<p>I've been lurking for a while, and I've seen a bunch of people claiming to be "bad test takers." IMO that excuse is bull 99% of the time. How can someone get a 4.0 UW or something similarly high in school and claim to be a "bad test taker" if HE/SHE STILL HAS TO TAKE TESTS IN SCHOOL? It's strange that these "bad test takers" can magically ace tests in school without any problems but claim to have "anxiety problems" or similar BS while taking the SAT. If a student really has anxiety problems, then he/she would also do poorly on school tests, not just on standardized tests (unless the majority of his/her grades are based on projects/homework. In that case their classes are a joke). Someone who has a 4.0 UW but can't get above a 2000 on the SAT either takes easy classes or goes to an easy school, period. It's just sad these days seeing people maintain 4.0s while getting 600s on SAT IIs and 3s on AP tests. </p>
<p>I also hear "I couldn't afford expensive SAT classes" and "I don't have the resources to get a good score" a lot, and IMO I think they're bull too. Since when do you NEED to take expensive SAT classes to get a good score? All you need to buy is the collegeboard blue book, princeton review, and a couple of vocab lists and you should be able to get at least above a 2000 if you study. From experience, SAT classes aren't nearly as effective as people claim. I see kids nowadays thinking that taking $1000 SAT classes will automatically allow them to score above a 2300, and it gets annoying when people who can't afford the classes blame less-than-satisfactory scores on that. </p>
<p>/rant, sorry if I offended anyone. It's just that I've been wanting to say this for a very long time. Feel free to discuss and maybe prove me wrong. And remember, all this is IN MY OPINION, so don't rage please.</p>
<p>I tend to differentiate “bad test taking” from being plain dumb by acknowledging that it might be possible for someone to pace themselves poorly and get a bad score in spite of being smart enough to get the answer if they made better use of the time allotted. I think that’s really all that these classes can do for you–help you to pace yourself better.</p>
<p>Lotta folks like to use “inability to pace myself” as an excuse, but it’s true. Anyone could get the math answers if they were given an eternity to do so.</p>
<p>@Wiscongene, yes but it’s not like kids who don’t take expensive SAT classes can’t learn to pace themselves by taking blue book tests on their own. </p>
<p>Also, I find this amusing as I just participated in a lengthy Facebook debate about this 2 nights ago. However, all the kids involved scored 2200+ on their SAT so it was enjoyable in the sense that there was little whining</p>
<p>The thing is, poor pacing can also occur on tests in school. The biggest problem with the excuse is that for some reason, the student only has problems taking standardized tests while he/she can ace tests in school without any problems.</p>
<p>I usually score higher on standardized tests rather than in school tests so I don’t really understand how people have this problem… Although I guess you could argue “everyone’s different”</p>
<p>I actually seem to see a lot more of the “oh I was extremely sick when I took the test” excuse on here, and it gets me so angry. If you feel like crap CANCEL YOUR SCORE. grrrr</p>
<p>Some people do not do well on multiple choice tests but perform much better on essays. My daughter is one of them. For some reason, she has a hard time processing those types of questions even if she knows the answer. It is troubling, but one only encounters those types of test in school and certifying exams. Excelling in those types of tests has no relevance to job performance in the real world. Certainly, one may need to identify and reject various alternatives when making a decision, but that is not the same.</p>
<p>I had an A in BC Calc (took it last year as a junior) and got a 5 on the exam, but got a 680 on the SAT I math section. My problem was that I just became really bad at lower levels of math; I couldn’t remember the basics! Though I wouldn’t use that as an excuse – I was too lazy to review the topics that would be on the test and shot myself in the foot. </p>
<p>Anyway, I also agree that “bad test-taking” is just an excuse. Just like being “not photogenic” is an excuse for being ugly. Lol</p>
<p>Idk much about the SAT, but I do know quite a bit about the SSAT. This October will be my 4th time taking the test. A disclaimer: I am not a “bad test taker.” I received a high score on my SSAT (93% overall).</p>
