<p>My son is in 8th grade and taking a real ACT this spring.</p>
<p>He has two logical choices, our local HS where he will see 10th and 11th graders he knows or another HS maybe one mile further away - nwhere he probably won't see anyone he knows.</p>
<p>Which is better? I was thinking the other HS where he wouldn't be distracted by seeing some older friends from baseball, etc., but a wise friend suggested that since he will be taking a lot of tests at our own HS, he might as well start getting used to taking tests there.</p>
<p>It might be a little more comfortable for him to actually take it at your local high school. D took the SAT through the Duke TIP program in 7th grade, and the worst part of it was walking into a school gym where she knew nobody, and had to endure the stare's and comment's from the high school student's who didn't know why they (about 10 other's) were there.</p>
<p>my D took it in 7th grade, and most HS students are so caught up in their own stuff, an 8th grader, eh....its early, they are crabby, and busy, and just want to get in and out...period...who is there or not, well....no one is much paying attention, so do the local school....</p>
<p>yeh, my D was worried about what the "big" kids would think of her- she was like 4'8" and these were juniors....she looked her age, too...they paid no heed at all...</p>
<p>what was important was to make sure the proctor was aware she was a 7th grader, just in case of an emergency, etc</p>
<p>ps- I never had her do any prep...the test was gonna be what it was...I think for her, if she had done prep it would have made her more nervous...so I told her, that whatever she got, it would be absolutely fine, no pressure whatsoever...that helped</p>
<p>My son took the SAT in 7th and in 8th grade through CTY's talent search. Though he took it at two different schools, both times the young test-takers were tested in a room by themselves. Sure, they all had to walk into the school and be herded through the crowds of high schoolers, but many of them found each other before the doors opened, so they were with kids their age already. I accompanied my son into the school as far as I could, as did every single other parental unit of a middle-schooler, so it was pretty easy to find the other 7th and 8th graders.</p>
<p>I think it's best to be in a school he will feel most comfortable in, but if one school is likely to have a much larger contingent of middle-schoolers than the other and will separate them out, I might be tempted to head for that one.</p>
<p>My son took the SAT and ACT in 6th Grade and then agoin this year in 7th grade. He took the ACT at a high school about 20 miles away and the ACT at a University about 20 miles away. The enviroment is very controlled and there is strong possibilty that he won't even be in the same room as the boys he knows. I didn't make a big deal that the othere students were seniors.<br>
I wouldn't worry about it. Just tell him to do his best and he will be fine. BTW, my son,12, received a 1130 (1660 with writing) on the SAT and received a 27 (science is a 30, math is a 25). Each year he takes it his scores goes up.</p>