Agree with above comments - many students do much better on ACT than SAT, and visa versa. They are very different tests, so test prep for each is important.
Hi OP,
I took SAT 3 times, and after finally realizing that I couldn’t break a certain score barrier, I decided to try the ACT and got a 35 on my third attempt.
Your D has an entire summer to prep for ACT.
Good luck!
She needs to try the ACT. But please do not heed the advice that has her taking the SAT multiple more times. Either take the ACT or maybe study and take the SAT once more. Or, like some others have posted, find a school that fits her and/or is test optional. The scores she has now then may be just fine. The is the chance that the more she tests, the more stressed she will be and the worse the scores are going to be. Not a very good self esteem builder.
I’m sorry. It’s an awful position to be in. What I will say, is she can bump her scores up 150… 200 … 250 points with hard work. My daughter went up 200 pts. between 2nd and 3rd SAT … and I have a friend whose daughter went up 300 points between SAT #1 and #3 … Is your D scheduled to take May SAT? Perhaps pay the change fee and bump to June SAT instead - giving her a little more time. Once you get a chance to analyze test you’ll have a better idea what went wrong - bubbling error? (ugh) …nerves … or just tricky questions. Take a look at how may she skipped, etc. and the impact that may have had. There’s a website named after a black-and-white animal from China that projects your score based on number wrong, number skipped, etc. (Google it)
As for the tutor, I certainly wouldn’t continue with him/her. Obviously not working. Personally, we had a highly recommended tutor for our S and D who came sporadically - not sure she was worth the $$$. Our D did take a prep course for $700 the summer between junior and senior year though and this made a big difference. The class included a practice test under test-taking situation about 3 weeks before the real test - followed up by a detailed analysis of errors afterward. If I had additional kids, I would certainly go the structured class approach vs. private tutor approach.
Your D should certainly try the ACT if she hasn’t yet. Maybe go to a test prep program and let her take a practice ACT under test conditions and see how she does? If she’s not a science person, or has timing issues, the test might not be for her. But if she scores well on the practice, could be the way to go. Perhaps sign her up for the June ACT now? You can always bump till September or skip. (Where we live the seats for these tests fill up fast - and you don’t want to end up driving an hour and a half the morning of the test just to get a seat where your kid can subject him/herself to 4 hours of torture!)
Most of all, it’s one test. Don’t hang her entire future on it. With Score Choice, you won’t even be required to report these scores to the majority of the schools she’ll apply to. Is she taking Subject Tests, too? That’s a chance to shine as well.
Sending good vibes…
In addition to trying the ACT, have her consider using the May or June SAT test day to take the SAT subject tests. You mentioned she is an AP student and does well in class. What AP/honors courses is she in this year? Have her take math level 1 or 2, a humanities, and/or a science if she is in an AP or honors science this year. It helps to have a few good subject tests under the belt and they aren’t as tricky as the regular SAT. Some schools (like Middlebury College, Colorado College) will allow a student to submit subject test scores in lieu of SAT or ACT scores.
NYU also has “score choice,” whereby you are required to submit standardized test results, but they can be AP, SAT II, ACT, or SAT.
I agree with post #11, if she took a session where they provide answer service take advantage of it. It should be clear what, if anything went wrong. (My oldest for example got easy math questions wrong, by not reading questions carefully enough.)
But really you’ve been given all the usual suggestions:
Ask for a hand scoring
Review the answer service and then take again
Try the ACT
Look at the test optional schools.
She’s got good grades, and those scores aren’t terrible. Average in CR, 71st %ile in math and 81st %ile in writing. It’s too bad colleges don’t really care much about the writing score. Still there are lots of schools that will be interested in her.
I would not suggest a “let’s get used to the SAT” time. Either go in with the intention of doing the very best you can do…or don’t take the test until you can do so.
It’s April. The kid can take the test in June, or September.
Having read this entire thread, I have to shake my head in disbelief. Posters are throwing all kind of ideas as this poor lady who has … visibly not received much sound advice prior to this thread.
