<p>Oh! Well, on the other hand, son took it last year completely unprepared and got a 1600! Sorry! Sometimes, I am such a LIBRA...</p>
<p>klc -
you know your D best. If an unsatisfactory score will get her motivated, she should take the test - if she does good, ok - if not, ok too. If a potentially poor score would worry her or affect her self confidence, just ditch this test. Prep, such as Xiggi describes, can do wonders. My kid's PSAT was 195. His (old) SAT + Writing = 2250. Prior preparation prevents poor performance!</p>
<p>Until this week, we had been told that the kids would be home between 5 & 6 pm, so D decided to go ahead... then a couple of days ago, the time was revised to 9 or 10 pm. Last year, I would have advised waiting until after AP classes were finished, but D feels so much uncertainty over the new test that it really is hard to advise either way! At this point, maybe just waiting until she's home to make the final decision is best! Thanks for all your help!</p>
<p>You know, the test really isn't that expensive (well, not cheap but it's not like it costs thousands of dollars). I think if my daughter were already nervous about it, hadn't prepped, and was potentially going to be tired taking it because she was out late the night before, I might blow off the money.
But, just be sure that she won't have conflicts with the May test too!</p>
<p>I think her nervousness comes from not knowing, so in a way, it might be good for her to take it! In a funny kind of way, she may be too tired to worry tonight and sleep better than otherwise... who knows! She has a tendency to worry but simultaneously, see the bright side, so I guess she'll be fine either way! Didn't mean to display all my angst when I'm such a newcomer! You all are great!</p>
<p>klc;</p>
<p>fwiw: I just printed the CB page about Test Day, and it clearly states that if you are absent, you can call the CB and change test dates for a $19 fee, otherwise all fees are non-refundable. If not May, there is always June. (Beware, the May test date is right in the middle of AP testing.)</p>
<p>Good luck in whichever way you go.</p>
<p>Thanks bluebayou! That will make it easier for her if she decides to wait! As it is, they're still not home & it's after 10:30 pm -- so even less sleep! Personally, I hope she decides to wait! The school so could have scheduled this field trip for next week... oh well! I've actually heard rumors that this test will count for little as it is so new and even graders don't know what to expect! I guess you just have to play the hand that's dealt! I'm reminding myself that if you do your best, things will work out in the end! I hope peeps will post how their kids did, if they have a feeling over the week-end! Hope all yours are raring to go tomorrow!</p>
<p>U R welcome. good night to you and your fam.</p>
<p>For years in our district the SAT was held the day after opening night of the Spring Musical! This year they put it off a week. I just got my son up, he actually got a good night's sleep and hopefully will eat a few bowls of cereal.</p>
<p>Good morning SAT parents! Doing a quick check of the boards before I start to make some pancakes for daughter. Good luck to everybody's child this morning.</p>
<p>Snow - our test center is closed.</p>
<p>Update: It looks like they got ino another test center standby.</p>
<p>Sunny and warm in Texas- test center is open. WildChild is off to get himself some breakfast at the local "dive". He's taking 1 pencil (mechanical) and an old calculator. Did not bring his good calculator home from school as I suggested. Did not prep yesterday at all even though I printed out the practice questions from the College Board website so he at least would know what the new format looks like. He is not the least bit concerned. Well-it's his deal. I can't do anything about it! The annoying part is that the little ____ will do just fine- even without my parental guidance.</p>
<p>Sent D off this am with a ham and cheese omelette to sustain her for the almost 4 hours. Her hs had a practice test of the new SAT a few weeks ago (simulating real CB conditions) and D got hypoglycemic from lack of food. I had sent her that time with snacks and a water bottle but the first break came after 3 sections were completed and no one was hungry or had to go to the bathroom then. The second break came after 7 sections and was shorter than the first one. All the kids lined up for the bathroom and had to choose whether to use their time to go to the bathroom or eat a quick snack. D said all the kids felt it was WAAAAY too long for them to sustain concentration and focus. BUt then again, it should affect all kids equally.</p>
<p>I read on CC a few weeks ago that the curve on math will be lenient, but someone else posted actual numbers which indicated one wrong would be a 790. Then that thread disappeared really quickly.</p>
<p>gool luck to all. Foggy in SoCal, but we're about to be off. </p>
<p>dcmom:</p>
<p>once they recentered the test (10 years ago) one wrong in math is still an 800. Given the fact that they are adding 3-5 Alg II problems and they still want the mean ~500, I don't believe that the math curve will be worse than it has been for the last decade. But, we'll all know in mid-April.</p>
<p>btw: interesting that CB is planning on a month to score this test vs the normal two weeks in the past, and the new SAT in May and June. hmmmm</p>
<p>Good thoughts to everybody's kids from Ohio!!!</p>
<p>On the SAT Preparation Forum, there are ALWAYS lengthy discussions about the curve, and invariably the consensus is that the curve was harsh. </p>
<p>I do not have a crystal ball, but I expect this test to be MUCH in line with the past editions. The elimination of the QC in math will probably yield higher scores, especially since I believe that the advanced math will be introduced very slowly. The elimination of the analogies won't have much of an effect. The Critical reading is usually harder for most students. I do expect, however, that the difficulty of the CR will be a bit lower than it used to be on past tests, but a bit harder than it is in the Official Guide -that was a tad too easy. For math, the Official Guide was way too hard, and seemed unbalanced. Oh well, let's see if my predictions of the SAT are as good as my presidential predictions. </p>
<p>The curve in itself means very little. It is simply the tool used by TCB to gurarantee that ALL tests have the same average difficulty. The test will present relative degrees of difficulty to the individual student, but at least the average score expected by TCB will be respected. As you know, the scoring of the test has always been established before the test through the use of previoulsy scored sections and equating sections. This means that the strength of the pool that takes the test is not a variable. I am wondering, however, if this practice will continue, given that how well the students adapt to the new test is not as well known or documented. While TCB used equating sections that contained examples of the new format, it is highly doubtful that their library of new questions is as vast as the old one.</p>
<p>My son is testing now - in California.</p>
<p>I don't think he had a great sleep - I heard him rattling around in the bathroom at about 4:00am. He did get a good breakfast, though- egg, bagle w/cc and a big bowl of oatmeal, & O.J.<br>
I think being the first to take this new test is sort of a bonding experience for all of them. Bunches of friends are going out to lunch afterwards to compare notes. It will be a memorable day, and fun, in a peculiar sort of way. Most kids will probably re-take in October if they want a higher score.</p>
<p>Just about to leave and pick my daughter up from the test. Unbelievably, about 8 pm last night she started sneezing and woke this morning with a runny nose, stuffy ears and a sore throat. We discussed maybe having her not take the test today but she went off with a pack of tissue and some aspirin. Ugh. Well, at least she'll have an "excuse" if she does poorly.</p>
<p>I'll let you know how it goes. All I can say is the line waiting to go in to take the test this morning was very long and very quiet. D. asked me to get out of the car and wait with her until she got up to the building door (no parents past that point). That kind of brought tears to my eyes...she still needs me! :)</p>
<p>Carolyn-Let us know how she felt about the test. It's so long, I don't see how they can feel much other than relieved it's over.</p>
<p>I won't see my kid for a while, as he'll be driving himself, and not coming right home. He'll call, but I expect him to give his stock answer, "Fine." when I ask him how the test was.</p>