From 2320 to 2400? A sort-of problem...

<p>My son got his scores yesterday and received 800 on both Reading and Writing, and 720 on Math. The Reading and Writing scores were bumps from his PSAT scores, but the math was a pretty big decline from his 80 on the PSAT, and he thought he had gotten everything right. I know 2320 is quite solid, but as you can imagine, he'd like to get to the land of 2400 if he can (it makes me really mad...but he did this with zero preparation; as a parent I prefer hard work to precede good results!).</p>

<p>He said yesterday that he had to erase a number of "bubbles" because he had them in the wrong section, and also noted that he presses hard on scantrons....which meant that the erased bubbles still had dark color. I think this means it makes sense to have his test hand graded (MC only) to see what a human grader comes up with. Any thoughts on this?</p>

<p>Next question is what to do if the score on the math section doesn't change. Should he not bother to take it again, as any of the elite schools he'll apply to won't distinguish between 2320 and 2400...he'll get a decent look regardless? Should he take the whole test again, and go for his best on all three sections, hoping that things come out as well on CR & W, with the risk that he may come up short of 800 on these sections which could "sully" to some degree the 800's he got first time around? Or should he take the test again, but not even bother to fill out the CR & W sections, and do only the math...the idea being that a 200 on CR & W will be disregarded by schools he applies to; they'll look to the 800's on this first test?</p>

<p>I know this is a "small" problem, but any thoughts would be welcome. Thanks!</p>

<p>If he thinks he can nab an 800 on math, he should take the test again. It can only help. Almost all colleges superscore and won’t pay any attention to lower section scores.</p>

<p>That being said, DO NOT try for a 200/800/200. Colleges WOULD notice that and probably assume that he cheated by taking extra time on the math section.</p>

<p>As for hand grading, if you’ve got the money, go for it. It’s pretty unlikely that it will raise his score, but it’s even less likely to lower it (although that’s a possibility too).</p>