S planned to report only Math 2 score because it is a higher score and since it tests more advanced concepts.
However his lower Math 1 score has a much higher national percentile ranking. Would this be a reason to report it as well?
Are there just fewer test-takers for Math1, so it’s easier to be in the top x%? Would any colleges even be looking at/care about the national percentile (that value is not asked for if you self-report scores, but I assume it appears on official score reports), or is it just the raw score they care about (if they care at all!)?
Thanks for any thoughts.
2 things: Report the Math 2 score because it is higher and report the Math 2 score because it shows a wider knowledge of math.
Don’t focus on percentiles. The percentiles for most Subject Tests are depressed because few colleges require/request them. The ones that do are generally the elite ones with low admissions rates anyway. As a result, the students who sit for these exams are very self selecting. No AO is going to be sitting on the floor crossreferencing scores vs. percentiles IMO.
Our school says SAT II Math 2 is the one worth-taking.
Kids who take Math II are the more serious math students and are the ones more likely to be applying to engineering and math schools, so this is a much more competitive pool. If your child took it and did well, report this score. I was also shocked when my son’s 770 was only in something like the 85th percentile, but he was competing with kids who were going onto CalTech and MIT.