Would any of you tell me if there are any benefits in addition to being allowed to take their classes and join camp? I wonder what else we have missed.
^Our kid really enjoyed the SET gatherings, and we met some amazing and inspiring kids such as a 12 year old girl who had already self-published two books on Amazon, another 12 year old girl who had been working in a UC-level neuroscience lab, an 11 year old boy who was preparing to take the BC Calc exam that spring, etc. It was great to see that for some kids doing academic things was fun, a counter to the prevailing wisdom that somehow these kids are “missing their childhood.” Sharing stories with the parents also gave us some useful tips in navigating courses and camps and interracting with public middle school.
We also think that perhaps the scores were helpful in obtaining an academic scholarship for private high school, and they also gave our kid the confidence to take SAT subject tests in elementary school (so, by now at the beginning of 10th grade, our kid is basically done with them). We are also happy with the 7th grade SAT scores - they meet the CC threshold for top schools - but unfortunately we have discovered that our kid is probably going to have to retake them this year or next because schools want to see recent ones 
Last, our kid is going to be taking math (and possibly physics) classes at the local public university starting next year and we can use the older scores for threshold admissions purposes to the university.
It’s funny I agree with previous posts that there are many high math scores out there. In fact, I was surprised there aren’t more in a math program we attend. The verbal portion is much rarer. I honestly don’t believe there is much sense in teaching a young kid so they will excel on the SATs. We’re just happy to know that in 7th grade the scores are in the 99% vs. most 12Th graders. Honestly I think there are many more smart kids out there, they are just not being tested early.
How people came up with those numbers is surprising to me. Ok, it’s very rare according to posters. But less than 100 per year. Really? Given the number of kids in talent search programs that number seems VERY low.
@SculptorDad, you don’t need to be in SET to take the classes or attend the camps run by CTY, Duke TIP, etc. The threshold for that participation is lower than SET qualification. The benefits of SET vary depending upon where you live. In some areas, there are local get togethers. There is individualized educational counseling available, which can be helpful, some newsletters with information about what people in the SET community are doing. Also, it can potentially assist with getting into other programs. SET members used to get a free subscription to Imagine magazine, which was great, but that magazine ended.
It will be interesting to see if and how those numbers change with this new SAT. The current 1600 version is considerably different from the recent 2400 version, which of course was a big change from the previous 1600 version. And no, the two 1600’s are nothing like each other.
Within the exam itself, there is the question then there is the curve.
I thought when the two work together, they would make the scores meaningfully comparable across the test dates and test versions.
Of course, outside of the test, there is the changing test takers, reflecting the changing time, education quality, and demographics. I don’t know whether the curve compensates for them, and if so, how effective the curve has been here.
I expect that the number of SET qualifiers will increase with the new SAT, unless they change the minimum thresholds. The new SAT “seems” easier to score high, especially with the removal of the penalty for guessing and reduction in the number of answer choices. The concordance tables provided by CB would seem to support that as well (e.g., old 770 on math is mapped to 780-790 on new SAT).
I also suspect that the number of double SET qualifiers will also rise relative to the total number of SET qualifiers. The old writing section had an essay component, but it did not count for too much in the overall score. The remaining multiple choice questions were essentially rules-based tasks. Anecdotally, it seemed to me that kids who were good at math (the majority of SET qualifiers) were also good at the multiple choice portion of the writing section. Now that the essay has been eliminated, and the score on the multiple choice writing questions incorporated into to the new SAT verbal (the “W” in EBRW), we should see an increase in EBRW scores for strong math kids. Just my opinion of course!
That norming process only works across similar tests. There were huge shifts in what was tested and how both when the 2400 came out and this recent change to the 1600.
Your reasoning makes sense about the math/writing @SatchelSF, but my mathy son did extremely well on the old writing section with a crappy, average essay. The weighting in the final 800 level score really favored the MC portion. And true to your observation, he nailed that part. What would have happened for him is that his overall verbal score would rise on the new test, as this would now all be factored in. Previously he’d only nailed 2 of the 3 sections.
@PAMom21 - Exactly right about the essay not counting for too much on the writing section of the old 2400 SAT. Our kid also did a mediocre job on the essay (8 out of 12 I think), but was perfect on the MC portion, which resulted in a 770. So, a 66% on the essay only knocked off 30 points, although perhaps at lower ranges essay performance could have counted for more or less.
You know, under 13 year old kids were never going to do much prep in general for the SAT, but the essay was a special case. I can’t see any of them even writing a single practice essay under test conditions :). I am sort of glad that part of the SAT has effectively become optional for practically all colleges.
I would assume your young scholars are all speed readers and all-weather readers like mine are.
^ Yes, about the speed reader part. But, all-weather, I’m not so sure. Our kid used to read a lot more a few years ago for pleasure than now. Part of it is that high school wastes a lot of time with busy work. But I also think that kids just develop on their own path, and that there is very little we can do as parents to influence it.
At home, we try to encourage talking and thinking about the big ideas, emphasizing the maxim I once heard somewhere, “there is no value in analysis, only in synthesis.” Beyond that, I am firmly in the camp who believes that by the early teenage years at the latest it is really nature that is in the driver’s seat!
@Heading2HS Re: reading. Yes. Speed reading. Though weather really isn’t a factor either way. For one of my kiddos, we punish by not allowing reading on Kindles, in books or comics for several days. Works every time. Personally, I am the same. I NEED to read and have passed on that gene. I think this is the reason the verbal was high. Although one of my kiddos did complain about the reading subject matter. Honestly, I don’t think many kids read that much. When I told someone my kids reading goal was 5,000 pages this Summer I got a shocked look. Oh well.
Excuse me for my ignorance. What does “all-weather” reader mean?
Also, don’t BS English classes require reading a lot of novels?
@SculptorDad Depends on what you think a lot of novels is? My kiddo at BS has about 8 to read this year. I know because I did the book ordering. I didn’t think that was a lot. They are varied in terms of topics. Not your classics at all. Kiddo didn’t react to the amount of books either way.
@Happytimes2001 But they also read heavily in addition to those novels. And some, like mine add a few of her own choice during the school and more in the Summer.
I don’t care about classics. I was the best read in classics when I was in high school, but didn’t really get the true value of them until I was 17. Many don’t get it until the college age. When they get their existential crisis, they will feel strong emotional thirst for good books on their own. I think fun fantasy books (except those in paranormal romance genre. I have my limit) are just as good until then. They give plenty of critical reading skills.
Beside, majority of classic books that I value for young adults are foreign books and U.S. education system cares little about translated foreign books anyway.
@SculptorDad Yes, agreed. The 8 books were for English only. I don’t think they are reading that many novels in other classes. Although it seems like they should be for history. I think kids have less free time than we did as kids. So they can’t read as much. That’s sad. Sports practice every day. Why? I used to enjoy sitting in the sun and reading a book outside ( still do).
The classics have changed. Many are no longer acceptable because of the way they portray certain members of society. Now kids read books which explore the world at large. I think that’s great. ( I also think the classics have some good messages we should not leave behind). Reading Sci-Fi is also good. Of course, I am a fan of classic Sci Fi. The only thing is, most Sci Fi has drifted into dystopia. We need kids to be thinking about the way the world should be, not the end of the world and post apocalyptic doom. Lol.