<p>eh, why not have him take the ACT instead…? some kids ‘like’ that one better.</p>
<p>The first thing I thought of when I read this thread was a bubbling mistake.</p>
<p>That being said, my son never took the SAT, although he took the PSAT. He went to a private tutor, and after a couple of sessions we realized that the combination of his slow reading speed and his somewhat literal mind-set made the critical reading section a nightmare for him. He took the ACT instead - got a little tutoring for the language-based sections and self-studied for math and science. The math section requires knowledge through trig, I believe. Doing a couple of pre-tests for the science section is extremely helpful. It doesn’t require any specific knowledge, but it requires fast and accurate reading of graphs and charts, which throws some kids for a loop.</p>
<p>“Does hand scoring actually check and fix the problem where a kid got off-by-one? I’m not sure how this would work.”</p>
<p>It’s important to know what happened regardless of whether the score could be changed. If he really understood the material at a 400 level, that calls for a different set of preparations for the next sitting than if he mis-bubbled or gave up and guessed.</p>
<p>I strongly agree that a third party can be the only way to get a message across. He’s invested in resisting Mom’s suggestions, as opposed to resisting SAT prep. You could say that the sky was blue, and he’d push back.</p>
<p>Although I said I wouldn’t give advice, I agree that the score really seems like a weird anomaly for an AP, 90%, 600 Writing score student.</p>
<p>Something was going on. It doesn’t seem right.</p>
<p>Here’s a general raw to scaled conversion chart.<br>
<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/2009-SAT-Raw-Score-to-Scaled-Score-Ranges.pdf[/url]”>Higher Education Professionals | College Board;
<p>Wow - that raw score table shows something is wrong. Even if he messed up with the bubble it’s not going to change his score. So that is water under the bridge, but I guess useful information going forward.</p>
<p>^^^Again from the guy who wasn’t going to give advice.</p>
<p>There is a wealth of information a student can learn from a good tutoring program. There are strategies to the CR exam, just like the math exam. </p>
<p>Let’s assume there was not some weird mis-bubbling or other issue (which I still suspect). One thing that immediately springs to mind is that your son could increase his score a good deal merely by not answering some of the last questions. THat’s because they deduct 1/4 point for each wrong answer. </p>
<p>The CR exam is a grind - a lot of reading can make a kid bleary eyed. For me, fatigue is much more of a factor here, than in math or even writing. First, some kids think they need to read through every bit of every reading passage in detail before starting on the questions. That can get exhausting. But even more, a lot of kids feel like they need to answer every question, like that will give them a leg up. Actually, if you are rushing, that is exactly the wrong strategy. If your problem is time, a good tutor will gauge your ability through practice tests, and then tell you where in the test to stop answering. As you practice, that will be further and further into the test. Obviously, this won’t work if your goal is an 800. But for a decent score it can help.</p>
<p>Don’t back off! It’s a time of great stress for you, especially because you can’t control very much, but your son needs you. No one else knows his potential (and interests) like you do.</p>
<p>I had a similar situation happen with my son. It’s it funny… I’ve forgotten the details (sigh), but I remember I was going nuts with his attitude. (I think I wanted him to go to some meeting or apply for some scholarship.) I ended up talking to a school psychologist, who reminded me that at the end of the day, he needs you. And to hold fast to your relationship, where he goes to college isn’t THAT important.</p>
<p>Boys do grow up, but it’s not always on your timetable. I think visiting a college helped us a lot. And, don’t forget the peer pressure your son is feeling. It’s a big one that I didn’t even realize existed until acceptances started coming in. He’s now a freshman in college.</p>
<p>Your son has an A in junior AP English and received a 400 SAT CR score?</p>
<p>I’d suggest requesting a re-score from CollegeBoard because he either bubbled wrong/his test was scanned wrong, or his school’s AP English program is seriously inadequate/heavily grade inflated.</p>
