We are trying to figure out how to handle this one for Kid4. Apparently the PSAT offered next year (Oct 2015) will be for the New SAT. The last Old SAT will be offered (January 2016).
He will do test prep. Any advice? Our school offers the PSAT for practice freshman and sophomore years. Kid4 scored in the top 2% of juniors as a sophomore. We don’t want to just walk away from the SAT altogether but, it’s tempting not to mess with juggling both versions. Maybe he should just prep and take the ACT instead. Anyone have thoughts on this?
If he was in the top 2% as a sophomore, he may be in range for National Merit recognition. He should plan to take the SAT --because if he makes the NM cutoff, he will need to take it. He could take both SATs, or either one. Pick one and prep for it. He will be prepping for new PSAT anyway, so I would choose the new SAT. Some may prefer more prep time/more familiarity with old test.
(My oldest kid took the “new” PSAT in 2004, and the first “new” SAT in 2005–and did make the cut. He took the ACT, but did better on the “new” SAT-- only took it once. I also have a kid in the class for next year’s “new” PSAT/SAT. She will take the ACT, too, but will prep for the new SAT.)
There are no real good reasons for having to make a choice. In the older days, because of the hoopla associated with Subject Tests, students from the “SAT zones” started looking at the ACT as an added tool. Later it became an added tool for many applicants, and the students could use the type of test they liked better.
The same remains true. If your son plans to take the PSAT as a junior, have his efforts culminating in that October slot for both the PSAT and the upcoming SAT test. As an alternative, he might very well focus on the new PSAT and the old SAT in that same October-December timeframe. Chances are high that colleges will be happy to accept both scores, and have a shoulder period before making strong determinations.
If the theories that the new SAT will align itself more closely to HS school work or the ACT, there will not be too many surprises. In the end, juggling three separate tests should not be that much of an ordeal, considering the usual demands of juggling Subject Tests and AP tests. The overlaps are no big deal.
Well here’s what we are thinking about doing. S2 didn’t do quite as well (top 6%) as your Kid4. I think I’m going to have him take it in June. I’m not going to have him prep for it. My thinking is that he will at least have a reasonable score.
Then I can hopefully have him study for the new SAT over the summer. I know there is a thread about holding scores if the score goes up too much but… since they are messing with the test I would think that even if he did a lot better on the new SAT vs the old SAT they probably won’t flag it since there should be a bunch of kids doing better or worse on this new test. Plus he is going to take the ACT next year too . Anyway that’s my thinking…
I’m wondering if the new SAT is an unnecessary risk. Does he need to take the SAT after the PSAT for NM? If he reversed the order, would that still be acceptable?
Since he did well on his 10th grade practice (old) PSAT, we can probably count on a fairly high old SAT score. I have heard that the changes are pretty significant.
I know some colleges want all scores from every test taken. What do you guys think about prepping for the old SAT now and take it early, then switch to prepping for the new PSAT? If he screws up the new format, at least he just risks NM instead of actual admission.
Thanks for the input.
@MichiganGeorgia We cross posted. That sounds like a good idea. June would be very early. Maybe, that’s the way to go. It would allow a lot of time to switch gears.
Taking the SAT without an adequate preparation amounts to a waste of time. There are no reasons to rush into taking the older version unless one has the time to prepare for it. My suggestion remains that it is best to prepare for the new PSAT (almost a given for every student) and present the older SAT before the unveiling of the New SAT in the Spring.
Rather than being detrimental, the new calendar offers additional opportunities as the school are bound to accept both scores and probably focus on the highest scores in either administration. The colleges will have very little data in terms of comparisons and will most probably err on the side of the students, namely discount a poor showing on the new SAT since it is new, but equally consider a higher score on the new test as a bonus.
All in all, inasmuch as the format and the contents of the test is changing, most of what was true in 2014 will still be applicable in 2015 and later.
FYI https://www.collegeboard.org/delivering-opportunity/sat/faqs
DS17 is currently prepping (PrepScholar) at a leisurely pace for the (old) June SAT and then will prep over the summer for the new PSAT. Depending on his old SAT score, we will decide when else to take the SAT. He scored 99+%ile on this year’s sophomore PSAT taken with no prep other than reading the rules, so I think the old SAT format works well for him.
Looking at the past and near-term calendar, there are a number of SAT Saturdays that are taken by other activities. This June is the next available date, for example. So, we would like to use the dates that work.
The confirming SAT does not need to be taken after the PSAT if you are asking regarding NMSF qualification.
We are in CA, and the UC system wants all scores, so he would not take it without prep in the hypothetical case that a low score were likely.
Private college counselor(s) I know are advising their sophomore (current) students to take ACT instead of SAT. The reason being if they study for SAT junior fall and do not do very well then they would need to take the new SAT junior spring without any old practice tests. Some colleges do require all SAT test scores to be reported, so if would be like taking SAT without any prep. They are saying to stick with ACT until new SAT prep tests are ready. Those SAT prep schools are spending millions to come up with the new curriculum. Rumor has it that the new SAT will be more similar to ACT, but we are not going to know until after first few tests.
We have a lot of opinions swirling around us, which is why I posted. Our GC is recommending different paths depending on the student’s 10th grade practice PSAT scores. Our guidance office wants all testing done by the end of junior year at the latest. Their description of all the changes to the SAT concerns me.
