<p>I would not encourage a freshman to take an SAT II Subject Test. Of the colleges that require Subject Tests, none requires more than 3, and some require only 2. That means that students have the luxury of choosing their tests carefully. Your son will have ample opportunity to take other Subject Tests throughout high school. With a 9th grader, even one who is an excellent student, I'd be concerned about proper preparation and enough maturity to understand the stakes. Why risk it, especially when every score, whether good or bad, becomes a permanent part of the student's record?</p>
<p>If you don't do well, do you have to report the score? I thought it was different than the SAT in that regard.</p>
<p>I was in the same position as the OP's son and took the SAT II bio test. It was my first time taking any form of the SAT, so I think I overstudied a bit, but I did well. Granted, I did take AP Bio two years later as a junior and could've killed two birds with one stone then, but I hadn't exactly figured out when I'd take what at the time.</p>
<p>It certainly depends on the student. If your son is doing well in class and is a motivated student (as in, willing to study stuff on his own), then I think taking the SAT II now would save some grief later on. I think taking SAT IIs early is a good way of lowering stress levels; I knew a lot of people taking two or three SAT II subject tests at the same time at the end of junior year or right before applications were due senior year. That was also their first time taking those tests, so they were very stressed out.</p>
<p>Maybe your son should take a diagnostic test first (or one of the real SAT II bio tests CB actually releases) and see whether he thinks he can teach himself the material he doesn't know yet.</p>
<p>It's awfully hard to compare biology courses across high schools and whether or not a particular school's 9th grade bio class will prep you adequately or not. The key is to take a practice test and see how you do! My son took a practice test in late April of his freshman year, and when he scored over 700 he decided to go ahead and take the SAT II in early June right after his final exam. It was nice to have an excellent SAT II in his pocket and made junior year testing easier. If his practice test hadn't been that great, he would have just waited until junior year to take other subjects.</p>
<p>youdon'tsay -- Sorry, SAT-IIs get reported along with any SAT you take. They are all College Board exams, so they all get together whenever you send scores to a school. ACT reports separately.</p>
<p>DS2 would have taken the Bio SAT-II last spring, but his first semester teacher never mentioned it, and his second semester teacher didn't say anything until mid-May (and then spent a week working with the class on things not covered in the curriculum). We were out of that loop! His friends scored very, very well. He's taking IB HL Bio, but it's not available 'til senior year. Not waiting that long! We'll get a review book or two and he'll be fine.</p>
<p>College Board score reports show all results from the most recent six ADMINISTRATIONS of SAT Reasoning Tests and SAT Subject Tests from ninth grade on. The "from ninth grade on" bit had an interesting consequence for my son, who took his Math Level 2 Subject Test in eighth grade, when he was good and ready for it. The score was poofed off his score report at the end of the year, and it took quite a while for us to get it restored to his record of scores. </p>
<p>So, yeah, college admission offices will have access to all of the student's scores from ninth grade on, and possibly from before </p>
<p>but this doesn't matter much, because colleges consider a student's best scores for admission decisions.</p>
<p>"If you don't do well, do you have to report the score? I thought it was different than the SAT in that regard."</p>
<p>It is no different. College Board reports all of your scores from grades 9 through 12. You can't ask that some scores -- whether from SAT I or Subject Tests -- be omitted.</p>
<p>I think jrpar's advice is on the mark. Three other things to consider, based on my experience and that of other parents I know: a) Application to some courses of study--notably the combined undergrad/med school type-- can require certain SATIIs, so if he is possibly interested in something requiring a bio score, now's the time. b) You never know what will come up to conflict with SATII dates in future years. My S didn't take a planned SATII in June one year because the state track meet is <em>always</em> scheduled for that date. He ended up taking it the following December, which required brushing up and probably took some points off his score. c) In my experience, if the standard course doesn't cover something normally included on the SATII in the subject, the teacher may be willing to hold a few afterschool sessions to cover the material for kids who want to take the test in June. Of course, the teacher has to be told in advance!</p>
<p>While wjb's comments about immaturity and lack of understanding of the stakes have merit, it's also important to remember that at any particular high school, the curricula for some courses will be a closer match to the expectations of the SAT Subject Tests than others.</p>
<p>Before a freshman with a high grade in biology rejects the idea of taking the SAT Subject Test, he/she might want to find out how students in that particular school do on other science SATs or other SATs in general. If the biology scores tend to run high but many others don't, taking the test might be a good idea, despite the genuine disadvantages of taking such a test in 9th grade.</p>
