<p>I heard mixed messages at school yesterday regarding the PSAT. Kids walking through the hall after the test were saying (to each other), “That test was brutal! The first 6 vocab questions - I didn’t know any of those words. I was like, what the ____?”</p>
<p>But when I got home and asked my youngest he and his friends all thought the test was easy - easier than the test prep I was finally able to get him to do the last week (using Barrons - my favorite prep book as it does tend to make the real tests feel easier).</p>
<p>I still have no illusions about him getting NMSF. I’ll be thrilled if he breaks 60 on each section. </p>
<p>Next test for us is the ACT on the 27th. Time to switch prep books (from SAT to ACT). We’re still expecting to do a “final” test (either SAT or ACT) in the spring. Which one will depend upon which one he does better on (or likes better).</p>
<p>Great to have the PSAT in the rear view mirror! I have no idea when the results come in. I think it depends on the high school. Some wait until after Christmas break.<br>
DS seemed pretty upbeat and happy that it is behind him.</p>
<p>Wow, I don’t know of any school that releases in November. I believe our school gets them in December but holds them hostage until January. With my 2014 grad I was able to log onto collegeboard and get his score in December. I’m not sure how I did that. My memory is foggy. I’m sure I had a code of some sort. I logged on to get my 2009 grads December SAT scores and saw something about PSAT scores being available. I never would have thought to look otherwise. Much to S2’s chagrin I actually laughed when I looked at his scores. He gives me grief to this day. His math and written put him well into NMF range…his CR was pitiful and absolutely not representative of what he was capable of. In looking at the questions he missed it was evident that my math/science brained son did not understand the language they were using to ask the questions. I assured him this was a good thing, something we could easily work with, and easily study for. The PSAT did him a great favor in pointing this out. With decent study effort on his part, specifically on CR he scored over 700 on his SAT CR. The schools he was interested in didn’t reward NMF so it wasn’t really an issue.</p>
<p>I say this to point out, if your students score is lower then they’d like, especially if a section seems like an anomaly, help them understand this is not a bad thing. It is pointing out areas they need to focus on. Carefully looking at the questions missed can really pinpoint where the issue lies. Are they missing actual concepts, did they not finish, are they confused as to what is being asked, what’s the real issue here and how best to address it? Once you determine that it can be very empowering for a student as they feel they have a plan and a direction. Instead of seeing a low score on math they can break it down to “I did well on concepts W, X, Y, but I need to study concepts L, M, & N”. This is specific and less overwhelming then “I need to bring up my math by a bajillion points”.</p>
<p>BI That was well put. I feel like I need to print that out and post it on the bathroom mirror!</p>
<p>Our K2 took the PSAT and I seem to recall like you, that the school held back those scores…at about the same time frame…which annoys the stew out of me, they are my kids scores.</p>
<p>K2 had mixed feelings about it–and never did do the prep I wanted to see get done. So in the end, the scores will either help motivate K2 to put in the effort - or it won’t.
That said, there is a list of schools K2 wants to consider and so I am hoping the scores are not dismal, yet with some motivation and prep, will improve.
The one thing K2 said was " it is a standarized test" …and K2 was tired. OTOH K2 thought it went better than last years prep-test.</p>
<p>Well, my post should reflect S2 as being a 2011 grad, not a 2014 grad in the first paragraph. Sorry for the poor editing! I’m not for hire vandy, but like many other parents here with older kids who have been down this road (lots of us from the 2011 crowd!) I’ll try to post more often. We are pretty honest about our kids shortcomings, what we learned, as well as what worked for them. I hope that what I learned going through this process I can put to good use with S3. As fog says, time will tell. His first go at the SAT is in December.</p>
<p>S3 felt pretty positive about the test. He generally tests well, not one to suffer much anxiety. He did say he was a bit stumped on some of the vocab. I have a list of ‘direct hits’ (400 vocab words…I’d be happy to email them to anyone that wants them, just PM me your email) I had given him last year which I regret not reminding him about last month when I handed him the Big Blue Book…oh well.</p>
<p>Do any other schools have kids take The Plan tests? I’m curious how well they really correlate to the ACT. My son has taken it two years in a row now. He did fantastic in everything except Geometry. He hasn’t had Geometry in two years so I can understand that he would be rusty with it.</p>
<p>Our kids don’t take plan. I know some of the local privates do in addition to the PSAT. It is very common for kids in advanced math to have difficulty, or at least score lower then expected on the math section of the SAT because they forget basic algebra. I know my S2 lost points in this area his first go round. He found that Khan Academy online tutorials were exceptionally helpful. He continues to use them now in college to help study for various subjects. I would have your son try the geometry tutorials for some brush up.</p>
<p>My '14 son took the PLAN test last year. I suspect that score to be similar to his PSAT this year. Time will tell. Scores don’t get sent to schools until Dec (at least, our school).</p>
<p>My two older boys both did better on the ACT. I’m using this PSAT and Oct’s ACT to determine this guy’s forte. It doesn’t matter to me which test he ends up with, but I do want it to be “his” better test.</p>
<p>He does plan to do some Geometry brush ups from his sister’s old ACT study guide books. He was in the 98th or 99th percentile for everything else so I was wondering if this was really accurate. As I mentioned earlier, our school is doing the ACT (free!) twice… once at the end of this month and once in March as part of a state pilot program. All students in Michigan take the ACT in March. Fourteen of them are having juniors and seniors taking it in October also. His estimated composite score was great, even with the very low geometry score. I’d be thrilled to pieces if he does that well on the ACT!</p>
<p>Sorry if I wasn’t clear. I understood you were talking about plan/act. I was just saying the same issue of getting rusty on earlier skills for kids who haven’t seen them in a couple of years (as you said of your son with geometry) holds true with the sat. I was just passing on the resource that we found helpful, beyond the study books, for refreshing those early skills. Good luck to your son on the ACT. Sounds like he’s going to do a great job! :)</p>
<p>My '14 took the PSAT on Wednesday. Now, I expected him to come into my office (we are at the same school) and hear him utter, “I hate that test. Why did you put me through it?” He did not do too well as a sophomore, but I thought of the test as practice for the ACT/SAT. I told him that morning there was no pressure on him, just take the test. I got a surprise. He came into my office and said that he thought he did much better this year than last. He also did the test with a tad more sleep in his body than most nights (lately, he is averaging just five or so hours of sleep because of one teacher’s need to assign lots of AP work). </p>
<p>Maybe that confidence that he has will carry over to the ACT.</p>
