Would this be a legit complaint?

Parents Forum
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<p>These sound like minor distractions to me, and leaving that many questions unanswered cannot be explained away by something like that. The cheating accusation is <em>really</em> a stretch, and smacks of grabbing at straws. </p>

<p>I think your D simply was not well prepared–as you say, even though she had the materials, she did not prep adequately for her needs–she knew it, and she psyched herself out. Now she is trying to shift the “blame” to others. I’m sorry for her, and sorry if this sounds harsh, but it all sounds pretty bogus to me. I admit that I’ve never had a problem with standardized tests, and always finished early, so I don’t share the perspective of someone who struggles with them.</p>

<p>I suggest that she look at test-optional schools if the rest of her record outperforms her scores.</p>

<p>But I do think that they ought to have a clock in the room. Nowadays, many if not most kids and adults use their phones instead of watches. I don’t think I could even lay hands on a working watch, without going out and buying one! :)</p>

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<p>The main problem that I have with what happened would be the proctor having mini conversations with whoever during the test. </p>

<p>She’ll get the November results Tuesday. Depending on what those reveal, we will probably edit the college list. As of now, she said that she is just going to be done with it. If the December scores come back lower than the November ones, then all that would be submitted is the November date. Also, I’m not sure if cancelling would be helpful because there were no score recipients assigned; she wanted to view the scores herself first. </p>

<p>The 1480 was from all three sections back in May. Definitely will not be going near those…</p>

<p>I considered that some of the lack of focus was caused from anxiety due to the center, but she was already familiar with the setting of that particular high school from April when she took the ACT. Normally, she would have taken it at the Community College that she is currently taking classes at, but they had all of their seats filled. Some of it may have been that the distractions started to occur right after the test began, throwing her off for the rest of the duration. The other times she took the SAT at the CC, there were no distractions or interruptions, possibly making the test yesterday worse since she was not used to that type of environment.</p>

<p>The December test was also the last available one for her too, not counting January due to the SAT II being then…which she might reconsider when she gets the November ones. She told me that she wanted to take both the SAT I and the SAT II to make her a more competitive applicant. Until she told me, I had no idea what a SAT Subject Test was. </p>

<p>It’s not so much that I’m focusing on the scores, I just don’t want to see her disappointed or realize that she may have overestimated herself. Short story why: When we were on a family vacation back in October, she and I went out to lunch and out of nowhere, she starts talking about how she thinks she has reached her limit and has high, maybe too high, expectations of herself because of everything she has accomplished thus far in HS. Trust me, I would love for her to be interested in colleges in our state and graduate at the normal rate of the typical student, but she doesn’t, and I am trying to be supportive and help her get to where she wants to be. </p>

<p>If scores weren’t a major component of the application process, I’m sure she would just accept what she was given. </p>

<p>Has anyone heard of Wake Forest University? She did some research on colleges that are test optional and that offered a Psychology Major and found WFU. It also seems that they are ranked pretty well too. Almost right at the Top 30.</p>

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<p>Has anyone heard of Wake Forest University? She did some research on colleges that are test optional and that offered a Psychology Major and found WFU. It also seems that they are ranked pretty well too. Almost right at the Top 30.</p>

<p>Probably everyone here has heard of Wake Forest. :slight_smile: It’s a very popular school and can be a challenge to get accepted to.</p>

<p>Yes, Wake is “test optional”. how is your D’s GPA? </p>

<p>Has she taken a very rigorous curriculum at her high school (the most challenging courses, APs, etc)?</p>

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<p>I have been a volunteer during AP and IB tests with a teacher in the room as official proctor. You would be surprised at the number of things that can’t be controlled. Kids have questions about where they can write extra sentences, need tissues, have to go to the bathroom etc. The volunteers would come to raised hands and have a few quiet words for these questions during the tests. Sometimes people go in and out. School bells ring and other outside noises occur. The students seem totally unfazed by any of it. They seem to considered it normal testing procedure.</p>

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<p>OP,</p>

<p>Wake Forest is a very good school, very well known–and very well known for its academic rigor and heavy workload, hence the nickname “Work Forest.”</p>

<p>If your daughter does not do well under pressure, you might want to carefully consider the academic atmospheres of the schools to which she applies. From what you have said here on CC, I am not sure that WF would be a good fit for her personality.</p>

<p>But there are a lot of test-optional schools out there, and most schools offer psychology as a major, so she should be able to find lots of good options both academically and personality wise.</p>

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<p>^^</p>

<p>I agree.</p>

<p>It seems like the OP is concerned about rankings and such (the mentioning of WF as being top 30), yet her D’s test scores aren’t in the range for such schools (even if WF is test optional).</p>