<p>
[quote]
It was nice to have an excellent SAT II in his pocket and made junior year testing easier.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Amen. Each parent needs to assess their child. For my S, his HS 9th grade bio class and teacher prepared him well for the SATII and I discussed with him in advance the need for self-study on the portion not taught in the 9th grade course.</p>
<p>He had taken the SAT in 7th as part of the Duke TIP program and got a 1390 so he seemed ready for the SATII and did very well. After having both the SAT and SATII experiences early in his life he never had any anxiety about big tests. That was a major plus.</p>
<p>I agree that knowing the "success rate" of my S's private school on the SATII on bio, prior to my S testing, was a major security blanket for me, although I don't know how much difference it made to my S.</p>
<p>Agree with 07Dad -- the average SAT-II for Math Level II at DS1's school is very, very high, so we had no worries about his level of preparation. The teacher not only told the kids, but also the parents, to take it and get it out of the way in 9th grade.</p>
<p>Thanks, as always, for the help.</p>
<p>Are all SATII tests given at various times of the year? S has discovered a real interest in Earth sciences this semester (news to us; he's always been a chemistry/physics kind of kid) and now wants to take AP Env Sciences next year as a junior. Seems like after junior year would be a good time to take it? How far in advance of applying to a school do you have to take it?</p>
<p>Y'all, I'm feeling so clueless about this stuff. I was first-generation college back in the Stone Age and went to a second-tier state U where my SAT score didn't even matter because I was in the top 25% of my graduating class. All of a sudden, those paid hired-gun college counselors are looking good!!</p>
<p>Some Subject Tests are given on more dates than others. Check the calendar </p>
<p>Test</a> Dates Deadlines </p>
<p>for available dates.</p>
<p>No one at our HS ever mentioned SAT II tests. We had to find out about them on our own, and D just picked out 3 subjects and took them at the end of junior year. Several other students whose parents are not as obsessive at planning ahead were scrambling to take them this fall. Not many kids around here go to schools where they are required. At least I will know for my younger kids!</p>
<p>mamabear1234 My S was very fortunate to go to a private school where all the advice was available from the 9th grade Bio teacher and beginning early in 11th grade by the GC's and the college counseling office kept up with the boys (it was an all boy school) to make sure they scheduled and took the SATII's in the courses where the boy was most qualified.</p>
<p>I find the idea that a parent has to figure all this out on their own is somewhat mind-boggling, and when the student doesn't even have involved parent, having it fall to the student is even more horrifying.</p>
<p>The reality in many schools:</p>
<p>
[quote]
At Excel High School, in South Boston, teachers do not just prepare students academically for the SAT; they take them on practice walks to the building where the SAT will be given so they won’t get lost on the day of the test.</p>
<p>At Brighton High in Boston, for the first time this year, John Travers, the head of counseling, and his staff visited every freshman English class to begin mapping out the steps toward college: Maintaining a high grade point average. Taking tough classes. Building a r</p>
<p>marite I read the link you posted. It indicates that the efforts you quoted are fairly new. It also indicated that the problem is that the schools for economically disadvantaged and immigrant students were NOT geared to facilitate college as an option after graduation.</p>
<p>I surely hope that these changes happen. It is possible that it will make the competition to the name brand schools even more fierce.</p>
<p>marite, I tried to read the story but got distracted by the profile on George Clooney.</p>
<p>YouDon'tSay: LOL!</p>
<p>07Dad: You are correct. For the first time, the 9th graders at Brighton High in Boston are told what it takes to aim for college--and it does not even sound like advice on when to take SAT or SAT-IIs. That is the reality at many schools: GCs cannot be relied on to give correct information in a timely manner. I actually remember that at our school, we were not told about the best time to take SAT-IIs. In fact, some science teachers resisted the idea that they should teach to the test. It's not a bad perspective to have, but it did leave their students ill-prepared for tests that were important for admission into highly selective schools.</p>
<p>marite: I'm with you that teaching to a test rather than teaching the subject isn't necessarily what we need. But, I'd like to think that teaching a subject at a level that the students could do well on the SATII isn't asking too much.</p>
<p>I agree that this is another area where the economic "seperate, but not equal" schooling in our nation fails many students. I (and my S) feel truly blessed that we could afford his private school. Success brings success, and that is why (IMO) his private school has a $120 Million permanent endowment.</p>
<p>There is part of me that wonders about that concentration of assets for one 1-12 school, but the school really does provide scholarships (now inching up to middle class families) for able students who would otherwise be very "left behind."</p>