SAT Prep

[PrincessKsMom]

I'm about ready to pull my hair out. My DD has such a lax attitude about the SATs. And when we do the question of the day I'm shocked at her lack of vocabulary. How does this happen to a kid who's in Honors? I've purchased the SAT practice book but I just can't get her to focus. I can't make her understand how important this is. She's a sophomore and I'm trying to tell her that if she takes it slow, she's got plenty of time but she continually just yeses (yes's) me to death and doesn't do anything. I'm making her take the SAT in June hoping it will be a shock to her system when she does poorly. I honestly can't imagine she'll do well. She did do a faux PSAT and got a 1640 but she needs to realize that really wasn't a good indicator of which she's in for. Please, please help me figure this out. Are there any flashcards or other books, vocabulary or otherwise that you can recommend?

She's got a tough schedule next year and she really wants to take Computer Graphics. It will be the only "easy" class she has and I want her to start to branch out and figure out what interests her. However, it's at the expensive of not taking the school-run SAT prep course. I will NOT pay for an outside course when she's not taking this seriously. So frustrated. She's a great kid and a good student but her laidback attitude is killing me.

 

[disykat]

Is she trying to get into a really competitive school?

Neither of my kids prepped for the SAT - other than taking a challenging high school course load.

One did fairly well, but not quite well enough to get him into his first choice school. He got into our state's most competitive school though.

My younger child doesn't really care. He did reasonably well and fit well into the range of all the schools he's interested in, none of which are highly competitive.

My thought has always been that I don't want my kids to go to a school they have to work too hard to get into.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

She doesn't know what school she'd like to go to. She honestly doesn't know what she wants to go to school for. That's why I'm all for her taking the Computer Graphics course next year. I'd love for her to find something that interests her. And since she doesn't know, I don't want her to miss out on a potentially fantastic school because she didn't get prepared early enough. And I'd be lying if I didn't add that I'm hoping there will be some kind of scholarship/money to help pay because we really haven't saved. I'm sure I'll be taking loans but again, not if she's not going to give it her best effort.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

Is the SAT the most popular test for your region? Lately, in the south, schools have been focusing more on the ACT, but will accept either. They encourage students to take both tests and see which they do better at. The SAT is a reasoning test, and the ACT is a knowledge/logic test. For some reason, I was much better at the ACT. You might have your daughter try that out.

Now, what really helped me on the SAT was an awesome book/CD called "Rock the SAT." Sounds a little corny, but the music was actually pretty good and catchy - it really made you learn vocabulary. I'll never forget the song lyrics, "You're a harbinger of good things to come, a sign that things are changing for me. You're happiness, euphoria, something in my fantasy..." Other than vocab, I did no other SAT/ACT prep.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

Aha! I found it!!! http://www.amazon.com/Rock-SAT-Learning-Listening-Slamming/dp/0071469036

Definitely worth the $10!!!

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Aha! I found it!!! http://www.amazon.com/Rock-SAT-Learning-Listening-Slamming/dp/0071469036

Definitely worth the $10!!!

Thank you! This is exactly the type of thing I was looking for. I might also purchase My SAT Coach for Nintendo DS. And I also found this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193366214X/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

[cornflake]

Does she like to read? There's a veritable cottage industry of (mostly crappy, honestly, but readers can usually find ones that will be amusing at least and not terribly bad at best) novels that work the top 1000 or whatever SAT vocab words into the text.

The words are bolded or italicized and the definitions are in the back in a dictionary/index, but they're just used normally, so it's easier to pick up the meaning contextually, as that's how we learn words naturally.

If that's not of interest - what do you read in the house? If she's reluctant and will not work on her own yet, though trying an SAT may shock her into it, as 1640 isn't, I'm guessing, a score she wants, try workarounds.

The New Yorker always has some interesting pieces and uses a good base vocabulary. If you have it - or say, the NYT - laying around and say 'this article about X was really interesting because... what do you think' if she's not a reader by nature, that can prompt stuff.

You can go so far as to just start with like, family discussions where you say everyone reads the article and then you can talk about it, or every person in the family reads one and then they're discussed roundtable style at dinner. Say you read the idea to do it in a magazine, she'll roll her eyes and not get it's directed at her.

If you can get her to work - I'm not a fan of the flashcard thing for vocab in general. I think kids who aren't motivated (and even some who are) and especially kids who don't have a strong vocabulary to begin with (so there's more to learn and less to relate things to), end up going 'uh, it was on a flashcard,' without having any idea what was on the other side.

Root words, thus, are the most bang for your buck. There are lists online of Greek and Latin roots - she can go through and make her own cards. It's best if it's interactive and if she does it.