NONE of the suggestions are appropriate until the reasons why the lower scores came as a surprise. The reality is that there is NO real need to have a “real test” in “testing conditions” to have a good idea of the scores. To keep it simple, working on sections is just as good a predictor when used correctly than wasting 4 hours at the kitchen table.
The first step is to have the tutor analyzing the results and … presenting a comprehensive action plan. While I am afraid that this tutor is not as good as presented, he or she should get a chance to review the real test through the purchase of the QAS, if available.
As far as moving forward, the reasons of the lower scores have to be perfectly understood. Since she left blanks, why were they needed? Is it an issue of speed? If it is, the ACT fanboys can hang that proposal on the wall! Was she surprised by the format of the questions? That points to a poor preparation. Was she tired or feeling ill? That speaks for itself.
All in all, the situation can be changed EASILY but it will take more work. Although not optimal, the focus should be reset to next Fall with an adequate and MONITORED preparation by the student over the upcoming months.
But again, it is important to understand today’s score in greater details. And none of us have a remotely accurate idea of what those details are.
Thank you everyone. And after almost a whole day of thinking about this, and reading these helpful replies, I realize that of course this is not the end of the world. And I need to add that I am not one of those moms that expects or would push my child for perfection. We did not have Ivy league expectations for her and that is fine by me - I know she is awesome and special exactly as she is. We were only just both caught really off guard by the score. I know it isn’t a horrible score - but I was in the kitchen or the living room all those Saturday mornings when she worked with the tutor for 1 1/2 hours a pop and they were really thorough. The guy has been tutoring SAT for 20 years, he’s a HS teacher in a very demanding school district near by and came extremely recommended by some people I really respect. And my daughter is very diligent at her work and I saw her sit down to do all the prep work in advance (ok, sometimes on Friday nights, but still… ;-).
The test wasn’t offered anywhere near us so she and a friend did have to drive 1/2 hour in the sleet that morning to take the test but she really wasn’t stressed going in - felt prepared and came home feeling pretty confident. She said she only left a few math problems blank. So it’s just out of character and an unpleasant surprise and I just find it hard to believe she would perform worse than she did on the PSAT - one year more of maturity and tough classes and after the tutoring (and the guy seemed to have lots of great tips and strategies, so I would have at least expected a slight bump from the PSAT).
Our situation is also that we have a freshman in college so will be paying two tuitions next year, and we are fortunate to be able to take advantage of the Tuition Exchange program since my husband is a professor in Boston. (Tuition Exchange includes about 600 schools of all sizes and locations and difficulty around the country. First the student has to apply and be accepted like everyone else, then they have to compete with all the other TE students who applied to hopefully get the reduced tuition - some schools offer it to less than 10% who apply and others upwards of 60% or higher) So we have focused solely on TE schools that seemed like good fits for her - reasonable but not crazy stretches and some safeties. The problem is that the TE is like a scholarship, usually based on academics, so a safety for her is a school that not only can she get accepted to, but also one where they award a high percentage of TE scholarships, or where her grades and scores make her someone they want. We have a whole tour of schools planned for her April vacation and they may no longer be realistic since none of them are SAT optional.
I am going to sign her up for the ACT and also see about having this SAT hand scored. At least then we’ll know if it is just her doing her best, or something else that caused the lower than expected score. Just knowing will help us plan our strategy. If she isn’t a great test taker, then I’m not going to push her for another 50 points…
I’ll post again when I know what is what.
Thanks again for the great suggestions and the shoulder to cry on!! I’ve put on my big girl pants and feeling better…
- How anxious is she about the testing? Anxiety can also cause a problem.
- Be sure she gets a good nights rest the night before the exam. No going out with friends and staying up late.
- Remember that is easy to have a test that is not up to your full potential. It is much harder to just be lucky on a test. Therefore it is likely that she will be able to obtain a better score.
- You still have time to sort it out to don't panic. This is just a minor disappointment, and will not matter at all as long as you can address it properly.
try some practice tests on the ACT for sure.
Personally, not a believer is settling for the bar of low expectations. OTOH, text anxiety is real, and can be dealt with, but will only be dealt with if the the low bar is accepted.
