAT in 7th grade, so DD13 asked to take it for kicks. It’s interesting to know that there are kids who are being tutored for years and prepped for the SAT-M to get CTY High Honors or SET. I mean it’s still an awesome achievement that they do better than high schoolers (and certainly not all of them can), but I tend to agree with whoever said up-thread that SAT-M is now an achievement test, not a measure of innate talent. But perhaps I am biased. 
@Heading2HS A few years ago, I had a list of books from CTY and asked DD13 if she wanted to read any from that list. She had read some by that point, but never got around to ever reading anything else from there. At that age, she was always reading “fun” books and doing American Girl quizzes. I just let her be a kid. Then one of her friends introduced her to a subject (think Humanities, not STEM) That prompted questions, which led to requests to initially borrow, then buy, 800+ page books. Her friend never read these books though. I’m sure the reading books of a way higher level is what has helped her so much. She just has a genuine interest in something that she loves to read about. She has recently gained a couple of other interests that have her reading at least college level articles on the web, and books on them too. I am happy to message you the names of a couple of books if you like – just message me if you want them.
@winter2018 Just to be clear. The Russian School of Math offers advanced mathematics for kids who can’t get what they need in school. They do suggest taking the SAT ( highest level kids only). This is due to the fact that many of these kids are math kids and do score very well ( still pretty rarely SET) . They aren’t prepped in the sense of a Kaplan or Princeton. They are just tested. My kiddos took the SAT on this basis. They scored double SET. ( verbal naturally isn’t influenced by Russian Math or really any other thing than reading and comprehension). Some parents DO coach for SET. This is sad, IMO. It should be a test of very high ability if you are teaching kids based on SAT training then the score IMO isn’t very valid. Kids should be coached on SAT tests if they need a boost for college admissions, not to join SET.
When my kiddo took the SSAT, we learned that some students had studied for a year! My kiddo and I looked at how the test was scored for about five minutes. That’s it. Still scored 99%. So,…
In terms of reading, for one kiddo it’s easy. I just pass the books on. But I am always looking for books and movies which require thinking and moral understanding. We often look at really broad themes-man’s inhumanity to man, inspiration, youth etc. Often good books have good movies.
I second the idea of making video games rather than playing any.
My dc double qualified for SET. We were told by the SET counselor that double qualifiers were pretty uncommon in the SET community. I do not know if that was limited to the ones who scored in the 1500+ range.
for young kids before 13 years old birthday, they can qualify with as little as 1,400 points for double SET.
for kids after 13 years old birthday, they need to score more points. For example, if they are 13 years and 5 months old, the minimal qualification would be 1,500.
I don’t know where the upper age limit and the point limit are. Otherwise, in theory, by extending the linear relationship, kids at 13 years and 10 months old of age would need 1,600 to become double SET qualified. Obviously, that would be a very tall order.
Anecdotally, the so called double-SET is around 10% of the SET qualifiers.
Each qualification is separate, meaning in the example of a kid who is 13 years 5 months, qualifying for either verbal or math would require at least 750 in that category, i.e., can’t combine a 700 with 800 to double qualify at that age.
It is correct that you can’t qualify for SET after 13 years 10 months.
The year my kid qualified there were 28 kids for both, 46 kids for just CR, and 351 for just math. This was in 2010.
I wonder where all you guys got all these stats about, for instance, how many double SET kids there were. Ours qualified double SET in 2015 just before 12th birthday, but we submitted the scores directly to SET because ours did not take the test as part of a talent search (it was to qualify for Davidson Academy).
Our counselor never gave us a straight answer, but instead just said “very rare.” Also, I don’t recall any special recognition for double SET but we only went to a regional ceremony. Anyway, it’s sad that the Imagine magazine is no more (at least in print) - it used to have some interesting stories.
We got the same “very rare” message from SET regarding double qualfiers – no specifics, but we didn’t push for details either. No special recognition for it either, and the grand ceremony that we might have attended was canceled, supposedly due to venue issues.
I agree that it’s disappointing that Imagine magazine is gone. My understanding is that it won’t be continued electronically either.
@SatchelSF, when mine were of age, they printed all of the SET kids in the regional award ceremony brochure. I have lists from 2010 and 2011, but only noted on the brochure the totals for 2010. (There are a LOT of math SET kids, which is very humbling.) The brochure also includes “Top in Country” winners, which for math was 800 (not sure about verbal). And of course there were also kids scoring as well in programs like TIP, and possibly kids like yours that sent scores separate from the talent search.
Also, I was told once by someone in SET that math was estimated to be 1:10,000 and CR was 1:100,000, though I’m not sure I buy that.
And @sunmom1, we enjoyed the local ceremony so much more, where my kid was recognized for SET and Top in Country as one of just a handful. At the Grand Ceremony he was one of the masses.
Not a chance for math these days. I have posted many times on here that there is really a revolution going on in math education (almost all online). There is no way that a 700 represents even +3sd anymore.
At a math camp this summer our kid ran into an 11 year old who was studying Real Analysis (having done single variable calculus and linear algebra the year earlier) and I was just speaking with an acquaintance in the math department of one of the HYP schools, and they have a 10 year old attending mid-undergraduate level classes (complex analysis I believe) right now. In some ways, the future is very bright to the extent that all this interest represents a real chance to discover previously unidentified talent.
Absolutely agree! I guess I tried to force fit it onto my own math kid, as he did qualify at 11 and most IQ tests top out around 1:1000, but you are right, especially with this latest test iteration. My kid was not as advanced as the ones you mention above though!
@PAMom21, that makes sense re the ceremony. Plus your DC can enjoy the experience with classmates (at least potentially).
@SatchelSF, I agree that the numbers must be changing in connection with improvements in math education – maybe not in typical schools necessarily, but there are more quality online resources for kids with interest. However, my sense is that the kids who have the opportunity to accelerate in math are not necessarily all getting SET level scores. There are a number of factors that go into what math courses students are taking, and it’s not all about ability.
@sunmom1 - Sure, I agree with you that acceleration is not available to all students and even for those who have the option not all are getting SET level scores.
I guess I should have been clearer. I just meant that there are so many options available now for an interested student to advance - completely on her own in many cases, just using free online resources - that there is a significantly larger group of kids now with the basic tools needed to achieve SET like scores than, say, 30 years ago. Also, the availability of online courses and communities has created a positive feedback loop in which many more kids are getting interested. Layer in some competitive parents on the coasts who are also pushing their kids and applying pressure at the local public schools where possible, and you have the recipe for a nice ecosystem for kids who are both talented and interested to advance.
Finally, against this backdrop the SAT itself has become more a test of achievement rather than aptitude (although obviously some of the old SAT emphasis on reasoning ability remains), so you are going to get more SET qualifiers because in a way the test is easier. Our own kid scored in the high 700s just based on doing math competitions, www.ixl.com, Khan and a few MOOCs on Coursera (we actually pulled our kid out of the regular math curriculum at the local public school at the end of 2nd grade). Anyone with a little talent, interest and an internet connection could do it, and I think many do!