<p>My son is a smart kid, is a 90's student, honor society member, but very last minute with everything. He tends to procrastinate and blame others for his problems. I guess he is just immature.</p>
<p>Here's the problem - he bombed on the S.A.T. Horrible score on the English - low 400's. I don't know how this happened if he is an A.P. English student getting mid nineties grades. He even had an S.A.T. tutor, so I gave him all the tools a kid could want.</p>
<p>He doesn't understand how this score will limit his choice of colleges. He keeps saying he will study for the next test in May, but everytime I want him to do a practice section, he fights me. I feel like crying. He just doesn't get it.</p>
<p>My head is telling me to let him fall on his face and learn his lesson, my heart says to keep trying everyday to help him understand why this is so important. He texted me today at school and said he wanted to do S.A.T. tonight, but here is almost 10 and he is at the gym instead!! What do you do with a kid who doesn't care?</p>
<p>The good news is that he can retake the SAT and get a better score.</p>
<p>Does he know where he wants to go to college? Just show him the facts – ie, avg. score at Big Name University is xxx so if you really want to go there, you’ll have to improve your score.</p>
<p>Can you live with the consequences of his actions or decisions? If so, then it sounds like “letting go” might be the best option. Be sure to not help him “get back up” when he stumbles.</p>
<p>Your S is making it pretty clear that (a) he’s had all the input from you he wants, and (b) he’s taking the SAT lightly and that’s that!</p>
<p>As a teenager I fell in with a really smart group of guys whose one other commonality was an unbroken string of poor decisions. Twenty years later we were still asking ourselves if there was anything our parents could have done to alter our course(s). The unanimous view was “No.”</p>
<p>I might try to enlist a little peer enlightenment-teens seem to listen better to anyone more than their parents. If he hears a classmate talk about how important scores are, their plans for a top college etc. it might spark something. Sometimes feeling a little competitive against someone can spur them on. I might also encourage him to talk to a well-liked teacher or school counselor. This was more a problem for me when it was time for admission and scholarship essays. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Watching your kid make horrible decisions is so painful. I was thinking of taking away the cell phone, but I guess you can’t punish for not studying for the S.A.T. Though I pay for the phone. I think I am going to keep my mouth shut about it from now on…if I can.</p>
<p>I have a child who did really well on the SATs but needed to be prodded a lot on the school work through high school. Recently she said to me “If only someone had told me a few years ago how important it was to work hard and get the best grades I could”. I had only told her about a million times.</p>
<p>My point is that you can talk until you are blue in the face and he will listen or he won’t. Let the chips fall where the may. It all works out in the end and they end up where they are supposed to be.</p>
<p>“You can tell a teenager, but you sure can’t tell 'em much.” My grandmother always says this.</p>
<p>Here is a list, though not complete, of colleges which take applications without tests…note: there is sometimes a portfolio requirement where you might have to send some papers or whatnot…I had a friend who’s kid was an outstanding student and a terrible test taker…which is how I know about this list.</p>
<p>Baybreeze,
When an AP English A student gets 400 on the SAT Verbal, it is time to call the CB for a hand scoring.
It is quite possible your student missed a question and put all subsequent answers one row higher.</p>
<p>What grade level is he in? Junior?
Does he know what college(s) he wishes to apply to? Or, at least, what “tier” of college?
If he does, you should let him know what score ranges they require.
If he doesn’t, well, he may choose to go to community college or a test-optional school and then transfer somewhere else (potentially somewhere very good). There’s plenty of opportunity to be successful that way.
While I would certainly encourage putting full effort into the SAT, the truth is, standardized tests aren’t really necessary or important for every (successful) life path. Some kids are just late bloomers; I’ve read this to be especially true for boys.
I say just sit back, relax, and realize your son doesn’t really need to do well on the SAT to have a great life and future.
He’ll learn the fruits of a procrastinating nature later in life, and adjust appropriately.</p>
<p>Some kids are hesitate to study because if they don’t do anything and then don’t score well, they can say they didn’t study for it. I have tried to get my tenth grader to do a problem a night–it’s a problem I am not having much success with. Perhaps I should text the problem to him or make it into a video game.</p>
<p>There are lots of procrastinators out there. Does he check e-mail? Does he do the question a day on college board where it is sent to the e-mail account? I would have him take it once more before deciding something is wrong, and pay the extra to get the test so you can see what he misses.</p>
<p>You asked for it: Back off!!! What immediate incentives are you providing? Study/school/SAT’s are his job, thus he needs pay! He also needs parents (is there a dad in the picture?) who are patient, encouraging, and kind. Undoubtedly he is fearful of failing your numbers for SAT. Give him three chances and call it a day. He will do SAT’s when he is ready. He may just choose CC. What is most important is that you love on him, accept him, adore him, be so thankful you have a young man who is not into drugs, sex, and is not dying of cancer. Don’t miss the beauty of your baby you used to hold, nurture, and play with. Have fun with your son. He will be gone from your home in just a few months. Meanwhile, bless his socks off like he is the best son a parent could ever have! Now go. And do it! “Back off” on the SAT arm bending, frantic junk; “front on” with hugs, kisses, and a distinct impression that he is amazing. Have fun :)!</p>
<p>There are actually some extremely good test optional schools including Bowdoin and Bates, Knox, etc…you could put together a pretty good mix of safety, match reaches for a 90% student out of those schools. </p>
<p>But, I wanted to second Mominva, cuz the handscoring sounds right. How has he done on previous standardized testing over the years? If he’s generally scored poorly, you can expect more of the same. Some kids just can’t take those tests, and it has not one thing to do with thier intelligence…(I say this as a mother of a perfect scorer…so I’ve no axe to grind with the tests.)</p>
<p>When an AP English A student gets 400 on the SAT Verbal, it is time to call the CB for a hand scoring.
It is quite possible your student missed a question and put all subsequent answers one row higher. </p>
<p>I STRONGLY second this suggestion. Something is seriously wrong, especially if his Math score was much higher.</p>
<p>As for the other issue, studying for the SAT, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. Will taking away his phone make him study? Probably not. So don’t. This is up to him.</p>
<p>Or another indication that high schools should get rid of all AP’s because their reason for existing has been corrupted by competitive greed and peer jealously.</p>
<p>toblin, my first thought was “What kind of lousy AP teacher does this kid have?” But I agree that if the 400 was way out of character with the student’s usual performance in class and on standardized tests then there probably should be a recheck.</p>
<p>I have more questions than answers at this point. How competitive is the school district? Did he score similarly on the PSAT? Does he show other signs of not caring about school or his future in general or do you think it’s possible he was deflated once he got the results of the last test and is just avoiding the whole thing? Typically, an SAT tutor would score your son on a series of practice SAT exams so that you would have some kind of expectation (a range) as to how he’d score on the real thing. The organized classes do this as well. If that was the case, and there are notable discrepancies, then definitely handscore. I’d probably do it regardless. </p>
<p>Other possible underlying factors could be test or general anxiety or lack of ability to concentrate for long periods of time - the SAT is a four hour endurance contest if nothing else. Anything is possible, but before you wash your hands of the whole thing I’d at least try to get to the real root of the issue. The score report should be helpful as well.</p>