<p>Yes… and the OP was not asking about whether kids should take it the tests in middle school, or about whether that “tells the whole story”. She was asking how individual students have gone on to do in HS on these tests, and whether/how they studied. Then someone asked what benefit there was to taking the tests in middle school. No one has said (so far) that the tests are the be-all for how a kid will do in the long run. My kid ended up with program wide recognition for one of her middle school scores, but it does not go on the college apps… as you said, it is more about what they did in the four years.</p>
<p>Poor choice of words. When I wrote “low key” I meant not a crowded program with talent shows, dance contests, dress up days and that sort of thing. THINK seems to be actual college level classes for credit whereas many other programs are mainly for enrichment although some may be for credit in certain circumstances. I think it depends on the school district. Ours will only accept credit for summer programs if they are an actual class, taught by university professors, and with an actual final grade.</p>
<p>@Walker1194 Did not mean to imply anything about state recognition. It is admirable for a middle schooler! Just pointing out my kid’s peer group who mainly took the SAT ( my kid took the ACT) felt she received grand recognition because the SAT was easier. Their words to her back in 7th grade. I am just trying to get an idea of how some early testers fare in their high school years.</p>
<p>My D’s school did not take the credits for the THINK coursework (University of Nevada-Reno credits), but we did not actually ask them to. Not sure yet if her colleges will take it or not, but that is not very important to us. The experience is what mattered. Her high school will send in the U of NV transcript to colleges along with the high school transcript, though (they suggested that, and it makes it super easy to get that transcript to colleges).</p>
<p>Agree that it is not a “crowded” program in that respect. They are serious about academics, and that is what the kids there generally want.</p>
<p>Son’s pattern:</p>
<p>7th grade SAT (took it to qualify for a program): 700M, 610CR, 540W. I borrowed Chalkdust SAT videos from a friend and he watched the math ones before he took the test.</p>
<p>8th grade SAT (took this through CTY talent search): 800M 640CR, 680W. No studying for this, I think.</p>
<p>PSAT 11th: 80M 67CR 78W Not sure he studied.</p>
<p>11th grade SAT: 800M, 790CR, 730W. I think he used a Princeton Review SAT book, mostly to study critical reading, since that was his weakest area.</p>
<p>I think either borrowing videos from the library or getting one or two good prep books would be sufficient if you know your student is a very strong student. Otherwise, I think SAT tutoring/prep class might be helpful.</p>
<p>S got a V 690 and M 450-ish in 7th grade. Can’t recall the math score, but it was about 5 points under the qualifying score for the CTY math and science summer courses, although high enough for the online courses. (Our district elementary schools were weak and erratic in math in those days.) He did not prep at all, other than to run through at least part of a practice test so that he had seen the types of questions on the test. This was obviously before the advent of the Writing section.</p>
<p>He got CR80/M80/W73, IIRC, on the PSAT. The 80s tend to stick in the mind, but the W might have been 74. I do remember that it was 3 questions wrong, because he rather haughtily disagreed with their answers. Again, no prep. (And not surprisingly, the district math program had been overhauled in the meantime. 
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<p>On the SAT, CR800, W780, M720, and no prep yet again. Actually, he insisted on retaking the SAT because he was dissatisfied with his math score, but since he was still unwilling to do any prep he achieved virtually identical results the second time: CR800, W7??, M730. SO super-scored he had a 2310. I guess he ceilinged the CR. :)</p>
<p>I do not remember DD’s middle school scores, but I know they went up. What I told my daughter about prep courses was that for students with average scores, they can be helpful. My analogy was a bit vulgar along the lines of spitting into the wind so that everyone gets a sprinkling. Anyway, DD had an idea of what she needed to work on and she put a few hours into looking over materials. </p>
<p>Her PSAT and SAT were 229 and 2290.</p>
<p>OhioB here. Thanks for the info. D did Summer@Brown last year but didn’t need scores so I wondered. She’ll do first PSAT next month.</p>
<p>My niece took the TIP testing – 560 V, 560 W, 450 M in 7th grade
Got in the high 190s/low 200s on the PSAT junior year (made commended but not NMSF)
2070 on the SAT in 11th (SAT math was not her thing), but a 34 on the ACT. She said she looked at sample questions and that was it. I had warned her about the science section being more reading comp than science.</p>
<p>My kids didn’t do the CTY testing – they were in specialized magnet programs and getting adequately challenged, including radical subject acceleration, with age peers. They spent summers doing stuff they liked (for S1, programming; for S2, archaeology and history). If we lived in an area that didn’t have the kinds of public school programs they attended, there would have been no question about them going for CTY/TIP/Davidson.</p>
<p>S2 really upped his game over HS.
