<p>I have a technical question :)
DS wants to take SAT II Math in June. He is graduating from 8th grade this month.
Taking SAT in June, is he considered an 8th grader or a 9th grader?
I understand that if he is an 8th grader, his scores will be dropped in a while.
I am just getting cold feet , I guess, afraid he will bomb the test .
Anyone familiar with the issue?</p>
<p>he WILL bomb the test, not trying to discourage you or anything…</p>
<p>i took geometry in 8th grade and i would have bombed it… ask him if he knows what cosine is.</p>
<p>if he doesn’t, i’d suggest you save the money…</p>
<p>How do you know he’s taking geometry? Advanced math students often taken more advanced classes earlier. As long as he’s taken a pre-cal class he should be fine (assuming he’s a good math student). If you’re really worried that he might bomb it get CB’s book and take a practice test. But I don’t think it matters if he takes it in 8th or 9th grade - if he’s not prepared for it there is no reason to take it now. You still have 4 more years!</p>
<p>Even if he is at the proper level of math, why the rush to take it before high school even?</p>
<p>Just making sure, has your kid finished precalc? Because the majority of the Math II is based on trig.</p>
<p>Also, I’m not sure if colleges accept pre-highschool exam scores. So I wouldn’t waste the money.</p>
<p>^ While it’s true that Trig is a big portion of the test I think it’s only around 8-10 questions out of the 50. Still you probably shouldn’t take the test without completing pre-cal, unless your son is like a math genius.</p>
<p>CB deletes AP grades after 5 years; I believe it’s the same for SAT’s. Unless he graduates before the testing date, he is an 8th grader.</p>
<p>Precalc should be completed first - I did Algebra II in 8th grade and would have totally failed without the extra year of trig and more advanced algebra.</p>
<p>Well, what is pre high school then? Where is the cut off ?
Son is well qualified to take this test, he is done with pre-calc and doing lots of problem solving (Mathcounts, ARML). He is taking math 1210 right now. He does not see the problem. It is I who is panicking…
I think that taking this test now will mean least prep/work for him.
Any posters here that took this test after 8th grade?</p>
<p>And thank you for all the replies :)</p>
<p>I am 99% sure you will be fine if you take it in June, because I think the cutoff for scores is 8th grade and above.</p>
<p>Why would you want to start the standardized testing process early?</p>
<p>thirdfloor, standardized testing should be done when a kid is ready for it. For most, that may be 11th-12th grades, but for others, that could be 6th-10th grades.</p>
<p>Kelowna, I don’t know whether SAT II scores are dropped or not – SATs before 9th grade, yes, though you can request they be kept (my spawn kept his 8th grade scores) – but I certainly wouldn’t worry about your kid’s score in 8th grade. Sounds like he’s ready for the test. Has he taken any SAT test before? If he has and has done well, I think it very likely he will do well on the SAT II Math II test. Even if he hasn’t taken an SAT of any kind before, I think it’s still worthwhile for him to take the SAT II so long as he wants to take it.</p>
<p>Just remember that the point of it at this time in his academic career is to give him the opportunity to do above-grade-level testing. Keep your concern about his score to yourself, and let him enjoy the challenge of taking the test. Celebrate that he took it – a good score at his age is gravy.</p>
<p>I recommend yellow cake with chocolate frosting for the celebration; what time should I be there? :)</p>
<p>there’s really no reason for him to take the math SAT II in eighth grade. unless he has learned every topic covered in the SAT II math, then it’s not like he’s going to decrease in skill level since math, up until calculus, builds upon itself or is closely related. </p>
<p>Also, since every sat subject test is weighted, and taking into consideration that everyone on collegeboard aims for perfection, unless your true purpose is for him to get an 800 so that he won’t have to waste a saturday during his junior year, then don’t have him rush into taking it.</p>
<p>Let me take the sparknotes practice test or something.
If he can do it, he’ll write it.
If he can’t the questions will scare him away.</p>
<p>Easy peasy.</p>
<p>If hes going ARML and Mathcounts problems well in 8th grade, he should be able to get an 800 anytime in HS. Take it as early as possible though (as long as he is ready) because you dont want to have 3 tests in one day (which happened to me since I waited to take them)…as a result my SAT Chem score (which Ill get tomorrow) will be lower than what I expected since I was so tired.</p>
<p>What did he get on the AMC? Thats far more important than the Math II (like 10x unless he does horribly on math II) because Im pretty sure your son is shooting for top colleges.</p>
<p>Thank you all.
Again, I stress that it is the parent having cold feet, not the student. The student feels he will do just fine, he just needs to program his TI for statistics problems 
(his own words).
We have talked about Math 2 since the begining of this school year - he has heard for a long time that it will be beneficial if he takes it at the end of the pre-calc course. It is his call, but my advise, to take it now. He is registered for the June date.
But the issue if he is considered an 8th grader in June of his 8th grade year is still out in the air. I guess we will find out as we go along.
I will keep you posted. Thanks again :)</p>
<p>You can just ask collegeboard to keep it…if you get an 800 I dont see why they would erase it just because you are not old enough…infact it should be more impressive.</p>
<p>programming your calc? lol thats why they need to ban calcs on SAT Math II and all SAT math tests just like they do in all the legit math competitions. But I guess if they allow it, then take advantage of it.</p>
<p>Did he write AMC12?</p>
<p>Take a practice test. If you’re satisfied, take the test. If not, wait.</p>
<p>Kelowna, why wouldn’t your son be considered an 8th grader? I think I would plan on the College Board seeing him as an 8th grader (because he is in 8th grade), and expect to write the CB a letter asking it to keep his score (because he’ll do just fine and you’ll want them to keep it). </p>
<p>And here’s the letter (with personal info redacted) I wrote; I fully expect you’ll be writing a similar letter, though without the “Talent Search Scores” part :</p>
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<p>Now: deep cleansing breaths, and make sure you have cake ready on June 6th!</p>