For what it’s worth, my oldest scored lower on the SAT both times he took it because he did so much better on the writing section of the PSAT. (110 points better.) The PSAT is no guarantee.
Since I assume that the test was the March one, there are no available QAS. Only the SAS is available for March. If you want to establish a baseline with a real test, sign her up for May. On the other hand, you could establish that baseline by using a QAS from January of from last year. It really should make little difference. Since it is a standardized tests, the errors committed by your daughter should be easy to spot when redoing the test. Again, you do NOT need to take the test in its entirety.
Regarding the tutor, please realize that being a HS teacher is NO guarantee of a high qualification. In fact, many of the issues tested on the SAT are better approached with methods that make HS teachers cringe. There are obvious exceptions, but just as it works with college applications, people are usually MUCH better to look for help from outside the walls of the school.
There are, however, a few things you can check. First and foremost, what practice tests were used? I will be blunt … if any of the tests came from PR, Kaplan, or McGraw test books, fire the tutor on the spot. The only tests that should be used are official tests from the red, blue books, or one of the numerous QAS available. It sounds harsh but that an issue that separates people who know the SAT from amateurs.
With official tests, it should take only a few sections to ascertain the cause of the lower score. Any tutor worth his salt should be able to give you a very diagnostic of what to work on. Getting a higher score on the writing component is the easiest as all that is needed is to review basic grammar and the techniques of the SAT. Reading comprehension is a mixed bag, and depends mostly on the capacity of the student to remain focused and read critically. Easier said than done, for most students. The math portion is highly coachable but not every student possesses the mental acuity to excel in this section. However, everyone should be able to score as high as their natural aptitude in reasoning.
The very basic starting element is to acquire the right practice tests, as spending time with wannabe material is a waste of time. There are many possible shortcuts in one’s preparation and not everybody needs to practice weeks on end.
Lastly, there are a number of excellent books that could help your daughter. And, unfortunately, many books that need to be avoided. Those books, however, do not offer substitutes for the right type of material to test.
@collegeparentnew - I had to look up NESCAC as I wasn’t familiar with the term but am now (New England small college athletic conference). This is completely different from the Tuition Exchange program I mentioned previously so I will have to go through the TE list to look for test optionals if that is the route we take. Nice to know this option is out there these days.
@xiggi - thank you for your blunt and helpful advice. Daughter’s tutor used exclusively the Collegeboard book - totally dismissed the Kaplan book my other daughter had used with a previous tutor, so that is good I guess.
The tutor is perplexed (his word) by her score and asked me to send him the SAS as he knew the other version wouldn’t be available for March. He said he will go through it completely and we will develop a strategy once he has a better idea of what might have happened. I do have faith in him because I listened to them work together and felt he knew his stuff. He also had all sorts of good reasons for why to take in March and not January (midterms) and not in June (finals) and has had great success with lots of other kids, but it might end up that it wasn’t the right one for my daughter. Jury still out.
DD didn’t go out the night before the test, went to bed early that night, had a good breakfast and was pretty calm about the test before she left as she felt prepared and was confident of her experience afterwards. So none of those seem to be the issue, unfortunately. She did say that she used a mechanical pencil since she discovered at the test that her wooden pencil was a #2.5 and not a #2 and when she asked, the proctor recommended she go with the mechanical, so perhaps it wasn’t dark enough and those were marked as left blank. Since she said she only left a few math questions blank and nothing else, if we see lots of blank answers we will know that had something to do with it. Otherwise, maybe she just doesn’t test as well as we thought…
- Take the test again in May and perhaps after studying over the summer in the fall
- Test optional schools!
I know your story. Happened to both my kids. We switched to ACT and they did much better…so they took it again and did even better! Keep in mind that there are wonderful test optional schools, we went that route with some schools … they got in every test optional school they applied to all with merit.
Wake Forest University is test optional.
Test optional is great but for merit aid, the scores are necessary.
Not true!!! @NEPatsGirl …No true at Alll! - My kids- Merit to Union College, Stonehill, Faifield, Connecticut College. Sacred Heart, Providence and Bryant. D’s friend got into Gettysburg- merit- no score submitted.