Can someone point me to a guide on the different standardized test options or make a recommendation about which ones my child should take? She is currently a 9th grader, and her school recommends taking the SAT in June of the freshman year, because she will have just completed Algebra II. Thoughts? The school still makes students take the PSAT in 10th grade, which I don’t really understand, and I gather the PSAT is optional in 11th grade (for National Merit Scholarships??). Should she repeat the SAT in 10th, 11th, or 12th grades, while taking one or more PSATs?
It looks like there is an optional SAT essay – should she do that? What about the SAT subject tests? What are they used for, and should she do those? Those look like they are similar to AP tests – does she need both or just either/or?
Is there any benefit to taking the ACT as well as SAT?
For background, my child has a 4+ GPA, and I would expect that she is headed for good-to-excellent schools, but maybe not the top tier/Ivies.
I would say to try a practice test of each first and see which she does better with and is more comfortable. My daughter just did practice tests freshman year. Took her first official PSAT sophomore year. Junior year she took the PSAT for NMF and ACT. She was told that STEM focused students tend to do better on the ACT. By the concordance table it was basically a wash for her (just slightly higher ACT).
Some schools have different recommended schedules so talk to the GC about how they do it at your school.
IMO, I would not take a boat load of official tests. If after a practice test, your daughter is scoring high enough, then go ahead and take it. If she’s not, I would practice more. Don’t use an official test to practice. There are countless stories of scores being flagged for “too much” improvement. Also, some colleges request all scores.
I wouldn’t take the SAT without at least 1 PSAT under her belt so you know how she does. My daughter is a sophomore doing Agebra 2 now and we may have her take the SAT at the end of summer so she can prep when school’s not in session. I do think taking is after Algebra 2 is good, but how will her verbal be? We’re waiting for myD’s 1st PSAT score now to see where she is before we decide.
The PSAT/NMSQT test is used to determine the top 1% of junior year students in each state. Personally, I think it is a colossal waste of time for any student who isn’t in reasonable range based on other standardized testing. My kid sure wasn’t anywhere near that range. On PSAT test day each year in HS, she slept late and then we went out for brunch.
Your kid’s SAT and ACT scores will be stronger if she waits. She can review SAT/ACT level math before taking the exam(s) at those future dates.
For lots of fun reading about testing, and current lists of colleges and universites that don’t require the standardized tests, see www.FairTest.org
Taking a real SAT at the end of freshman year sounds like a waste of time and money. Are you sure that they are not taking about the SAT Math subject test?
PSAT: 11th grade to try for National Merit (which could lead to large scholarships at some colleges). Optional for practice in 10th grade.
SAT and ACT: suggest one of each in spring of 11th grade to get baseline standardized test scores to help with the summer college search, and allow a retry in fall of 12th grade (of the initially higher one after more preparation) if desired.
SAT subject tests: reserve the last SAT test date during the year when the relevant course is being completed (e.g. math level 2 as precalculus is being completed). Relatively few colleges want SAT subject tests, but these are often the more desired and selective ones.
Freshman year seems unnecessarily early to be taking the SAT. Her CR score is likely to go up later and as long as she is doing math her math score is unlikely to go down. Both my kids verbal scores went up a lot between 8th grade (when they took it for Talent Search and it doesn’t stay on the record) and the second semester junior year. At least 100 points with no studying, just being olcer.
Taking the PSAT in 10th grade is a very good idea. It’s practice for both the SAT and the junior year PSAT which is the one which counts for National Merit. You’ll find out whether she’s likely to need test prep or not, and whether she might want to try the ACT instead. If her score is close for your state NM cutoffs, studying before the junior year PSAT may be worthwhile.
Are there any colleges that actually look at SAT writing scores? My impression is that ACT writing can matter, but SAT writing not so much.
I agree that it might be the math subject test they are suggesting. I assume your daughter is a strong math student and should therefore just wait until sophomore year after trig/pre-calc and take Math Level 2 and skip Math Level 1.
Freshman year seems unnecessarily early to be taking the SAT. Her CR score is likely to go up later and as long as she is doing math her math score is unlikely to go down. Both my kids verbal scores went up a lot between 8th grade (when they took it for Talent Search and it doesn’t stay on the record) and the second semester junior year. At least 100 points with no studying, just being olcer.
Taking the PSAT in 10th grade is a very good idea. It’s practice for both the SAT and the junior year PSAT which is the one which counts for National Merit. You’ll find out whether she’s likely to need test prep or not, and whether she might want to try the ACT instead. If her score is close for your state NM cutoffs, studying before the junior year PSAT may be worthwhile.
