ISEE test anxiety?

[Anonymous]

My daughter just took the ISEE for high school admissions and is pretty sure she bombed. She has an A- average in all honors classes, but when she took the Middle level ISEE last year her scores were
Verbal reasoning 7
Reading comprehension 7
Quantitative reasoning 4
Mathematics achievement 3
and was not accepted at a nearby private school that isn't supposed to be that hard to get into. So now I'm freaking out about high school.
What's crazy is that she consistently gets better grades in math than English, but she also consistently does better on the verbal section of the ISEE and does not do well on the math section.
Maybe she's just dumb?
(I just wrote that for that one crank out there who's going to say that--beat you to it. Now you'll have to come up with something else.)
She's already had two neuropsych evaluations--no learning disability of any kind. I actually WISH she had a learning disability because then we could treat that and she could go to a special school just for that.
One neuropsych said mild anxiety and mild inattentiveness, the other, a couple years later, said Generalized Anxiety Disorder and ADHD/PI.
So maybe if I had given her ADHD meds she would have done better today?
Ugh. She's in the top 25% for height and the bottom 10% for weight so I haven't wanted to go the stimulant route. Also, all of her teachers and her therapist have all said that they don't feel she needs medication.
I came from a family where everyone got near perfect scores on standardized tests, except me. I do pretty well (1300 SAT) just not GREAT. I overthink things--things that stand out as obvious answers to other people look complex to me. If that's the case with my daughter, does medication help with that?

[Anonymous]

Schools are really easy these days. Almost any kid can get A's in middle school.
The ISEE is a very hard test.

It makes perfect sense that an A- student would get that ISEE score. I wouldn't worry or go pushing for a diagnosis. My daughter had similar grades and a similar ISEE score, as did many of her friends.

[Anonymous]

I wish you could be more loving to yourself and your kid's scores. Perfect scores are not happiness. Look into a variety of schools, I'm sure you'll find one that you and your family enjoy and get the education that fit your needs.
Good luck.
Maybe therapy to giver her tools in dealing with anxiety could be useful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wish you could be more loving to yourself and your kid's scores. Perfect scores are not happiness. Look into a variety of schools, I'm sure you'll find one that you and your family enjoy and get the education that fit your needs.
Good luck.
Maybe therapy to giver her tools in dealing with anxiety could be useful.

That is very good advice. I was just freaking out that NO schools would accept her, but we've applied to a bunch of schools and hopefully one will work out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schools are really easy these days. Almost any kid can get A's in middle school.
The ISEE is a very hard test.

It makes perfect sense that an A- student would get that ISEE score. I wouldn't worry or go pushing for a diagnosis. My daughter had similar grades and a similar ISEE score, as did many of her friends.

Very reassuring to hear that your daughter and her friends had similar scores/grades. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish you could be more loving to yourself and your kid's scores. Perfect scores are not happiness. Look into a variety of schools, I'm sure you'll find one that you and your family enjoy and get the education that fit your needs.
Good luck.
Maybe therapy to giver her tools in dealing with anxiety could be useful.

That is very good advice. I was just freaking out that NO schools would accept her, but we've applied to a bunch of schools and hopefully one will work out.

I relate, OP. My DC scored in the 40%s on the SSAT. I am also freaking out that he won’t get in,

[Anonymous]

My daughter has mild ADHD as well, does very well in math class as it's repetitive and isn't timed. Does not do well with math tests, she makes a lot of careless mistakes or skips over sections to returns to and forgets. I don't think this is unusual and absolutely does not mean your daughter is dumb. I can't speak for your kid, but with mine it comes down to poor executive functioning skills and a coach is probably needed in her future.

[juanjunoz]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter has mild ADHD as well, does very well in math class as it's repetitive and isn't timed. Does not do well with math tests, she makes a lot of careless mistakes or skips over sections to returns to and forgets. I don't think this is unusual and absolutely does not mean your daughter is dumb. I can't speak for your kid, but with mine it comes down to poor executive functioning skills and a coach is probably needed in her future.

