@mom2and He only kept Binghamton, and he was deferred. But he actually added Cornell (forgot that one). We live in NY so he applied to one of the land grant colleges, but its still a major reach.
Yes, but also a reminder that most kids, even the very smartest and capable students, do not get to attend a top 25 college. Yet these students get an excellent education and have the potential for great jobs and great lives. The emphasis on super elite colleges as the only path to success feeds the system, the emphasis on grades/stats/ECs and the less than 10% admit rates.
Is this mostly true? If so I may soon join the OP in frustration because my middle schooler is not an avid reader. So far he manages to be an advanced language arts student, maybe due to not much going on in school. Can parents with high stats students confirm this?
I think that’s just anecdotal. My high scoring kid was dyslexic – he barely could read anything until age 11 – but when he did become a reader, he definitely was an avid reader. So if reading was a factor, it was a habit that had a very late start.
The poster might be looking at correlation rather than causation. In other words, maybe they read a lot because they are smart and curious.
My D1 was (and still is) a prolific reader, including on a sophisticated level, from an early age. Excellent vocab. Didn’t help her CR. There’s a method in testing well (hence, all the prep classes.) She wasn’t interested in that skill.
Standardized testing CR can be hit or miss even for avid readers as even the most keen readers aren’t likely to be constantly asking/thinking about discerning questions on a regular basis or doing so under time constraints.
It’s just not a natural way even most educated people in my observations read, especially if one’s not reading something for school.
Reading is only half of it, though. My D could cruise to a 34 for the language tests, but with math score in the mid 20s, she was happy to get a 30 composite – 31 superscore.
I can confirm that avid reading really helps in testing. The comprehension and critical reading skills that get picked up by being an avid reader make a huge difference.
(Hope you aren’t suggesting she’s not a discerning reader. The tests aren’t real life. It may surprise some, since I often explain std tests as a hoop, a necessary evil, but I personally think they’re a heavy dose of bunk.)
My #1, who got very high SAT and ACT scores, was a very early reader and also very numerate. Tested at 5th grade reading when he entered Kindergarten. He read a lot on his own, mainly about sports! HS debater, won math competitions. My #2 got high but not exceptional scores on SAT and ACT; she was an early reader but spent more time drawing things. Won art prizes. Went to art school but later took college math course and went on to earn MS and MBA at a top ten business school.
I do believe you cannot get very high language scores without reading a lot. Early reading is probably less important. If anything, early math competence is much more important for high math scores. I think it is much more difficult to improve language scores with prep than math scores.
mom2and I was referring to super selective schools.
My experience from my students is that the very high scorers (750+) all were avid readers when they were younger. They didn’t have to do anything very different in test prep other than practice a little; they simply scored high. But I am not implying that simply being an avid reader will guarantee a high score. However, it was exceedingly rare to take a so-so reader and turn that student into a high scorer.
And I agree with the above poster on the math. Test prep helps a great deal with the math.
“I do believe you cannot get very high language scores without reading a lot.”
Tell that to my 35 and 36 scoring DD on her English and Reading sections of the ACT ( composite 36) who read literally nothing other than what she was assigned at school ( and used Spark notes to avoid much of that). Its a good theory and was told to her over and over by her counselor. But nope.
She was born a good test taker and was one of those who “put it all on the field” She never scored higher than a 34 on a practice test. She took the real ACT twice (once was State mandated) didn’t have any section below 35.
My D wasn’t a big reader for fun either, and scored about perfect on her ACT. My S LOVES to read, reads all the time, didn’t score as high as she did. He didn’t prep.
It’s a test and IMO measures a certain set of skills. Being an avid reader helps perhaps, but not as much as prep and test familiarity and a certain knack for distilling often dull paragraphs into ideas that aid quick bubble filling.