Did your 7th grader take the SAT?

[pirateofthecarolinas]

My dd13 received an invitation to take the SAT through Duke's TIP program.

I feel it is great for practice. My concern is the math portion will frustrate her. She is in Algebra I. After reading the other math thread it seems that a lot of Algebra II will be on the SAT.

Did your child prepare in any way for the SAT? She can take it in Dec. or late Jan.

She probably won't take any of the TIP summer programs. They are overly priced and not well staffed. My niece taught one of the classes last summer. I was shocked. She did not have any teaching experience and had never worked with children. She was terrified because TIP didn't give her any training and basically threw her to the wolves.

Lori

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My 7th gr. dd will be taking the ACT in Dec. as part of trying to get into the program.

We will be buying her a book to practice. She keeps bugging us. I need to go do that today.

As far as I understand the program, they need to pass only one section with a certain score to get in.

Where did your niece teach her class?

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

Durham. Don't worry she has now graduated and is working full time! She would call me out of desperation because every activity she planned, these smart kids would finish in 10 minutes.

I'm sure she did a good job but I was surprised that TIP would hire her without any experience.

My dd is already in the TIP program. She qualified in 4th grade but never attended the camps.

 

[Christine]

My son did do the SAT when he was in 7th grade. It was just really for fun and to let them see what the test is like. He admitted that he really didn't know most of the math. He had not even had any algebra when it took it. He didn't do too bad at all and, yes, his lower score was the math portion.

My friend's daughter, who is whipsmart in math and most other things, also took it and she scored almost as high as my DD (who took it as a junior). The math was low, naturally, but she aced the writing portion.

I wouldn't worry too much about the test--it's really just kind of a fun thing to do and very interesting to see the results. Usually, once they get nominated for these programs, they can actually take the SAT or ACT again in 8th grade if they want.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

Usually, once they get nominated for these programs, they can actually take the SAT or ACT again in 8th grade if they want.

That's good to know.

 

[SAHDad]

I took the SAT in 7th grade, and although I had not had some of the math, I don't recall it frustrating me overly much. I do know that I did not do any additional prep work for the test, aside from doing some extra vocabulary drills.

 

[eh24fan]

I took the SAT in 7th grade as well and never prepared, in any way. LOL I just saw it was something fun today. Turned out fine, in fact I scored 900something, which was better than some of my friends in HS. I ended up getting some award in our state, that I did NOT want to take a night of my weekend to accept at the "nerd convention" as my ultra-cool 7th grade self called it. Wasn't that sweet of me????

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

I took it when I was in 7th Grade and did well on the verbal part (I never scored below a 600 on the Verbal part any of the times I took it, including 7th grade...my highest Verbal score was 790 as a Junior in high school.) The Math part was only so-so, but I hadn't had Algebra (except what my dad had taught me on his own...starting when I was about 5) yet.

 

[corinascot]

My son took it in 8th grade. He wanted to take it in 7th, but we waited. Many of his friends took it in 7th and/or 8th. I think 8th grade is the last year the scores don't "count" and it's just practice. I have many teacher friends and relatives. SOme of them think it's a ridiculous practice, and just a money maker for Midwest Talent Academy or whatever outfit is offering the program, but many say if your child wants to do it, why not? It's good practice. That's how we felt. He wanted to do it. And now he knows what the SAT is all about. He didn't do any kind of preparation, but some kids did.
He was taking Geometry at the time and he'd had Algebra. His math teacher told the kids not to worry when they came across Algebra II stuff. Just answer what you know. So he didn't stress about it and I think he did prett ywell on it.


Personally, I think the summer programs offered by these groups are a rip off. They try to lure you in with compliments on your "genius, gifted" child and then clean out your wallet.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Personally, I think the summer programs offered by these groups are a rip off. They try to lure you in with compliments on your "genius, gifted" child and then clean out your wallet.

Not having done the summer program, I cannot comment on the program being a "rip-off". I will let you know next yr. if she does one of them.

I will say that my almost 13yodd wants to go so bad. She is not in the gifted program at school. The classes offered to take thru TIP are things that she would not get at reg. school. This is something that is a good fit for my dd. A way of supplementing and learning what direction she wants to go.

The programs here are listed at 3 weeks at a time and you stay in a dorm, like a college kid. Her sister started college as a Freshman this yr and so she has seen the dorms and knows what to expect.

This would also be a bonus because she will have to take care of herself. That alone will be worth the cost.

 

[BuffettFan]

Both my kids took the SATs in 7th grade through Duke.
Both scored VERY well overall..and it was great practice, and hopefully will relieve the stress of taking hte test "for real".