PSAT - 9th grade: 181 (63 CR, 55 M, 63 W)
PSAT - 10th grade: 203 (68 CR, 62 M, 73 W)
PSAT 11th grade 218 (80 CR, 65 M, 73 W)
SAT - March 11th grade – 2200 (CR 710, M 700, W 790 74MC, 12 E)
SAT - June 11th grade – 2290 (740 CR, 760 M, 790 80 MC, 8 E)</p>
<p>S2 didn’t have a tutor, but did a few practice tests (in sections, not the whole thing in a sitting) and we would him analyze error patterns. Second SAT was stone cold, as he had just finished AP/IB exams and was ready to be done with the whole thing.</p>
<p>Funny how almost everyone on here reports SAT scores that are IVY league quality, makes it look easy.</p>
<p>For some kids it is easy. If you were recommended for CTY testing in the first place, your scores on previous tests were in the top 10%. The CTY testing is (or at least was) looking for kids in the top 3%. Those are the kids most likely to have Ivy League type scores. The vast majority of kids don’t take the SAT in 7th grade.</p>
<p>My kid was not “recommended” (her school does not have anything to do with it, and we do not actually live in the “CTY” part of the country), but we had gotten a suggestion from someone who did some testing of her when she was very young to give the talent search process a try. Agree, though, that the kids are more likely to be identified for whatever reason as talent search candidates in middle school are likely to have great test scores later on as well.</p>
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<p>I’ll extend this a bit. For the case described in the OP, I think that little needs to be done in terms of “preparation.” I bracketed the term preparation because it usually generates a battle of semantics, as many associate preparation with the use of a paid tutor or program. In my book, using prior tests and practicing is also preparation, but others might disagree. </p>
<p>My suggestion would be to maintain a slow but dedicated approach and keep standardized tests fresh over the next two years. Taking a few sections of a recent test in a leisurely fashion will accomplish just that, or … reading the post-test discussions on CC! With the current high scores, all that is needed is to gain additional maturity and testing ability. The great benefit of a slow approach is that it builds blocks of knowledge and confidence. </p>
<p>A reasonable objective here would be to have all final scores for the SAT (or ACT) earned around the time of the official PSAT testing date (Junior year) as this will clear up the schedule for Subject Tests and APs in the Spring of Junior year and after.</p>
<p>In our school district, the kids in Gifted had been previously IQ tested and they were given the forms for Duke TIP. At the time, that was the only talent search in FL but CTY just expanded to FL the following year and D took the SAT ( in 8th grade) this time for CTY. We later found out they would have used her scores from the Duke TIP testing to qualify for the CTY programs but at least she got a feel for both tests and I also think she wanted to prove to herself her high ACT score was not a fluke.</p>
<p>Sounds like great advice Xiggi! Also, if kids are finished with Pre-Calc, they should have ll the math they need for ACT, right??</p>
<p>Thanks to xiggi’s advice, D’s official CB SAT test prep book arrived in the mail today. Her first PSAT is next month, she’s a soph.</p>
<p>I’d kind of like her to take it without any prep, to have a benchmark, but will leave it up to her.</p>
<p>She will not be doing a class or tutoring beyond what may be offered in school.</p>
<p>And one more thing - the best preparation for the SAT CR section is to read a lot. It doesn’t have to be great literature either. Both my kids read lots of sci fi and fantasy. I’m convinced that their ability to read fast and the vocabulary they got from their reading lead to their high CR scores.</p>
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<p>Ryan, my niece may have had great numbers, but she parlayed them into a nearly full ride at her flagship. She needed the merit $$, as her parents were/still are unemployed, have had a home repossessed, etc. While she had a couple of top schools on her list, they just were not financially feasible and I am not sure she ever completed those applications. She really wanted to be in Boston, but the money would not work. I am happy to say she is loving her flagship, though, which is a big relief to all of us. My kids are a couple of years older than she is, so I was able to give my niece and SIL some BTDT advice on testing, FA, apps, etc.</p>
<p>With my S2, the biggest thing that helped him increase his scores was IB coursework. He didn’t do ANY prep for the 9th and 10th grade PSATs – took them stone cold. The increases in those years were just from what he learned in school. IB English involved such dissection of literature that his CR scores went way up, too. (BTW, he didn’t even apply to the Ivies.)</p>
<p>Agree with mathmom that reading, in whatever genre you like, is a big help for standardized tests.</p>
<p>CTY generally determines a 50 pt gain per section per academic year completed. </p>
<p>The SSAT predicts SAT scores in that same parameter. For my son, it was pretty close to that.</p>
<p>My son did little prep – looked at an SAT book summer before for about 3 hours total. Mainly, he needed to brush up on the doing Math. The SAT Math is a step down as compared to accelerated Math class. Some kids, like mine, forget the basic algebra.</p>
<p>The only issue my son had is that the essay Writing section was more difficult for him as an 11th grader. He did not increase from 7th grade in his essay score. It could be that the matrix was easier scoring when the W section came out. His ACT essay score was much higher.</p>
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<p>This is absolutely true. I was glued to books as a kid and ended up with 36s in reading and english on the ACT. I also got 80 on the PSAT CR section. There was minimal prep involved (none for the PSAT, did a couple practice tests for the ACT). I have friends who don’t read often and despite practicing a lot for the SAT or ACT, they simply don’t have the comprehension or vocabulary backround.</p>