Are there any colleges that actually look at SAT writing scores? My impression is that ACT writing can matter, but SAT writing not so much.
I agree that it might be the math subject test they are suggesting. I assume your daughter is a strong math student and should therefore just wait until sophomore year after trig/pre-calc and take Math Level 2 and skip Math Level 1.
Thanks, all! I will go back to the school counselor and clarify whether they were recommending that my child take the general SAT or a subject SAT this year.
One follow-up question: there seems to be a general recommendation that students take two subject SAT tests. Is it better to take some tests than others?
@ParentVA , for subject tests, it depends on the schools…if you know she’ll be applying to super selective schools, yes SAT subject tests are probably “recommended” (which means, do them).
We are at the end of the process and in retrospect I wish son had tried the SAT. Many of the schools he is interested in superscore the SAT but not the ACT, and there is also more data in their Common Data Sets about SAT scores so I feel like I would have a better idea of where he fits. By the time I figured this out, he was getting burnt out on the entire process and wouldn’t prep for/take the SAT “just to see.”
I was told that the SAT favored kids who were strong at concertualizing, while ACT favored students who retained specific academic knowledge. D1 had a dramatic difference between PSAT and the prep test for the ACT, so all preparation time was focused on SAT. Subject tests were taken as she completed the relevant courses. With D2, wE went to a local test tutoring company who did a practice test under strict conditions that was basically half and half. They projected no strong difference. Since she is into science, we went with ACT. We learned a difficult lesson with D2… just because you completed the relevant course for a subject test does not mean that all the material was covered. Find out whether your school focuses primarily on curriculum required for AP or subject tests. D2 didn’t know this, and did poorly on the biology subject test because there were huge swaths of curriculum not covered in class. One other thing… subject tests became less popular with schools between D1 and D2. Many schools that required them for D1 no longer required for D2. Don’t depend on the counselor for your knowledge exclusively. If you are in a public school, the vast majority of their time is spent just keeping up with class schedules, requested recommendations, etc. Spend time on your own research. In our case, we hired a college counselor for D2 after making a few mistakes with D2.
I took the SAT three times: once just after sophomore year, once just after junior year, and once in the August of my senior year. I would’ve taken the ACT on a similar schedule, but I met my score goal the first time and felt no need to take it again. This schedule worked quite well for me, but I would’ve hated taking either test at the end of freshman year!
Some engineering programs will ask for math plus a science. Carnege Mellon’s CS program when my son applied wanted the science to be Chemistry or Physics. My older son also took US History - he was taking APUSH at the time and he found it very easy. Got a great score.
My younger son applied everywhere undecided. He took Math 2 (got a pretty bad score for the sorts of school he was applying to), US History and Biology the first time he sat for them. Then because he didn’t like his Math score and Georgetown required 3 subject tests, he sat for them again taking Literature, and retaking the other two. Getting almost exactly the same scores again.
While two may now be enough everywhere, my kids thought that once they were in the room it was just as easy to take three tests.
Just pointing out that there isn’t really a GPA, a month into 9th grade. Your school may be recommending the Math 1 subject test, but many kids don’t have the maturity yet to focus on any prep and practice or understand the nature of these tests…
The default recommendation is usually one stem and one non-stem subject test. But frankly, until you’re further into hs, most kids have no idea of their ultimate interests.
SAT with essay depends on whether the target colleges ask for this. So many don’t. You’d have to look at the targets and again, it’s just too early.
Rather than worrying about additional tests now, I’d suggest trying to understand how college admissions works, holistic criteria, how to aim for the right rigor in her coming years. Plus exploring ECs.
Some courses such as AP History help with increasing reading comprehension (finding the detail test is looking for) and translate into a higher SAT CR score. Students on a AB or BC Calc track never stop taking HS math courses. Junior year is perfect for SAT testing. Mine tested during winter to leave time just in case they wanted to retake. Not all students need to prep. Ours did not beyond seeing what they missed on PSAT.
Subject test are a scam to get more $$ for testing. Look at the percentiles and you will understand more. Many of these students are taking AP exams in May of JR year for the same subjects. They are already prepping so May/June subject testing makes sense.
Math 2 is what is asked for at top tier programs - end of precalc works. For Chemistry and Molecular Bio AP courses should be in process or completed.
Many schools do not use the essay section but state schools seem to likely due to less admission staff per application and hence are more data focused versus reading holistically.
Carve out a few Saturdays during JR year with weeks where your student can be well rested. Don’t under estimate “well rested, well rested”. Honestly that was the only parent intervention at our house. Teens always underestimate their sleep requirements.