<p>if she’s the type to get test-anxiety and/or not do her best when conditions aren’t perfect, then attending a school where many/most of the students were super performers in high school wouldn’t likely be a good fit. </p>

<p>When she gets her Nov results back on Tuesday, those results may end up being her best scores since it sounds like she left too many blank answers on the Dec test. </p>

<p>If her Nov results are in the 1500 - 1750 range (1000 - 1150 M+CR), does she really need to be applying to schools that require SAT IIs?</p>

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<p>^^^Agree with both these post. Wake can be pretty intense and is known for grade deflation. As you seem new to the process, I would encourage you to read some of the great posts about colleges that are Safeties. You really need to have at least 1 maybe 2 academic and financial safeties.</p>

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<p>JollyJumper, seventh graders go to strange high schools to take the SAT for JHU and other talent searches! And your D is a HS senior who is taking CC classes, and you think she can’t cope with a new room?</p>

<p>So the proctor may have had an inaudible conversation or two with someone. And because of this your D can’t function and leaves half the questions blank on a section?</p>

<p>Come on. You know this isn’t reasonable.</p>

<p>It really sounds as if she tends to become crippled by anxiety. Given that, I think that you should, as boysx3 suggested above, carefully consider the atmosphere of the school she goes to. I think you need to look for a nurturing environment, not a competitive one.</p>

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<p>Anecdotally most kids that have studied see a big jump from taking the first to the second time of both the ACT and SAT, the jumps at least as reported on threads here tend to flatten out the third and the fourth…if kids even take it four times. much of the test is learning the pace which kids tend to master between the first and second time. I drew the line at 3 times with my third son and he didn’t see a significant change - at least a big enough change that would alter his application list.</p>

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<p>Test optional schools, since some really good students are not good SAT takers -
[SAT/ACT</a> Optional 4-Year Universities | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional]SAT/ACT”>ACT/SAT Optional List - Fairtest)</p>

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<p>I’d suggest she also check out [Colleges</a> That Change Lives](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.org/) and the [Women’s</a> College Coalition](<a href=“http://www.womenscolleges.org/]Women’s”>http://www.womenscolleges.org/). There are plenty of good schools out there that would love an application from a student who has accomplished a lot in high school, is already taking college courses, and just doesn’t test well.</p>

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<p>Sometimes a kid develops anxiety or panic disorder in the senior year of high school, that is not predictive for college. Only your daughter and you know whether this anxiety problem is a longer term issue and something that needs to be dealt with in therapy, with meds, or some other approach. In any case, it sounds to me like the pressures involved in college applications need to be ratcheted down for her. Help her put things in perspective.</p>

<p>However, with proper treatment, she does not have to adjust her college choices. Plenty of kids at Harvard have anxiety disorders, believe me.</p>

<p>You will see, on the previous post, that there are many, many schools across the spectrum of selectivity, that do not require SAT’s. I don’t know why she is doing SAT II’s. I would cancel the Dec. SAT I scores, and cancel the January SAT II’s. </p>

<p>If she wants to try again with the SAT I in January, I would take her to a psychologist or mental health counselor to work on ways to cope, preferably someone good with test anxiety. Earplugs might help. Hypnosis can help. And understanding that SAT’s can be optional, or can be a small part of an application, can help. Some therapists will do desensitization exercises. Or a tiny amount of a med might also help, and I mean tiny, not so much as to alter performance but just enough to bring her anxiety down.( Musicians use beta blockers for auditions, I have heard.)</p>

<p>Is it possible that something else is going on, like ADHD or some undiagnosed learning issue? It sounds like anxiety or panic could explain her reactions, but the large number of blanks would seem to demonstrate some kind of “slow processing.” A person can be very, very bright and still process slowly. Not to suggest another professional, but a good neuro-psychologist could evaluate that and also help with test anxiety, so you could “kill two birds with one stone.”</p>

<p>It is too late to do this, but some students with anxiety, ADHD or other disabilities can get accommodations allowing them to take the test in a separate room, have extra time, and so on. This levels the playing field and allows them to show what they can do. However, the process for getting these accommodations is lengthy and complicated and needs to be done months in advance, with plenty of accommodation.</p>

<p>One of my kids has type 1 diabetes and has to leave the room to take care of her pump, shots, or have glucose, for her safety. She has accommodations that require that she does not miss time in the test for these tasks. Tell you daughter not to assume anything about anyone leaving the room.</p>

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<p>@Moreover, I’ll have to disagree that Wake is known for grade deflation. [National</a> Trends in Grade Inflation, American Colleges and Universities](<a href=“http://gradeinflation.com/]National”>http://gradeinflation.com/)</p>

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<p>Earplugs are not allowed in the SAT testing room.</p>

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<p>This post is over a year old now - 2012…</p>