<p>My D had a problem with her standardized test scores, both SAT and ACT, relative to her actual grades and performance in school. We tried prep courses and private tutors and her numbers just stayed low. The bottom line? It was not that she did not know the answers to the questions, she did great on all her practice tests, however on test day she was overcome with anxiety. A “paralysis by analysis” mindset clicked in and she ended up overanalyzing everything and ran out of time. This happened on each test. D said it felt like a case of stagefright. </p>
<p>I do not know if this is the case with your son, but these standardized tests can create a lot of panic and anxiety which can impact some students more than others. These kids can put a lot of pressure on themselves. The good news is that D made it into her dream school anyway, despite her standardized scores. Good luck!</p>
<p>Your poor son must be crushed! To be in AP English, thinking you are pretty good at the subject, and then you get a 400-as if you had guessed every problem? No wonder he’s lost all of his motivation to prep for this exam. This score can’t be correct, baybreeze. I’m betting something is really wrong. Most kids know, when they walk out of that exam, if they crashed and burned, at least if they are okay test-takers generally. Did you son think he’d totally crashed when he walked out? If so, he ought to have canceled on the spot. If he thought he’d done okay, then I would trust him on this and find out where the problem is.</p>
<p>Our experience, on an AP exam, is that there were actually two tests formats being used to prevent cheating. Students were supposed to indicate which of the two they had based on a numeric they were supposed to write in. S must have zoned out for the 10 seconds when they gave out his test numeric, because he put the other one in. Got a 2 on AP when he expected a 4. He was devastated, so we asked for a rescore. They checked it against the other score sheet-must be a common problem-and his score jumped to the 4 that he’d expected. </p>
<p>If we had jumped to conclusions about the cause, we’d have done him a real disservice.</p>
<p>If you son really did get a 400, then I’d be concerned about some of the other issues that have already been raised. It doesn’t make sense that an AP English student with decent grades scores so badly.</p>
<p>^ Haha I’m always quite paranoid when bubbling in information required before testing actually starts.</p>
<p>"Wow - that raw score table shows something is wrong. "
which is all the more reason to have him take it again.</p>
<p>Do please get his eyes checked and Irlen screened. It’s awful when kid/parent thinks failure is due to laziness when it’s not!</p>
<p>I like the attitude of “Come see me for the payola when the work unit is done.” Calm, professional, puts the management in the teen’s court. </p>
<p>We read a lot of the cartoon series “Zits.” Makes us all laugh – and realize that a lot of this stuff is simply age appropriate behavior. (make that “maddening age appropriate behavior”).</p>
<p>We love “Zits” at our house too. I may just scan one of the strips into the family Christmas newsletter next December.</p>
<p>I loved the 4/13 one…
[Today’s</a> Zits Comic Strip - ArcaMax Publishing](<a href=“Zits | Comics | ArcaMax Publishing”>Zits | Comics | ArcaMax Publishing)</p>
<p>In retrospect, I think that many parenting mistakes that I made when my kids were teens stemmed from my fears. Parenting strategies based on fear are often bad strategies because they’re about the parent/the parent’s fears/the parent’s desires for the child’s future/the parent’s need to have things settled/etc. Good parenting strategies are based on the child’s fears/the child’s desires for the future/etc.</p>
<p>Is he ok now (depressed? drugs? overwhelmed? girlfriend ditched him?) Does he know you love him? Does he know that there are options to going to college (gap year, community college, other types of continuing education)? Does he want to go to college?</p>
<p>Pay attention to what he is ready for and who he is, not what you wish he were ready for or what you want him to be. </p>
<p>There are lots of ways to live good happy lives. College right after high school is just one of many options.</p>
<p>From a high school junior:</p>
<p>If your DS won’t listen, there’s not much you can do. Buy him the College Board practice book. Maybe tell him you won’t pay for him to apply to any school where he doesn’t fall in the middle 50% of students for each section on the SAT. Then back off the SAT (but continue your usual encouragement in other areas, like school and ECs).</p>
<p>There is little correlation between your sons’ AP English grade and how well he does on the AP exam. I was a low 90 student in AP English, yet bombed the CR part of the SAT. I did, however ace the ACT, so give that a shot and see if hes interested?</p>