<p>Have your daughters tried the ACT? Many students find the math section less "tricky" and do better. Perhaps they should attempt some practice tests. If they did well in CR on the SAT, they probably will do well on the ACT too, though the science section is challenging, time wise. Taking the ACT most likely eliminates the need for subject tests as well.</p>
<p>twinmom we will definately look into the ACT. Science is a strength for them and maybe the less tricky math section will help them get where they want. Thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>Just a note of caution: The science section of the ACT is not really science at all. It is interpreting graphs and is basically a speed race. It is a very difficult section to finish well in the amount of time given. If your daughters do decide to try that test, have them practice that section under timed conditions.</p>
<p>On the bright side, the ACT is score choice. You can opt to send the score or not. Some high schools put the ACT score on transcripts, either way. The way to avoid this is not to list your daughters' high school as a recipient when they register for the test. It doesn't really matter if the high school knows your girls' scores.</p>
<p>Historymom, my daughter was accepted to at least 4 colleges where her math scores were in the bottom 25% (below the 50% range) -- at two of those colleges, including the one she now attends, her SAT Reading and her ACT composite were also below the range. (She chose to submit ACT's rather than SAT's, but her ACT math score was actually worse than her SAT math - the primary reason she withheld SATs was that her SAT II scores were also poor). She is not a URM or any other "hooked" category -- white, Jewish, both parents have law degrees - so no special allowances for test scores there. </p>
<p>Obviously there were other strengths and she was not applying anywhere to be a math or science major! It is scary to see how far below range she was at the college she now attends -- for example, she had an ACT math of 23, and the 25th percentile for the math subscore among students enrolling her year is 28. (SAT math was 580; 50% range is 640-710)</p>
<p>She took SATs twice, once as a sophomore and once as a junior, and her math score actually went down by 10 points -- but the circumstances were unusual as she did not take any math in high school after her sophomore year due to studying abroad. I am sure that if she had another year of math her scores probably would have gone up slightly -- but I don't think she would ever do all that well on a standardized test because she needs more time to work out problems. She is able to keep up in college classes that require math, like astronomy -- but does say that it takes her a long time to work out the math on problem sets or exams. </p>
<p>I do think it is worthwhile to retake ONCE after studying -- but I discouraged my d. from a third retake. Philosophically, I simply think that it isn't worth stressing over test scores that much, and I wouldn't have wanted to see my d. spending hours of time studying for a test. I'd rather see a more targeted approach -- a few hours spent analyzing problem areas and brushing up on those skills -- but my d. wasn't eager to study in any event. (I found a local company that offered one on one tutoring for both SAT & ACT, and gave my d. the phone number, telling her that I would pay .... but she never made the call)</p>
<h2>FWIW, my d. is doing extremely well academically at her college -- I think she is a strong and capable student who does best in contexts where she can show off her thinking, like writing papers and essay exams, than in standardized tests, where I think she probably has a tendency to overthink the test and get thrown off by distractor options in the multiple-choice format.</h2>
<p>I'd add that my daughter's test scores were well within range for her safeties -- obviously you need to cast a wide net to be sure of success when it comes to college admissions.</p>
<p>I raised my SAT IIC math score from 580 to 750. PM if you want to know what I did to study.</p>
<p>590 to 720 in SAT 1 math by doing some practice math sections only from full tests in various prep books and reading challenging questions carefully at least 3 times. It is amazing how many hard questions are basically riddles with easy math.</p>
<p>Anyone had experience with the SAT prep classes at HS? D's sophomore PSAT's are 98th %ile for reading and writing, but 80th for math, and she is completely unmotivated to do any kind of test prep. She absolutely doesn't want to to Kaplan or Princeton Review's class over the summer, won't do the online SAT prep (although the school provides it free for everyone), and won't work with a tutor on math. I'm not sure of the quality of the SAT prep class, but it would force her to work some practice tests. Suggestions???</p>
<p>to echo what gk23 said, my S raised his math score 70 points (from 690 to 760) by paying attention. This was after getting the scoring sheet and questions back from the first time, and realize his wrong answers weren't lack of knowledge, but rather careless errors.</p>
<p>Obviously, this won't be true for all students, many of whom are much better at paying attention in the first place!</p>
<p>gk23 and garland. I will have my DDs read you posts. Thanks for the reassurance!</p>