<p>My son took 2 SAT tests at home -- first time, he got a 1630 and second time he got a 1795.
Both tests were taken without any prior preparation and the tests were from a college/SAT prep company and these tests were given by a college consultant. We see a pattern in his test results. That is, he gets most of the questions correct in the beginning of the test/sections and then starts making a lot of mistakes towards the end of sections/tests.
This made the Consultant recommend us to see an Educational Psychologist to see if timing is a problem with my son in completing the tests correctly.
But on talking to my son, he says that more than the time, he gets bored towards the end of the section/test and so in a hurry, just clicks the answers.
Now I am wondering what should be our strategy to help him prepare for the SAT. He cannot afford to be bored like this.
Have any of you dealt with an Edu Psych and did he/she help in any way? My son is doing pretty well at school. He is a Sophomore and so far has 5 As and 1 B with 3 APs and 2 Honors classes and plays for JV Basketball. And from my initial conversation with the Edu Psych, it appears that a Psychologist would be of help to kids who are NOT doing well at school in addition to NOT doing well on SAT and so far, he has not had any problems at school -- and he is in fact in a high achieving school with a lot of competition and seems to be doing just fine there.</p>
<p>I think your college consultant is making a mountain out of a likely molehill If he truly is simply “bored” during the test, that’s probably just because he’s unmotivated since it’s not the real thing! It’s hardly shocking that kids often don’t put in their best efforts on practice tests…especially if they feel they’re doing it under duress. Not sure if that’s your son, but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t at least some of the problem, if not all of it. That’s particularly true if he’s only a sophomore and just isn’t ready to commit yet. Those moments of zoning out on practice tests are just because he’s got better things to think about and college applications are two years away. He’s doing well in school, so you’re not facing problems there, so it’s more a question of just getting him to buy in to the whole college process.</p>
<p>Aside from that, the basic format of the SAT causes students to perform just like your son. On most test sections, the easy questions are at the beginning and the hard ones are at the end. It’s normal to make most mistakes at the end. Further, it’s a LONG test, and poorer performance on later sections is probably just a result of fatigue, and as he says “boredom.” Finally, it’s pointless for him to be worrying about SAT prep right now since the test is changing (unless he’s planning to take it next fall and get testing done early). I’m telling all of my students (I’m a tutor), to just do the ACT since it’s a known quantity! </p>
<p>With all that being said, if you truly believe timing is an issue, sit down with him as he does a practice test and see exactly what’s happening time wise. If he really did have slow processing speed, you’d probably know by now since he wouldn’t be finishing school tests. But perhaps he’s checking and re-checking his work too much, or getting hung up on a tough question instead of just moving on to the next one. If motivation really is the problem, then working with a tutor provides the most “accountability,” though I really dislike working with families who essentially want me to force their kids to work. It’s unpleasant and usually ends up being a waste of time and money. But, if all he needs is just a commitment to working on the test a few hours a week, then tutoring can fit the bill. I’d advocate self-prep over classes, though, in most cases. Most classes are too general to get the most bang for your test prep dollar. Just my two cents Best of luck to your son!</p>
<p>The SAT is a long test and part of the preparation is learning to pace and practicing the necessary focus/endurance. That said, it sounds to me like you paid someone to give him these practice tests (why? Is he not motivated enough to sit down and do a practice test on his own?) and now they feel they have to justify their fee somehow. I would suggest starting more slowly, doing just one section and not even worrying too much about the time, to identify what areas he needs to study. Once he has filled some of the knowledge gaps and is more familiar with the types of questions being asked, then worry about the test taking skills of pacing and maintaining focus for a full length test. Maybe he has a problem, but it sounds like your son has the correct explanation–which is that most kids find SAT prep boring and would much rather be doing something else.</p>
If he truly is simply “bored” during the test, that’s probably just because he’s unmotivated since it’s not the real thing! It’s hardly shocking that kids often don’t put in their best efforts on practice tests…especially if they feel they’re doing it under duress. Not sure if that’s your son, but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t at least some of the problem, if not all of it. That’s particularly true if he’s only a sophomore and just isn’t ready to commit yet. Those moments of zoning out on practice tests are just because he’s got better things to think about and college applications are two years away. He’s doing well in school, so you’re not facing problems there, so it’s more a question of just getting him to buy in to the whole college process.</p>