Put the root on one side with the definition and then every word she, you, everyone else can think of on the other. Use only the roots she doesn't know, otherwise you're there forever with a giant stack of cards like 'bi.'

If she finds a new word that relates to a root she has, put it on the card, so it's always being thought of. If you see a word that relates, ask if that root wasn't on her cards and what did it mean again, is it on the root card?

That way, even if she doesn't know the word... misogynist, say, if she knows mis means hate, gyn means women, she can figure it out. If she doesn't know what an arboretum is, if she knows arbor means tree, she can get enough of a clue to answer the q.

That's how kids who take Latin (if she can take Latin, do that!) get a benefit and have, in general, good vocabularies.

 

[LisaR]

This is my opinion but she is only a sophomore and has plenty of time. I don't think it is overly unusual for someone her age to not have a clue what they want to do for a living or what college they want to attend. And it isn't unusual for them to not be interested in studying for their SAT's. Forcing her to study for something she doesn't care about will likely result in low retention.

Believe it or not, college is still an option even with low test scores. Harvard won't be on the horizon but I'm guessing that isn't one of her choices anyway.

Have her take it cold without studying. She may just surprise you. If she doesn't do well, she'll be able to see what areas she needs to work on when she takes it again in her junior year.

 

[cornflake]

This is my opinion but she is only a sophomore and has plenty of time. I don't think it is overly unusual for someone her age to not have a clue what they want to do for a living or what college they want to attend. And it isn't unusual for them to not be interested in studying for their SAT's. Forcing her to study for something she doesn't care about will likely result in low retention.

Believe it or not, college is still an option even with low test scores. Harvard won't be on the horizon but I'm guessing that isn't one of her choices anyway.

Have her take it cold without studying. She may just surprise you. If she doesn't do well, she'll be able to see what areas she needs to work on when she takes it again in her junior year.

I absolutely agree everyone doesn't need fantastic scores to get into college, or know what they want to do or where they're interested in going to school.

However - it's March of sophomore year. Only a couple months more of school before summer and then it's junior year.

I'm not one who is all about prep and planning for years, but there is limited time, especially if her daughter is going to be looking at competitive schools and will be taking SAT IIs. It's not immediate, but pretty soon there needs to be thought put into the potential scheduling because there aren't endless dates to be able to take all the tests, especially if she's going to take things two or three times.

There are totally kids who end up cramming nothing but SATs into fall of senior year and holding apps hoping, but that kind of last chance pressure isn't, imo, ideal. Better to start sooner and have options.

 

[NHdisneylover]

This is my opinion but she is only a sophomore and has plenty of time. I don't think it is overly unusual for someone her age to not have a clue what they want to do for a living or what college they want to attend. And it isn't unusual for them to not be interested in studying for their SAT's. Forcing her to study for something she doesn't care about will likely result in low retention.

Believe it or not, college is still an option even with low test scores. Harvard won't be on the horizon but I'm guessing that isn't one of her choices anyway.

Have her take it cold without studying. She may just surprise you. If she doesn't do well, she'll be able to see what areas she needs to work on when she takes it again in her junior year.

I tend to agree with the above. OP, I totally understand that you want what is best for your daughter and you are trying to make that happen, but I think you should take a deep breath and back off. If she is not interested in improving--and has no motivation to do so because she does not have any goal of where to go, all the pushing may just turn her away from college or thinking about her future even more.

I tend to think that by this age, if she asks you to help her then by all means do, but if not back off and let her handle it herself.

Maybe she'll be cramming at the last because she figures out what she wants or gets excited about going to college when her friends start talking about their acceptance letters. Maybe she will put it off until after graduation and then realize after a year or two of working at low paying jobs that she wants more. Maybe she will do well enough and go to not so well known but perfectly good school, or to a community college at first, and be happy with that.

Really, I think the motivation needs to be from her and for her own goals and not out of guilt that mom wants her to do things--otherwise she is not going to really do well or be happy with what she does accomplish.

 

[Aliceacc]

I teach the math section of 2 different SAT classes-- one during the school year and one during the summer.

Honestly, I wouldn't suggest the SAT for a sophomore. They typically haven't seen all the math that's on it. There's plenty of time to take it later-- most kids take it in spring (usually May) of Junior year and then again around Halloween of Senior year.

If you're interested in test prep, go to amazon or Barnes and Noble and order http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/up-...GooglePLA-_-Book-_-Q000000633-_-9780761158738 It's a great guide to testing strategies. (Though they do try a little hard to speak in kid-speak for my taste. I think that's the appeal it has to the kids.) Having her spend some time this summer reading test strategies instead of actual practice testing will probably be a much better use of her time.

