She just took another practice SAT and, especially on the math section, almost all of the mistakes were dumb ones. She sets the problem up correctly. Feels sure she knows HOW to do it. Then proceeds to make an arithmetic error (3 x 3 = 6 on his last test!!) or doesn’t answer the question asked (gets the “answer” to the work but then doesn’t realize that the question needs her to do something with that answer) or rewrites the given equation incorrectly when starting a problem she otherwise knows how to do.
She’s upset. Just says she’s trying. Swears she’s paying attention and not thinking about anything else (and she’s in a library quiet room with no phone).
Thoughts?? My pleas to just “read more carefully” are being answered by “no duh, Mom, but I swear I’m paying attention when I’m doing it!”
@Qtinfo She’s pretty detailed oriented. Doesn’t make many arithmetic errors on math tests at school. She’s super neat when she works. All I can think of is it’s the stress of the test. And I don’t know how to fix that.
Not sure what schools your D is looking at but one thing that de-stressed standardized tests for my D was when I pointed out to her that a number of colleges she liked were test optional. Somehow knowing that seemed to take a weight off her shoulders and she did much better the second time around. (And FWIW the college she ended up at was not test optional.)
@happy1 the only TO school she’s applying to is likely Wake Forest. I do think it’s not a bad idea for me to remind her about that. I should probably start looking more closely at the TO list of colleges too. I think you’re onto something that somehow we need to relieve some pressure.
If it’s stress or anxiety, there are definitely some good books on that topic that might help her from feeling overwhelmed. Crush Your Test Anxiety by Dr. Ben Bernstein is one that I know of, although there are plenty of others (as well as online resources). Most focus on building skills that reinforce a positive and confident association with test taking. And @happy1 's suggestion is a good one to take pressure off. Good luck to you both!
Remind her that most schools do superscore the SAT. So while of course it would be great to knock it out of the park on her first try, it isn’t imperative that she do so. She has several more attempts after the March sitting. I think the summer sitting is a great option, because kids are naturally less stressed in the summer and have less demands on their time
I agree careless mistakes are likely due to test anxiety…and I get it, there is a lot riding on her score. She’s been working on standardized testing (ACT prep and a couple of tests, now SAT prep) for a relatively long time (to a 17 year old!).
I don’t know if having her try to address test anxiety is necessary…only you can be the judge of that. Maybe just continue to give her confidence that on school based tests she generally does well…as it sounds like she has mostly A’s in a pretty rigorous curriculum.
I know it’s cliche…but she needs to trust herself and the process. She should have the confidence and belief that she is a good test taker because she has been so her whole life, and that perfect is not the goal…as long as she performs on the SAT like she typically performs on HS tests she will be fine.
I know it’s all easier said than done, and that standardized tests add a significant level of stress to junior year for many students. I also like the summer sitting idea.
Thanks @Mwfan1921. I don’t know if I should (a) just give her a pep talk and tell her lay off practice for two weeks or (b) after the pep talk, just ask her what she’d like to do - practice or not practice. Option C is to get the tutor. D is making noise that our paying money for a tutor puts even more pressure on her though. I feel a bit stuck in a corner on this one.
After today’s full test, she was fairly distraught. I’m glad the test is still two weeks away. Of course, I try to tell her she’s got time but she’s feeling like she’s been working and working and today’s test was a big fail. I try to point out the positives - she knows the material. I really see no reason to work on that. And I tell her she’s got time. Honestly, I feel like I’m ready to pay a tutor just to tell her all of that since hearing it from me isn’t helping.
Perhaps a session or two with the tutor, getting some test taking tricks and tips, and hearing the pep talk from an unbiased third party could help, and maybe also relieve the pressure of working on the testing at home and/or with mom.
Even though your relationship with D is great, adding the testing/tutoring element could be adding to her anxiety…again, I defer to you on this, especially as she has verbalized getting a tutor equals more pressure! You know her the best.
I would also give her the option of taking a break for the weekend, or a week, or until the test in two weeks.
I agree with you that she knows the material, the format, and she’s a good test taker, so she’s likely ready to take the test.
And then she’ll have the April sitting at school, as well as again potentially in the summer…she does have plenty of time.
