Sounds like the SAT may be better for her as they get more time (for now anyway). Do they give her accommodations? I know they have them (extra time) for AP exams.
1 Like
Mid 30’s is already the ceiling. (Top score is 36.)
1 Like
I guess in terms of ACT I kind of split it 30-31 low 30’s, 32-33 mid 30’s, 34-36 high 30’s.
I benefited way back in the dark ages from high scores, and I think anyone who can take advantage of that should, including my kids when appropriate.
Having said that, I’m not a big fan of the tests. They do help find an occasional diamond in the rough, or in the case of my kids give confirmation that a high GPA from unknown school is a legitimately bright kid. But lots of kids like yours are unfairly hurt by them. I’m glad they are mostly optional now.
Mostly they reflect family income, education level, and support.
3 Likes
I don’t know how optional they will be for our 25 kids. Most are still optional for the 24 kids but I’ve seen a lot of colleges saying they’re going back to tests for 25.
I do not like the tests either.
It’s mostly big southern state schools and MIT, right? Maybe the change is bigger than I thought, tbh I haven’t been following this all that closely. I know with D’s goals (at least at the moment) she wants to apply for a few schools that still require them for the top scholarships. So we have been tentatively planning on needing to take them. Although we thought if she didn’t she would still have lots of good options.
She does not get accommodations. My hope is that she gets the ACT prep elective class she signed up for through the school. It’s a newer course elective given fall of junior year.
My oldest was on on IEP through the district since age 3 with documented learning disabilities. He had a ton of support but still could not score high on the ACT.
Middle kid (current senior) scored a 35 (36 in science) on his first try with zero prep.
Last kid is in the middle. Shes a solid B student.
She is very realistic with her abilities and will be targeting appropriate schools for her.
1 Like
I think some schools still aren’t decided. I was looking at Wheaton’s website the other day and it looked to me like they were bringing back testing. Also, Hillsdale (back in February) wasn’t sure what they were doing beyond the class of 24.
Like you said we need the tests for scholarships anyway so my dd will be taking at least 1 SAT.
2 Likes
I wasn’t meaning to imply that all kids with poor scores lacked parental support, I’m sorry if it came across that way. My kids all had roughly the same parental support, but their scores ran a decent range too. Individual kids without support certainly can and sometimes do hit it out of the park, and others with support aren’t as successful for whatever reason. I’m talking more about averages and the big picture.
I do think that parental income, which is an imperfect but reasonable proxy for parental support, is a huge indicator of test scores. This chart is from Jon Boeckenstedt’s blog. I have attempted to attach the whole article, as well as the chart that shows the ACT Score/Parental Income relationship.
2 Likes
I laughed out loud at “zodiac option” in the teaser text for the blog entry.
1 Like
I’m so ready for this school year to be over. DD still has this week, next week and then finals week. Soccer banquet tonight and then her last choir concert of the year on Thursday.
I have a feeling the summer is going to fly by. DD is going on a school trip to Italy in July. I’m so excited and nervous at the same time!
1 Like
My daughter didnt get on the dance team she wanted. So shes stuck on the junior team and will be dancing with girls 5 years younger than her. Hard to not be sad for her. At 4’11" it does seem height is a factor.
Our 10 year old dog appears to have cancer and is rapidly declining. Coordinating putting down a much loved dog around our sons hs graduation june 11th is hard.
And she starts her first job today.
Good luck to your D on her first day at the job!
Condolences on the other stuff.
1 Like
I’m sorry to hear about the dance team. As someone with a kid also passionate for dance, I know how hard it is to see your kid disappointed about dance options.
It sounds like you have all the highs and lows happening right now. May you find space to celebrate and mourn and may that tension feel ok.
3 Likes
Dance is tough. DD had to give it up this year as she just didn’t have time. She’s had some body changes this year because of giving up ballet. It’s rough.
In good news, DD25 won the secretary position for student council for next year. She is very excited. She will also be junior editor of the yearbook, secretary for another one of her clubs, leadership team for Mock Trial, in the fall musical, spring soccer, and taking 4 ap classes. She refuses to give anything else up. I’m very nervous about how things will go next year.
4 Likes
So sorry about your daughter’s disappointment and your pup’s health. We lost a dog to cancer in January and it was heart breaking. Sending you and your family peace during this difficult time.
1 Like
10th grade officially ended on Tuesday. It was a bit of a train wreck at the end, but at least it’s over. S25 really struggled with the amount of work at the end and just hadn’t planned as well as he should. The last day he insisted he didn’t need to use his extended time accommodation for his math final, and he got through less than half of it before he ran out of time. So he failed the final. Thankfully he had an A which shook out to a B+. He was pretty devastated by failing the test and promised to be more thoughtful about using his accommodations moving forward. So the semester ended with 2 B+ grades and the rest As. But, again, it’s over.
We leave in just over a week for a vacation to South Dakota and Wyoming, and I’m looking forward to some time in nature and adventure with my family. We also have S25’s first college tour planned to South Dakota School of Mines. My husband is very gung ho about it, as his company hires engineers from SDSMT. I don’t think I would want my son all the way in South Dakota, but it will good for him to tour a school and get a sense of what he wants.
1 Like
I’m sorry he didn’t do as well as he hoped on his finals. I guess now he knows that finals aren’t the right time to try to ditch the accommodations. B+ is still a good grade!
Your college visit sounds fun. We don’t have any visits planned this summer. We might do one on Labor Day but other than that our next one won’t be until October.
We still have school until June 8. UGH
2 Likes
My son ( 2023), applied and was accepted to South Dakota School of Mines. He didn’t end up choosing to go there, but, it helped to lower the pressure during the admissions cycle. They offer rolling admissions with a very quick decision turn around. It is so powerful for students to already have an acceptance while they’re struggling to finish supplemental essays and stressing over all of the schools that take months and months to decide. Applying to at least one rolling admissions school is the piece of advice I give everyone who asks, and SD school of mines is one of them. Enjoy your trip!
3 Likes
Oh boy, am I glad to report the school year is done! I wish I could say that I never absorb my child’s stress and that I remained as cool as a cucumber this last month when she had too much to do, but I also wish I won the lottery and didn’t have to think about any bills in my life, and they are both about as equally likely.
D25 struggled with some anxiety toward the end of this year, which made this semester a bit rough. She’s in a better place now and is talking to someone, but we’re having conversations about what seems best for next year. I will not sacrifice my child on the altar of the almighty GPA (even as she checked her grades while we were gone this weekend for family time). Sigh. I’m also realizing that we’ll need to schedule “college” talks --maybe 1x/week starting whenever we think they need to start; I can tell that the topic feels overwhelming to her, and that will force both of us (read: me) to not let it spill into more of the present than it needs to.
2 Likes