My guess is that next year, when all her friends start to really care about the SAT, she will as well. And if, at that point, she has the strategies down, she'll have a real advantage over her peers.

 

[Mom21]

You're singing my song. We homeschooled up until this year. Well semi homeschooled. I took her once a week to a private school for homeschoolers, mainly for math and science but did a few histories and english towards the end. Decided to put my dd in public school this year. She has so many credits they allowed her to skip 9th grade. She is finishing 10th and has most of the requirements to graduate. Only needs 2 more. I even made her repeat some math and science. SInce she doesn't want to graduate any earlier, and nor do I want her to as she will barely be 17 as it is, she is ok with just doing whatever. She knows what she wants and where she wants to go: chemical engineering and a school in north florida. She has skated for so many years (and still does--I thought going to public school would make her work harder. It actually is easier on her than I was.)

Her thing is she refuses to study for any standardized test. I try to tell her that one thing could cause her not to be accepted for her chemical engineering program. That is all she wants to do. She has no backup. I know people say back off, but I would hate it if m dd's immaturity caused her to not get into a program that has been her focus for years.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Is she trying to get into a really competitive school?

Neither of my kids prepped for the SAT - other than taking a challenging high school course load.

One did fairly well, but not quite well enough to get him into his first choice school. He got into our state's most competitive school though.

My younger child doesn't really care. He did reasonably well and fit well into the range of all the schools he's interested in, none of which are highly competitive.

My thought has always been that I don't want my kids to go to a school they have to work too hard to get into.

This. I don't believe in pushing my kid to study for her SAT's. Now, my DD16 is a junior, and she already took them once. She didn't take the PSAT, because it was only offered in the middle of cross country season. and she does 8 dance classes a week on top of that, plus an all-honors/AP course load, and I felt she had enough pressure on her as it is. So, we did early SAT's instead. Sh did ask for (and I got her) a test prep book, and she does the "SAT question of the day" on her iPod. But, it has to come from her--she's the one who will be doing the college work.

My philosophy is, if her SAT scores keep her out of a college, it wasn't the right college for her. She's either not smart enough, or not driven/competitive enough to belong there.

 

[cornflake]

My philosophy is, if her SAT scores keep her out of a college, it wasn't the right college for her. She's either not smart enough, or not driven/competitive enough to belong there.

I guess I get it but if by working harder she could have gotten better scores, or scores good enough to get in... I mean I don't see how the same doesn't apply to grades.

My thought has always been that I don't want my kids to go to a school they have to work too hard to get into.

Same thing as the above, I think. It's just a difference in philosophy and whatever works but from my pov, you'd better work and work hard on grades and testing and etc., to get into the best schools possible, to have the widest and best options possible. It's not all about Harvard or anything - the best school for some kid can be anything, but you have to work hard for that too. I mean... why aim low? Why not strive for the best you can personally do and have every option open? Maybe a kid figures they'll go to the local mediocre school because they think they couldn't get into a top tier, but with work and work on apps and etc., they could - doesn't mean they have to go but they might be more interested than they'd have thought if they actually had the opportunity.

Maybe she'll be cramming at the last because she figures out what she wants or gets excited about going to college when her friends start talking about their acceptance letters. Maybe she will put it off until after graduation and then realize after a year or two of working at low paying jobs that she wants more. Maybe she will do well enough and go to not so well known but perfectly good school, or to a community college at first, and be happy with that.

Really, I think the motivation needs to be from her and for her own goals and not out of guilt that mom wants her to do things--otherwise she is not going to really do well or be happy with what she does accomplish.

I get it, and do know people who were pushed and went to the school and are in the profession dictated by their parents and they don't like it and I'm not advocating that...

However, I think there's got to be a middle ground. If you just let someone whatever enough to not go to college when they could have, figuring a couple of years of sucky jobs will push them back, it's just so much harder to go back, and harder the longer the gap. A gap year designed to be one is one thing but just inertia until there appears motivation could result in years going by and then many more obstacles to going to school.

Same as I think there's a level to which you let a kid not do their homework and take the consequences and there's a line you don't cross where you let them fail or drop out of high school, you know?

 

[linnylu]

I use to think that studying/preparing/practicing for the SATS or ACTS wasn't something that you should push your student to do. However, now with 2 about to go off to college I see the importance for these tests for scholarship money. I am not talking for Ivy League schools, but for many other schools this is a great way to reduce your tuition bill with money that doesn't have to be repaid.
The thing I noticed was that GPAs didn't have to be that high- 3.5. More emphasis was placed on test scores.
It was totally worth it for my oldest to prepare for the ACT. A 33 ACT earned him $26,000 a year to his $48,000 a year university. This was all merit aid and won't have to be repaid.