@redblueprep Right. Practice makes perfect. She’s been practicing a lot, though, with real SAT tests and, today especially, made a lot of silly mistakes. I think it’s because silly mistakes should be easy to fix that they aren’t getting fixed, if that makes sense. She needs concrete ways to make sure it’s not happening. One thing I just read was to make sure to double check that you know what the question is asking and get used to doing that every time. Also, when writing equations that are given to you to start the work, double check before you continue with the problem. I feel like stuff like this might help her. If she had very concrete things to DO with each problem, I think she’d feel more in control.
@homerdog Another thing to take into consideration is that a certain score on the SAT really corresponds to a range. So if you score for instance a 1400 on one sitting, that kind of means your score could have been a 1370 or a 1430. (The score report gives you the exact range) So it’s common for practice tests or real tests to bounce around in a range. It’s not always linear. And it doesn’t necessarily mean you are not making progress. But I do think if frustration is setting in, it could be best to take a little break. Move on to something else for a few days or longer and then return when the mojo is back.
@wisteria100 that makes sense. S19 bounces around between 1430-1470 on the six practice tests he took and then got a 1540. Out of the range but got a little lucky I guess.
D is bouncing around between 1370-1410 so we are hoping she can just stay on the high end of that range. I just worry because those tests are all out of the SAT blue book. I gave her the Oct 2018 test today and her score was on the low side with those dumb mistakes. Since this Oct test is more typical of the harsh curves, she needs to be able to be comfortable with this “easier” kind of test.
I think a break is in order. No SAT talk for the rest of the weekend.
Could it be a timing issue? She feels like she is short on time, hence not answering what the actual question is asking for?
Has she had any tutors for ACT/SAT? Our experience was that the tutor really had insight into timing and test taking strategies, this was the biggest benefit of tutoring for my kids. Stuff like breaking the parts into sections, how much time to spend on each, and determining which types of problems to do first and which to come back to, how to recognize certain types of questions, stuff like that (note this is all ACT based but I believe that SAT prep has similar “strategies”). Maybe presenting the tutor in this way would not be pressuring, as in not to raise the score but to tackle the test in the most efficient way.
I don’t know if she has time to double check her work, but a simple way to check for silly math errors is to read it backwards, as in right to left or bottom to top; so she would look at the 6 and then think “=3x3”.
Thanks, @Lindagaf I think what’s frustrating D is that she knows every tip. She watched every video that the author of the Black Book made - hours and hours of them and thought they were super helpful. She knows how the test is trying to trick her. She knows it’s not as hard as it looks and knows not to overthink. She studies by going back over the questions she got wrong by trying to re-do the problem and get the correct answer the second time and then looks up the correct answer and the best way to solve it.
yet, she’s still making some dumb mistakes. I think it has to be psychological at this point. The stress of it.
I called the tutor who I want to use and she’s booked solid until after our school SAT in April, so I guess our goal will be to lessen the stress of the whole thing. I bought the book that @Qtinfo suggested. D needs to try to relax about this. I explained that she’s got time and she knows she can superscore but she says she’s just flat out going to have some stress until this part is over.
Yes, you have lots of time. It’s only early spring! Love Wake - great choice. Good luck to her! Wake does not require SATs. Have her work on the essays this summer - they matter most.
I think you daughter’s experience is more typical than your son’s in that scores on the actual test or a mock full test tend to be lower than what you get at home or when doing one section…we saw this on the SAT English when DS took it. It seems the SAT math questions are getting a bit easier but the curve is harsh and it is hard to not make sillies in that environment.
DS has competed in math competitions for years and silly mistakes have plagued him the whole time. He qualified for the AIME in 6th grade and then missed qualifying again until 10th grade due to silly mistakes on the AMCs…in tenth he barely qualified for the AIME and then scored a 10 on it, which is a very high score and the questions are quite a bit more difficult than the AMCs, but there is more time and it is not quite as fast-paced so he did not feel the pressure as much.
Rechecking your work is often not too helpful in finding mistakes but that is about the only thing she can do…that and try to relax as discussed. If she is a very strong math student and knows several ways to solve the problem, sometimes it can flush out silly mistakes to solve the problem a different way to see if you come up with the same answer. Good luck to your DD!!
