<p>My younger son who is a junior in H.S. recently took a SAT/ACT Diagnostic Test with a very reputable testing/training agency. We just received the diagnostic score report and were surprised how low his scores were. </p>
<p>Ironically he took the official SAT reasoning test on October 10th and his official SAT scores are almost 300 higher than the Diagnostic Test scores. One example is he got 11 on his official SAT essay while only 6 from his diagnostic test. We just could not believe it. </p>
<p>It is worth noting that we received at least three calls from the testing agency about upcoming SAT/ACT classes that my son should attend even before we receive the scores. We wonder if anyone else had similar experiences. Why is there such a huge difference? Are those Diagnostic Tests accurate enough to test the true ability of students, or are they simply marketing tools to sell students more SAT/ACT classes?</p>
<p>Marketing tools. They want your $$ and are trying to scare you into parting with it.
Their “diagnostic” test is not the real thing. You have a much better idea about your son’s abilities based on the October SAT. Think long and hard before giving them your $$.</p>
<p>I too have heard that these diagnostic tests are designed to “scare you” out of your $$…if you have a real baseline, it will be a better assessment…</p>
<p>fyi, my daughter took an ACT/SAT diagnostic test at an educational consultant facility that created questions designed to figure out which test to take, not whether or not she needed “desperate help immediately”…we weren’t even provided with scores; just a recommendation about which test to work on…I’m guessing this was not the case with the OP</p>
<p>Wow, I say it’s just marketing. It would make you think they did a great job if the diagnostic scores are low, you take their classes, and then the scores on the actual test are 300 points higher!</p>
<p>I don’t know what the " reputable testing/training agency" was, but our school had this issue with Revolution Prep. Mock tests given by them in the spring were, at least among the 10 friends or so I questioned, uniformly 100-250 points lower than PSATs (if out of 2400) taken the previous fall. Others on this board had the same experience. When questioned, the company said that the correlation between PSATs and SATs was weak, and also suggested the students had not taken the mock test seriously. I agree with posters above who said it was marketing to get you to sign your child up for their prep course, and then show improvement as the course progressed.</p>
<p>At this point, your actual test scores are the best diagnostic tools. Second best choice are tests from the college board’s blue book. You can administer them yourself under test-like conditions.</p>
<p>I don’t have the details, but D did take a diagnostic test from an agency (H set this up, I don’t remember who it was). Her score was fairly in line with last year (sophomore year) PSATs - I remember being a bit disappointed with the results.</p>
<p>However, when they gave us the score back, they provided all the answers and an explanation of the ones she got wrong (she had the original test with her as well). I know she didn’t really go through to analyze what her mistakes were - but couldn’t we tell if the scores were a scam this way?</p>
<p>[ I’d love for it to have been a scam - then her true score would have 2-300 points higher! Also, I could use the infamous “I told u so” with H]</p>