The test prep place is recommending classes for both old and new SAT formats.
The private prep tutor is recommending just focusing on the ACT and prep for the new SAT only in time for the new format PSAT next October.
After discussing it, I think he will start prep now for old SAT and take it in June. Then he can switch over to new version for the PSAT. Kid4 is a competitive perfectionist. Hopefully, he’ll be ready for June. If June is below expectations, he can add in the ACT after October. This seems the simplest way forward. -for now, anyway…
@oldfort, it’s all very well to just take the ACT if you are NM material, but if there’s any chance at all that you are in the pool, you have to take the SAT. Since both the old and the new SAT will count for the require SAT in addition to the PSAT, it makes sense to do both since you may prefer one or the other format.
I think xiggi’s correct that you shouldn’t take tests cold, but I have to admit both my boys did very minimal prep for the SATs. Luckily they are both good at standardized tests, but I’m sure the youngest could have been coached to a higher math score. OTOH I think his colleges acceptance gave him plenty of fine choices.
Not too many kids do well taking those tests cold. If you think your kid is one of those people, then by all means take the new SAT without prep material, but it’s not something I would have my kids do.
My S is taking the old SAT and of course has no choice but to take the new PSAT. We went with that decision basically because of the lack of prep materials for the new SAT. There are hundreds of SAT tests to practice with for the old test, but only what the college board puts outs out this spring for the new one. I just don’t trust that the outside “test makers” that sell all those prep books will have them refined enough to closely mirror the new test the first year. Getting that right takes some time.
S will prep for the new PSAT with whatever the college board makes available as for that test he has no choice.
Our sophomore scored quite well on the PSAT as well with no prep, so she’d like to be prepared for possible National Merit process while maintaining her sanity with sports, etc. So I called the NMSQT offices yesterday to ask which version(s) of the SAT will be accepted as a confirming score. The answer? They haven’t decided yet and will post the info on their webpage when they know. The staff member did point out that there has been a two year window of acceptable scores (from SAT tests taken before or after the PSAT), so maybe she was trying to hint that they are leaning towards accepting both versions.
For now, our plan is to have D prep this spring for the ACT, which she’ll take in school anyway, and for the AP Calc test and SAT Math 2 in May. She won’t be able to take the June SAT anyway, so we’ll hope by summer the info will be posted and she can then prep for the appropriate version along with prepping for the new PSAT. She can take a sample SAT to see how it goes if either version will be accepted. She needs to work on timing strategy regardless of the test she takes, as the vast majority of the standardized tests she’s taken are untimed MAP tests.
We hope to finish the tests sooner rather than later. There are so many more interesting things to do than test prep!
Our S also did well with his freshman and soph PSATs without prep. After much deliberation, he plans to prep over the summer and take the old SAT in Oct. or Nov., which would allow time for retakes through Jan. 2016. He will also prep for the new PSAT in Oct. Our hope is he will do well enough to not have to concentrate on the new SAT later on. He also plans to take the ACT spring 2016.
The NMS will have to take both versions into consideration for this year’s Junior class confirming scores, if for no other reason than some kids will have completed their SAT testing before the Oct. 15/18 PSAT dates.
If your state has adopted the Common Core standards, the new SAT (and PSAT) will correspond to Common Core teaching methods. If your S has taken Common Core assessment tests (in NJ, it is the PARCC, and the schools had pre-PARCC assessment tests for freshman and sophomores), he may have some familiarity with how the new SAT will be tested.
@musicohana interesting. Because I called about 2 months ago and they specifically told me that either test could be used to confirm the qualifying score on the PSAT.
That should of course have read “it’s all very well to just take the ACT if you are** NOT ** NM material”
I think there will be a lot of unhappy parents if they change the NM rules and say that tests taken before the PSAT don’t count anymore.
@harvestmooon - I hope you got the more knowledgable one on the phone!
It is worse than that. If history is any indication, the outsiders NEVER get the material “right” as the current crop of the 2005 still attest. The reality is that the wannabe test writers do not come close to adequately reproduce an entire test and are often miles away in terms of content and difficulty. Not to mention misleading answers due to horrible editing.
For the record, I do not believe for a second that any company is spending “millions of dollars” determining the next curriculum. Not the very large members of the industry, and surely not the independents who target the well-off clientele. At best, they are monitoring the WIP released by ETS and adapting the current material to concepts that borrow from … other tests a bit more extensively that before.
The current releases of preliminary questions point to a different test with parts that will be easier and a few parts that will be more challenging to the less advanced student in math. The basic tenets of the SAT will still be there, and the rewards for students who are well-prepared in terms of logic and concentration will still be low hanging fruits. The more advanced math with have few surprises for students who are prepared for the basic AP and Subject Tests. The verbal components will be mostly more challenging for students abroad.
Lastly, I would question any tutor or counselor whose advice solely consists on focusing on the ACT for a couple of years. Question and look elsewhere.
I know the owner of a well known west coast college counseling company, and he is spending a lot of money in coming up with a new SAT curriculum. They are not “determining” the next curriculum, they are gathering actual tests to come up with their curriculum and retraining their tutors, hence they do not advise their students to take SAT I the first year. He is telling his students if they want to take SAT they should be done by Jan of 2016.
I wonder how colleges are going to compare new SAT scores vs old. Maybe they would be looking at percentile rather than actual scores.