Very glad to hear that my daughter isn't the only one. And I never meant to suggest seriously that she or any kid like her was "dumb." I just wrote that for the one crank out there who always posts some vicious comment. TBH I don't think there's anything wrong with a young person having issues with attention and executive functioning--kids develop in different ways and at different rates--they're KIDS, not mini-adults--but the world we live in today puts kids under a microscope in a way that I never was. I came across one of my middle school report cards and showed it to my daughter: all Cs and Ds except for art and music. And I never would have gotten a decent score on the ISEE. Amazingly, after getting asked to take my business elsewhere by the Montgomery County public school system, a private school decided to overlook my bad grades and bad attitude and admitted me. I went on to take AP classes, go to a good (top 15) liberal arts college. But I don't think even that same private school would do that now.
So I think the current educational paradigm puts way too much stress on kids and yet here I am, getting carried right along with it.
Anyhow, thank you for your feedback!

[Anonymous]

juanjunoz wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter has mild ADHD as well, does very well in math class as it's repetitive and isn't timed. Does not do well with math tests, she makes a lot of careless mistakes or skips over sections to returns to and forgets. I don't think this is unusual and absolutely does not mean your daughter is dumb. I can't speak for your kid, but with mine it comes down to poor executive functioning skills and a coach is probably needed in her future.

Very glad to hear that my daughter isn't the only one. And I never meant to suggest seriously that she or any kid like her was "dumb." I just wrote that for the one crank out there who always posts some vicious comment. TBH I don't think there's anything wrong with a young person having issues with attention and executive functioning--kids develop in different ways and at different rates--they're KIDS, not mini-adults--but the world we live in today puts kids under a microscope in a way that I never was. I came across one of my middle school report cards and showed it to my daughter: all Cs and Ds except for art and music. And I never would have gotten a decent score on the ISEE. Amazingly, after getting asked to take my business elsewhere by the Montgomery County public school system, a private school decided to overlook my bad grades and bad attitude and admitted me. I went on to take AP classes, go to a good (top 15) liberal arts college. But I don't think even that same private school would do that now.
So I think the current educational paradigm puts way too much stress on kids and yet here I am, getting carried right along with it.
Anyhow, thank you for your feedback!

MCPS failed my daughter as well, which is why we jumped ship to private. She went from loving school to it being a huge cause of stress and anxiety for her, back to loving (and thriving) in school again. Smaller classrooms and a well rounded curriculum has made a huge difference.

[Anonymous]

I’ve heard repeatedly that scores have been lower since Covid. These aren’t awful. Really.

[Anonymous]

For private school parents, do ISEE scores generally align with ERB scores? It is the same testing company, right? I am wondering if I should have my 8th grader try the ISEE sine they bombed the SSAT. I am not sure retaking the SSAT is even worth it without tutoring in between tests!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For private school parents, do ISEE scores generally align with ERB scores? It is the same testing company, right? I am wondering if I should have my 8th grader try the ISEE sine they bombed the SSAT. I am not sure retaking the SSAT is even worth it without tutoring in between tests!

I’m not certain, but I’ve heard the ISEE is actually harder than SSAT. I thought the high school math SSAT was really challenging for an 8th grader.

[Anonymous]

Test taking is a skill, one that isn't necessarily taught in schools (that's a good thing!). When she didn't do well the first time, did you do any prep -- practice tests, tutoring, etc.? She needs to be taught good test taking strategies.

[Anonymous]

My kid bombed the iSEE -- literally got the lowest possible score on some parts -- and has been making As and Bs all through school. Some kids just aren't test takers. Don't sweat it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For private school parents, do ISEE scores generally align with ERB scores? It is the same testing company, right? I am wondering if I should have my 8th grader try the ISEE sine they bombed the SSAT. I am not sure retaking the SSAT is even worth it without tutoring in between tests!

I’m not certain, but I’ve heard the ISEE is actually harder than SSAT. I thought the high school math SSAT was really challenging for an 8th grader.

how go you know?