My son had the highest math score of all of the 7th graders who took the test that year, and scored better in math than over 90% of the students who took the test "for real". We were invited to a very nice awards dinner, and he recieved a beautiful award. He was also recognized by a Duke rep at his own school's "Honors Night".......and all it cost us was the test fee that went to the SAT board....so I didnt see it as any kind of rip off.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

Oh, and I'll add that I think the test in 7th Grade when it didn't count was great practice for later tests that did count.

 

[FSUDisneyGirl]

I did this in 7th grade...just to see what the SAT was all about. Didn't study, just took the test...I thought it was fun!

 

[JoiseyMom]

DD13 took it last year in 7th grade as part of the John's Hopkins program. We gave her no prep other then Sat test stratergies. The typical if you odn't know the answer, then don't guess. She enjoyed it and did reasonably well! She will probably take it again this year also.

 

[SeaSpray]

Both of my DSs qualified to take the SATs in 7th and 8th grades, through the John Hopkins Programs.

Older DS(now 21) didn't want to take it until high school, and we didn't force him to. Younger DS (now 18) DID want to take it, and he ended up taking it in 7th and 8th. No preparation whatsoever, except that we did sign him up for the SAT "Question of the Day" that gets delivered to your email. He ended up doing very, very well on the SATs in 7th and 8th, and when it came time to take them "for real" in high school, he did exceptionally well, and went in with absolutely no nerves at all, because he'd already done it twice.

He didn't do ANY of the other programs associated with John Hopkins, except the SATs. He wasn't interested, and we did not push it. I think we only paid the usual fees associated with the SAT, maybe a small fee to John Hopkins? I don't remember, but if we did pay a small amount to JH, it wasn't much, and we apparently felt it was worth it since DS wanted to take the tests.


We never would've forced DS to take the SAT in middle school. I don't see any harm in allowing a 7th or 8th grader to take the SATs as long as they WANT to. Like I said, my DS thought it was fun, and he was eager to see what they were like, and then went into the SATs that counted with a bit more confidence.

 

[IDoDis]

We received a letter last year when DD was in the 7th grade that she could get in some program and take the SAT. I said, "phhhssst" and threw it in the trash. There's no need to take it now. It's just a money maker -- just like all of the "Who's Who" junk we get in the mail where they want to put you in a book -- for a cost, of course.

 

[jsmith]

Both of my sons did this thru the university of denvers TIP program-the test its self was excellent prep-take it once and know what to expect for the next one-both of them took the ACT and the SAT in 7th , 8th and 9th-and used the scores from 9th grade-and the state mandated ACT in 11th grade-for college apps-they were relaxed not stressed because the knew what to expect-scored well-and were much more comfortable than the seniors they were testing with-because by the last time they took it-it was just a way to pass a satuerday morning-and the practice improved scores on the state mandated test as well

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Both of my sons did this thru the university of denvers TIP program-the test its self was excellent prep-take it once and know what to expect for the next one-both of them took the ACT and the SAT in 7th , 8th and 9th-and used the scores from 9th grade-and the state mandated ACT in 11th grade-for college apps-they were relaxed not stressed because the knew what to expect-scored well-and were much more comfortable than the seniors they were testing with-because by the last time they took it-it was just a way to pass a satuerday morning-and the practice improved scores on the state mandated test as well

They took the ACT and the SAT? We were only allowed to pick one.

We choose the ACT because it scores 4 parts and she can sign up to take a writing portion, which she will do since that is one of her interests.

My dd's interests are academics so this is perfect for her.

 

[IDoDis]

Both of my sons did this thru the university of denvers TIP program-the test its self was excellent prep-take it once and know what to expect for the next one-both of them took the ACT and the SAT in 7th , 8th and 9th-and used the scores from 9th grade-and the state mandated ACT in 11th grade-for college apps-they were relaxed not stressed because the knew what to expect-scored well-and were much more comfortable than the seniors they were testing with-because by the last time they took it-it was just a way to pass a satuerday morning-and the practice improved scores on the state mandated test as well

Wow, how do I read all of that in one breath?

I just thought it was a waste of money. There are plenty of books on the market for practice. I'm not worried about DD doing well and taking the test when she's ready.

 

[AshleyW]

I took the ACT when I was in 7th grade. We could choose between SAT or ACT, but most schools in the midwest use the ACT, so my advisors thought it would be best to take the same test I'd take in high school. Anyway, it was good practice, and it was fun to be able to compare my 11th grade score to my 7th grade score.