<p>I think it really depends on the kid. My younger son loved taking the SAT in 7th and 8th grade. He thought it was fun to go and freak out the seniors and he knew it was no biggie if he did well or not. (Unlike his brother he wasn’t particularly interested in CTY programs.) Even now he doesn’t get tense - he thinks multiple choice tests are fun and treats them like a big puzzle where you outsmart the test makers.</p>
<p>CTY has a chart for high school scores, so a student who learns about the program later (or who qualified for one part, but wants to take something on his lower scoring part) can take the SATs after middle school and still qualify. Slightly off topic, but this is a response to Longhaul.</p>
<p>Northwestern’s CTD allows for ACTs and SATs in ninth grade.</p>
<p>Another response to Longhaul.</p>
<p>menloparkmom, thanks for the suggestion, but I did not start this thread for my DS1. He is already done with test stats. Because he only took SAT once in his junior year, this thread is not relevant to him. Otoh, it may be relevant to my other kids…</p>
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<p>Longhaul, why would you prefer this if you believe colleges frown upon this behavior?</p>
<p>Mine took SAT for a talent program in 8th grade and it was recommended to us that he keeps the scores (Reading 730, Math 790) so we did ask Collegeboard to keep it and it is on his permanent record.</p>
<p>I am also a believer that the more you take those tests, the better you become, have less anxiety etc. BUT I also believe that it does not look good when you have a numerous scores on your record. Yes, the colleges are smart enough to see that some of the scores are from younger years but the first impression MIGHT be “wow, took the test five times, obsessed?” So I have advised my kid to forgo taking SAT till he is a junior. If he was able to get the above scores without prep as a 13 year old, I am hoping that when he is 16 and does prep a little for it he should be satisfied with his scores after a couple of attempts. I am hoping. I do not know if this is the best approach, I am following my gut feeling.
I am advising him to take PSAT every year since his school allows/encourages it. After taking it for the first time this year his comment was that it was not easier than SAT but definitely less draining since it was shorter. He does not mind taking standardized tests, does not get anxious etc. Dare I say he is used to it by now?</p>
<p>Have a question about ACT, since I will be encouraging son to take this one as well . Does all ACT scores have to be relased to the schools that require all scores be submitted ? Or ACT only keeps the highest composite score ? I have heard conflicting opinions.</p>
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<p>The ACT keeps all the scores, but you choose to send a score report from one specific test date. If a college requires all scores to be submitted, then you have to send separate reports from each test date and pay a separate fee for each one. So if your child took the ACT four times, you’d have to pay 4 x $9 = $36 to send them all. </p>
<p>Where I live, the ACT is commonly used as a qualifying test for all sorts of things:
[ul]
[<em>]19 = You can take dual-enrollment classes at the community college
[</em>]21 = You’re eligible for state Hope scholarship money
[<em>]25 = You qualify for a high school honors program
[</em>]26 = You get a guaranteed scholarship from the state flagship university
[<em>]28 = You get into the college honors program
[</em>]29 = You get a higher level of Hope scholarship money
[<em>]30 = You get pretty much a full scholarship to an in-state public, or a $10,000 annual award at an out-of-state public
[</em>]32 = You get a full-tuition scholarship to a different out-of-state public
[li]33 = You get a full-tuition scholarship to a third out-of-state public[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Many of these also have GPA requirements, but as long as you’ve got the grades, just a point or two on the ACT can make a big difference. And these are just a few examples - there are many more.</p>
<p>These guaranteed awards create a powerful incentive to take the ACT multiple times. If you’re just one point shy of qualifying for a major scholarship, why wouldn’t you give it one more try?</p>
<p>And why should a student be penalized for this?</p>
<p>Back in 2008 when D1 was applying to colleges I posed the question to HS seniors and parents as to how many times they took the SAT or ACT. Contrary to my expectations for the CC crowd that average was somewhere between 1 and 2 times. It would not have surprised me at all, based on some of the posts I had read, if the average had been 4 or 5 times. But it turned out those were outliers.</p>
<p>College Board does not report scores for SAT tests taken before HS (in 8th grade or less). My S took SAT for CTY in 7th grade and it does not show up any more.</p>
<p>Previously, College Board would report all scores from 9th grade onwards unlike ACT. Schools used to decide how to use multiple scores (most recent, average, highest in a single sitting or super score).</p>
<p>This year College Board changed their policy allowing score choice. However, every college is different as the enclosed link will show each colleges policy.</p>
<p>[Score</a> Choice - New SAT Score-Reporting Policy](<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/sat-reasoning/scores/policy]Score”>http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/sat-reasoning/scores/policy)</p>