My vote would be for a school test prep class if it is available. You won't have to be the nag telling her how important these tests are and that she should prepare.

 

[Patience]

It's a very thin line between encouraging and pushing. It's a hard line to walk. I do think that most of the motivation has to come from the child but I also think that parents need to know what their child is realistically capable of academically and set expectations that correspond to that. Not easy!

Encourage your child to do the problem of the day and provide her with a few study guides. Sign her up for an SAT prep course if she asks. But it isn't fair to the child to expect her to score high enough to win scholarships because you haven't saved enough. That is way too much pressure in my opinion. Scholarships are very, very competitive these days and no one should count on them.

Good luck, OP! This raising of teenagers stuff is hard! I have a teenage daughter too. She is a senior this year and is heading to college in the fall.

 

[PlutoPony]

It's probably a little early for your sophomore to be very motivated at this point. The interest for SAT prep seemed to kick in after 1st semester of junior year for my son and friends, That's when the push began from guidance to schedule their senior year and make sure they had the classes that colleges wanted to see. Plus their senior friends were getting their college acceptances and the juniors were getting a much better idea of what it was taking (grades and test scores) to get into the schools they want to attend. All of a sudden they "got it" and started to study and sign up for the test. My son is taking it Saturday and has spent some time over the last 6 weeks studying for it, but not hours and hours and hours. He's done the on-line sample tests, worked through a prep book we bought, and went to an 8 hr prep class at his high school last weekend (emphasis on strategies for taking the test). That's it, so we'll see how he does. Hope to work in the ACT before school is out as well, then re-take whichever one he does best in next fall,assuming XC schedule allows it.

If your daughter is a good student and does reasonably well taking tests, I think she'll be fine waiting for a while to start studying. Good luck!

 

[LisaR]

You're singing my song. We homeschooled up until this year. Well semi homeschooled. I took her once a week to a private school for homeschoolers, mainly for math and science but did a few histories and english towards the end. Decided to put my dd in public school this year. She has so many credits they allowed her to skip 9th grade. She is finishing 10th and has most of the requirements to graduate. Only needs 2 more. I even made her repeat some math and science. SInce she doesn't want to graduate any earlier, and nor do I want her to as she will barely be 17 as it is, she is ok with just doing whatever. She knows what she wants and where she wants to go: chemical engineering and a school in north florida. She has skated for so many years (and still does--I thought going to public school would make her work harder. It actually is easier on her than I was.)

Her thing is she refuses to study for any standardized test. I try to tell her that one thing could cause her not to be accepted for her chemical engineering program. That is all she wants to do. She has no backup. I know people say back off, but I would hate it if m dd's immaturity caused her to not get into a program that has been her focus for years.

But if your DD isn't mature enough to understand the importance of studying so she can get a good score on her SAT's, she likely isn't mature enough to go to a four year university and study chemical engineering. FTR, I don't really think this is the case with your DD. I think she is a normal 9th/10th grader who will do what she needs to do when the time comes. But if she didn't, she will learn when she ends up at a community college or at a school that wasn't her #1 choice.

I really think people need to recognize the difference between a 10th grader and an 11th grader. It is only a year but it really does make all the difference in the world.

 

[punkin]

I teach the math section of 2 different SAT classes-- one during the school year and one during the summer.

Honestly, I wouldn't suggest the SAT for a sophomore. They typically haven't seen all the math that's on it. There's plenty of time to take it later-- most kids take it in spring (usually May) of Junior year and then again around Halloween of Senior year.

If you're interested in test prep, go to amazon or Barnes and Noble and order http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/up-...GooglePLA-_-Book-_-Q000000633-_-9780761158738 It's a great guide to testing strategies. (Though they do try a little hard to speak in kid-speak for my taste. I think that's the appeal it has to the kids.) Having her spend some time this summer reading test strategies instead of actual practice testing will probably be a much better use of her time.

My guess is that next year, when all her friends start to really care about the SAT, she will as well. And if, at that point, she has the strategies down, she'll have a real advantage over her peers.

The SATs have nothing above algebra and geometry, which around here is 8th and 9th grade for most children. The SAT can be easily taken as a sophomore.

 

[violetrose]

My DD and younger DS both took Kaplan SAT prep courses, but not until middle/end of junior year. Maybe you are pushing too hard. Sophmores shouldn't really have to think about college yet imo.

I know it's hard to take our child's lead but I think in this case you have no other choice. The motivation will have to come within.