Parenting advice -- SAT test
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Anonymous
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My son is in the process of studying for the SAT. He's taking practice tests and has a tutor, but he isn't happy with his score. He gets mad at himself about it. It's a perfectly good score and has gone up since the PSAT. We remind him that a test score doesn't reflect who he is as a person and that we're proud of him for his hard work. He doesn't agree and just gets annoyed by my well-meaning comments. He's someone who tends to hold in his feelings in rather than talk about them.
Anyone else been through this and have advice on helping parenting and supporting through these tests? |
Anonymous
| Stop telling him the same things over and over. He just needs to vent his stress. You babbling on and on isn't actually helping. |
Anonymous
OP here -- It's one sentence and a hug. I never said we repeat it endlessly... |
Anonymous
| Most schools are TO. No need for this stress. |
Anonymous
That's changing quickly. |
Anonymous
Plenty of schools have been TO for years before the pandemic. They aren’t going back. |
Anonymous
The more selective schools are going back |
Anonymous
| Just hugs then. He doesn’t want to hear you right now. It’ll be ok. |
Anonymous
How many times have you said the same one sentence though? Just stop saying it. Just because your kid says something doesn't mean it needs a response. |
Anonymous
This. He’s annoyed by your comments. Stop making any comments, even if they are one like. Ignore him when he vents about this. Sometimes that’s better than the hug. |
Anonymous
| Maybe he wants a tutor. Plenty of test prep companies out there. |
Anonymous
DP: Still no need for such stress. When schools go back to tests, the average range will go down quite a bit at most schools from the ridiculously inflated numbers we see today. OP says her son has a decent score. But it probably looks bad to him because TO schools report inflated ranges and leave out the kids who don't submit. |
Anonymous
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Is his score that he's unhappy about his actual SAT score, or what he's getting on the practice tests? If it's his actual score, I might allow one more test and then that's it since it sounds like he's getting too wrapped up in it.
But otherwise I'd let him blow off steam and mostly ignore his comments, as long as it's over and one with and he's not acting inappropriately. |
Anonymous
| I'd ask him what else he thinks can be done that would be helpful. He may have some ideas that you don't. |
Anonymous
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SAT is a test that anyone can crack. Your kid is studying inefficiently.
He should be studying online on Khan Academy. Ask him to connect his college board online account with Khan Academy. Khan Academy will create an individualized, targeted study guide for him based on his PSAT performance. You have no idea what he does not know, do you? No reason to pay money for a tutor. Your kid needs to master the 8 real SAT tests that are on Khan Academy. He needs to take these same exams again and again. My kids aced the SAT tests by doing so. Another thing, if your kid does not have content knowledge - that is, if your kid does not know Geometry - then he needs a tutor to learn that content. He does not need a tutor for SAT. He/She needs a tutor for Math and English, if he does not know these subjects. Without knowing and mastering the content, your kid cannot do well in SAT. Studying for SAT means nothing if they don't know how to solve the Math problems or if they are functionally illiterate. |