D24 did break screen time protocol and checked her score. 1300 (690 reading/english and 610 math). She said when she can use her phone again, she will call big brother and flex.
If you are interested in a prep company, I know one that is very flexible with kids time. And runs virtual sessions. What I love is that they give back. I know last year they provided a ton of free tutoring to low income kids. The founder is an MIT grad and was lead researcher for Princeton Review before he left and pulled some top Kaplan and Princeton people with him. Just message me. I donāt get any referral fee. Just know that heās done a great job and he helped my cousin with her MCAT (she was Harvard Med). They tutor kids globally. Their tutors are top notch and I think they also take the tests themselves to stay current.
Can you message me too? our local prep companies are very expensive so I would definitely be interested in an alternative if everyone stays virtual. Thanks!
For test prep I like a local one with a good reputation that does mock tests for practice. Learning to sit there and stay focused for 4 hours is not easyā¦
Is there any particular reason people are having their kids test prep so early in the process? In our area (MA) most kids take the SAT in the spring of Junior year and, again (if necessary) at the start of senior year. Occasionally a few kids will take it the October of junior year. My sophomore hasnāt even taken the PSAT yet as they didnāt offer it to 10th graders this year due to covid. As an aside, my older kiddo used the free Khan academy test prep on the college board web-site - it linked to PSAT results and provided practice problems/questions in areas where he was weak. I thought it was pretty good for a free prep tool. You can also take a practice test.
Kids who are trying for National Merit often prep for the PSAT and SAT at the same time. Theyāll take the PSAT in Oct of junior year and the SAT a month before or after.
I agree with @AlwaysMoving. My older kids did prep where they took monthly timed practice tests and then reviewed their mistakes with the tutor. It is like running a marathon. Pacing is half the battle.
Hmm. I never thought of that. I am trying to decide whether or not that would be a good use of my sonās time. Unfortunately, our school gives a lot of summer work for AP classes so I anticipate a busy summer this year (they donāt offer AP until junior year) and Iām not sure Iāll be able to get him to focus on another academic thing. He has only taken one standardized test (besides our annual MCAS) - the SSAT in 8th grade (for private school admission) where he got a top score with no prep (most kids prep for months). Maybe Iāll have him take a sample PSAT/SAT and see how he does and then decide. Thanks for the info - itās food for thought.
I like to have my kids prep late summer before junior year and take the test early fall of junior year. The big reasons are available time to study and stress this coming summer, and having the tests behind us allows her to focus on other things like sports and tough class assignments.
Just make sure your kid has taken math at a high enough level. I think itās algebra 2 that is needed, but maybe somebody on here knows for sure.
This is our strategy, too. With my D20, we didnāt know to have her prep beforehand. She took the SAT for the first time in Feb of her Jr. year, was not happy with her scores, and then there was a mad rush to find a tutor and fit that in while prepping to take the test again in May as well as prep for AP exams at the same time. No, thank you! This time we will have D24 prep through the summer and take the SAT in the fall of Jr. year and, assuming she scores what we think it a reasonable score to aim for, put it behind her.
My son is in algebra 2 now so that shouldnāt be an issue. I was really wondering about why some kids are prepping now (not this summer) since it seems pretty far in advance of taking the SAT/PSAT next October. I hadnāt considered the NMF angle at all.
D24 got a 1280 with no studying/prep (stronger in English than Math, which we expect as our school does Geometry before Algebra II so she hasnāt had some of the math yet for standardized tests). She was a little bummed because she was hoping to just have to āmaintainā rather than ābuildā if she wants to be competitive for NM, but sheāll have to put that off to summer, with her course load and sports schedule and working on recovering the service piece of the puzzle that fell short due to covid year freshman year, she is pretty maxed out.
Gotcha. I would guess nervous energy and trying to get ahead.
fwiw, the head of the prep service I like told me that in his experience the value of test prep is best when you focus for 2-3 months vs doing it for a year. These tests require specific skills and knowledge that our kids arenāt using anywhere else.
btw, I think one of the hardest things to understand as a first time parent is to be efficient with your kidās time. There is so much stuff theyāre trying to squeeze in and wasting time studying for the SAT a year out is silly when they could be developing a passion, playing a sport, hanging with their friends, etc. In fall of senior year it will be time to write essays, and they will need all those interesting things that makes them them a lot more than 10 points on the SAT.
^and donāt forget they need time to be a teenager. lol.
That is pretty much how I see it. I have a senior who is going TO after only doing OK on the SAT (took once, minimal prep) - he didnāt want to spend the time prepping when he already had a job and a lot of summer work. Due to covid, there was only one sitting last year and by the time this year rolled around he was done. My S24 is a different animal so I am trying to plan a bit, but wasnāt considering starting this early.
My goal too is to get it done this summer, my S goes to precollege all day saturday so any testing interferes with school so prep over the summer and an early and single test is the best option