<p>I’ve seen some very intelligent people receive low scores on standardized tests. The smartest kid I know got a high 70’s overall on the SSAT. The reasons some intelligent people do poorly on standardized tests:</p>
<p>1) Some test scores are skewed. For example, when I took the SSAT in October last year, I missed 5 questions in the Reading Section and received an 81%. In November, I missed 7 and got a 90%. </p>
<p>One of my friends took the October SSAT and got in the 60’s for Reading. When he retook it in December, he received a 98%. I don’t think he all of a sudden understood what he was reading a ton more (he said he never studied for the SSAT). </p>
<p>The SSAT Math Section is quite similar. On the November SSAT, I missed 5 questions on the Math Section and received a 78% in Math. My friend missed 5 questions on the Math Section in the December SSAT and got a 94%. </p>
<p>2) No practice with standardized tests. The SSAT (and I know the SAT) are very long tests. The SSAT is over 2 hours long. If you haven’t practiced taking tests this long and retaining your attention, your work could become sloppy and not accurately represent your abilities. As seokkyu125 said:
You’re completely correct. But, does that make them any less intelligent than the kid who spent 40 minutes a day on SAT prep? What if they spent that time pursuing something they loved, like a sport or music? Or reading and expanding their mind?</p>
<p>I’ll post the rest of my argument later. I have to get off right now.</p>
<p>I plan on getting an A in calculus this year but I couldn’t finish the math I test because of time limits. I’m a slow worker in math, thats my excuse. I’m not saying you should feel bad for me or my guidance counselor should let the colleges I’m applying to know.</p>
<p>Totally agree with the OP. Some people i know get perfect grades, look down on people who don’t have a 4.0, and then get like an 1800 on the SAT. I’m the opposite way around–I can ace any standardized test but don’t do great in school. It actually kinda sucks.</p>
<p>I’m a bad test taker in math and science just because I’m slow at math. I can do most problems it’ll just take me a while. Whereas in english, and history and stuff I can finish much quicker and more accurately than most people even if I haven’t even read the material.</p>
<p>I think it’s possible for someone who doesn’t normally experience test anxiety to feel it during the SATs, considering many have the mentality that the rest of his or her life will be focused on what score he or she makes.</p>
<p>I will admit that I scored low on my SATs (like, less than a 2000, but a bit above national average) most likely out of poor preparation. Maybe I’m just not that smart.</p>
<p>Why do you even care people have excuses? Just do your best. I’m not saying excuses are good or bad, just saying you get your score and that’s it. Don’t worry about other people’s scores.</p>
<p>Look, if you make up an excuse up for why you scored what you did, then that is kind of a sad thing. Sad as in we should feel bad for the people that do that, and recognize that they only do so because they were been made to feel bad about themselves by a test that they were probably required to take.</p>
<p>Making excuses is a defense mechanism for them. people shouldn’t have to utilize defense mechanisms. We should feel sad that some people have to have it shoved in their faces that they’re not very intelligent compared to the rest of us. </p>
<p>If we didn’t judge people so much based on their intelligence then people wouldn’t make so many stories up about why they performed how they did on the SAT. </p>
<p>If you are upset about the excuses, then you should maybe realize it’s our society that creates an environment which perpetuates them.</p>
<p>btw, by excuses I mean the ones that are truly excuses, i.e not legitimate explanations.</p>
<p>I’m taking AP calculus as a sophomore and got around a 650 last year on a practice test issued by my school …granted, I did minimal studying, I wanted to see what I got purely on my own. I agree though, as a junior/senior/even late sophomore, you should be getting above 700. Otherwise…that’s crazy. I like the act much better because it covers trig, which Im better at than geometry.</p>
…granted, I did minimal studying, I wanted to see what I got purely on my own. I agree though, as a junior/senior/even late sophomore, you should be getting above 700. Otherwise…that’s crazy. I like the act much better because it covers trig, which Im better at than geometry.</p>