My DC took the SAT in March, and I’m wondering whether we should ask College Board to keep the score permanently?
Would love to hear some advice / suggestions on good reasons to keep, or not to keep.
TY!
Even if it’s pretty good, usually SAT scores improve significantly over the diagnostic ones they take that year. It’s easy to get caught in the “but he was only 13 trap.” They only care about the ultimate number. Unless it’s extremely high, and you never expect him to improve on it, keeping it might be a mistake.
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We kept our kids. One of them was actually saved the other fell through the cracks. Honestly, I don’t see any pros other than competitive Summer camps ( which asked and never expected the actual score).
Honestly, I think the ways things are going with standardized tests it doesn’t make much sense. And if they had a great score in middle school, it will be a great score in high school as well.
Would they count this pre-high school score if and when they are super-scoring?
I believe SAT scores are valid for 5 years(for colleges). collegeboard record is permanent.
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SAT scores from 8th grade or earlier are removed from the student’s record after each school year, unless the family requests otherwise.
OP…I don’t think you need to keep it, unless you want to use it for a program like Duke Tip, et al.
We knew a lot of Duke TIP & JHU CTY parents who kept theirs b/c they thought it might impress colleges that their kid had such high scores so young. Protip: it doesn’t. Keeping the score report is usually enough for competitive/selective programs that ask for it. And a kid who can nail the SAT at 13 will be able to do it at 17…
…and given how fast things are changing, in 4 years it might be so archaic that colleges won’t want it anyway!
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I don’t know. But isn’t super scoring taking the best scores from each test? Normally scores go up by I think 40-60 point per year. So if your kid got 800 as a 13 year old great. If not, the more recent scores will likely be much higher in HS.
I think the only kids who have these scores from 12-13 years old are CTY/TIP/Davidson.
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If the score qualifies you for Davidson, SET, needed for competitive programs like CTY admissions, or it is high enough that you plan on using it for boarding school/high school applications it is worth saving. If it doesn’t serve those purposes I don’t think there is benefit to saving it.
The designation of SET or Davidson is probably more useful.
(We had eight! SAT cancellations this year for my 13yo)
Only if it is absolute good instead of good conditional on age.
We use it to qualify DYS/SET but did not keep it for the reason above. (Personally I set the line to 1550)
Sounds like there’s no point in keep it - I was dreading the phone call to CollegeBoard to ask for keeping. I’m relieved I don’t have to call them again!!! Thanks for everyone’s feedback.
@SweetBoy1 Wow - I can’t imagine 8(!!!) cancellations. That’s crazy! Did your DC end up with at least one test? So sorry to hear this. I guess we got lucky - we took the test at a nearby catholic school, which had been open most of this school year. But I heard lots of tests hosted at public schools in our area had been cancelled, almost every time (or heavily reduced in capacity). Good luck to you!
Nope. He was never able to take it. Originally the tests were cancelled and then they had their capacity reduced. I think he was targeted because of age. Public, private, Catholic nobody would let him take it. My sister begged at her private school and they would not budge. He had studied so long it became a joke. I do have scores for nine official, timed tests in the same range but they are meaningless.
I think the College Board really mishandled this season. They should have put all their resources into developing a valid online test. In the meantime, my kids took five different proctored valid tests at home. It was doable and they failed. And their policy about registration for students under 13 is ridiculous. Nothing in the law requires it. I think they do it to reduce demand and try and maintain their relevance has a high school test.
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Applications for SET, Davidson, etc. would go in when the score is received, I assume, so they aren’t really a reason to keep scores for following years.
Scores aren’t “invalid” after five years, they simply come with a note that they are over 5 years old and may not be currently representative of the student. If a student is 13, I would think college applications would go in before age 18 anyway.
We had the same thought with my daughter - 1560 when she was 13. Application/acceptance to DYS was completed that year, so there was no reason to keep scores for that. CTY/TIP received scores each year she tested - there’s no use for “older” scores. And SET requires a score before age 13. We used her 7th grade/age 12 score to qualify. We didn’t keep that one and there was no problem.
We did keep her age 13 score, but it didn’t really have a benefit. NMS requires a qualifying score between Sophomore year and December Senior year to become a finalist. CMU says they discount scores earlier than Junior year. Harvard asks for scores less than three years old. I didn’t fully research the topic, these are just instances we ran into.
In the end, she retook it in Junior year for the reasons above (1580).
@RichInPitt - do you have thoughts/feedback on CTY SET and/or Davidson Young Scholars? We’re planning to apply to both, and want to get some feedback on both. I’ve read through both of the websites and got an understanding of the programs, but don’t know anyone in person who have / had kids in the programs. Your DD sounds really amazing, and I’m wondering what’s her (and yours, as parents) experience / feedback on both/either program?
Any info would be much appreciated - thank you!
SET was useful for my son last year; when the normally CTY class got cancelled, the SET director was able to tell us several other good online programs - my son ended up in a good program he enjoyed. So I think SET is useful as a consultation all service; and gives a reason to know where kiddo is on SAT.
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To answer your question from experience.
At 13, D got 1560 (800+760). We were so excited that we asked college board to keep the score permanently. The thought was that since college admissions accept SAT scores upto 5 years old she could use this score if needed. In 10th grade D retook SAT as she wanted to do the “essay” as well. As parents, we thought there was no need to retake SAT since essay is soon being discontinued. But D took it with 2-3 days preparation and scored 1600. So no advantage in having saved the previous SAT score except that it shows the colleges a progression and that the 1600 SAT is not a fluke. So if the SAT score is exceptional it is okay to “save” it, otherwise no.
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Also, @sonatarhia if you decide to keep the SAT score, no phone call to collegeboard required.
Scores for Eighth Graders and Below
If you test in the eighth grade or below, your scores are removed from your file at the end of the academic year you tested. If you want your scores to be part of your permanent record, you must let us know before August of the year you tested. Include the following with your request:
Full identification information
Registration number
Test date
Mail your request to:
The College Board SAT Program
Attention: Talent Search Scores
P. O. Box 025505
Miami, FL 33102
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