worried, discouraged freaked out about low SATs

<p>great ideas, thanks. She is an excellent athlete, and has always done poorly on tests in comparison to the rest of her school work. I love the idea of comparing the test prep to practicing sport, because every coach she has ever had has commented on her great work ethic and determination. </p>

<p>As far as why she does badly, I think it is a combination of a lot of factors - not all that bookish to begin with, panics a little, and her mind just doesn't work that way. I think practice will help, but I want to be very careful not to make her feel stupid because I think that is a big factor as well.</p>

<p>She wants to go to a large university and really is a good student and very diligent. She is taking AP environmental science this year and will qualify for honors physics next year. She will also likely take AP art next year, and honors calculus. As one of the other posters said, I am not at all worried that she will still be at home in 20 years. She is extremely competent and level headed. I am not worried about how she will turn out in the end, I just would like her to have some "mainstream" options and feel frustrated that so much rides on the one test.</p>

<p>I will look into the ACT. Her guidance counselor at school said that most people do about the same on both, but I have heard that it is quite different, so I will have her do a practice test on that one and see how that goes. Thanks so much for all this support and great ideas.</p>

<p>I agree that the PSAT doesn't necessarily predict SAT scores. My ds scored 250 points better on the SAT than the PSAT would have predicted.</p>

<p>Does she finish each section or run out of time? If the problem is time then it might be worth having her tested. I know it's late in the game but my D's good friend turned out to have a vision issue (not dyslexia - I can't remember the name of it) that was finally diagnosed in hs. She takes longer to read passages, even the word problems in math sections. Has always been a great student because she works so hard and puts in the time studying but standardized tests were her downfall. I know there's a stigma to petitioning for the extra time but I've seen it help a young person very much and I think it was genuine. Might be worth exploring.</p>

<p>Tonight we start our home prep work. I am going to have her start with a practice test from that Blue SAT book and see if we can't figure out what the problems are. If time or staying focused is a factor, I will look to see if it is too late to get accommodations. I just don't really know what the problem is and neither does she. She told me that the math looked all unfamiliar to her on the PSAT, but it is less advanced than what she is doing in class, so I think it is a matter of panic, but she says she was not that nervous, so I really can't figure it out. I am hoping that I can help her figure it out through the use of practice tests, and then get accommodations, or a prep class, or a tutor depending upon what we uncover.</p>

<p>Chedva,
I really like your sports analogy, too. Think I will keep it in mind when talking to DS2 about testing, HW, etc. I think it will resonate with him.</p>

<p>You might want to google "convergence insufficiency" which is an eye problem that may affect testing and reading. My daughter had it, treatment (which is exercises) made a huge difference.</p>

<p>(Incidentally, we discovered I had it too, but I compensate well enough I didn't go through the treatment... But I do read with one eye shut.)</p>

<p>I also wanted to do the Xiggi method and the free tutorials on line. Unfortuantely, that didn't work for d; she promised to study but didn't (and that showed on the PSATs). So for the SATs, because of her schedule which precluded any courses, we hired a tutor. That worked for her by forcing her to do the work. If I left it up to her, she wouldn't have done it. And if I were the one to enforce the studying, we probably still wouldn't be speaking today.</p>

<p>I have convergence insufficiency, as does DS1. I've had prisms in my glasses since I was 14. DS1 got them at the end of kindergarten. DS2 has a very mild case and compensates without glasses. I'm absolutely convinced this is why he hates reading, but he will not wear reading glasses. Grr. We've argued, the eye doc has talked to him, etc. Speaking of which, it's about that time of year for an appt. Maybe this time he'll listen.</p>

<p>Chedva, My son was like your D, and we paid for forced tutoring. The tutor forced a complete SAT test every few weeks on Saturdays (which I did not pay for), and then they went over the test the following week (this was the tutoring that I did pay for). I could never have forced my son to sit 4 hours or so on his own to complete an entire SAT test in one sitting, but the tutor could ;)!</p>

<p>Probably not terribly helpful, but D2 is a strong student with good grades, but did worse than I would have expected in her standardized testing. (And has every since 5th grade when she first stared taking standardized tests.) She was diligent about working on her own on practice exams and absolutely refused tutoring or prep classes. (She called both "elitist".) Finally, because she was frustrated to the point of tears by both the SAT and ACT, I had her tested for learning disabilities in the summer between her jr and sr years. Yep, she had a significant deficit in her short term memory--something that would definitely affect her ability to well in high-stress timed tests, but something that wouldn't necessarily be apparent in everyday situations. Because she is bright, she had apparently developed a number of coping skills--and that's typical of bright kids, btw. </p>

<p>By the time I'd gotten the testing results back (just after fall term had begun), it was too late to ask for accommodations for her testing. (The process is involved and must prove that your child is not just eligible for accommodations but also receives them from his/her school. And D didn't want to "stand out" by asking for accommodations at her school--after all she was doing well and had been doing well there since 9th grade.)</p>

<p>D retook the ACT on more time in Oct because she really bombed the science portion of the June test. She did much better on the science section--her score rose 6 points, but her English and math each dropped a couple of points. She ended up with same composite on both tests. (Now if schools only superscored the ACT....)</p>

<p>I guess my point is that there are all kind of subtle learning disabilities--and not all of them involve reading or math skills. But all of them can affect test performance. If you have any suspicions about your D's performance on standardized testing--a evaluation by a ed specialist or school psychologist may be in order.</p>

<p>D now understands why some things give her problems. She's met w/ the school's spec ed specialist and gotten some pointers on how to compensate her for her deficit. She's still refusing accommodations, but she realizes that when she starts college that may not be an option.</p>