Quantitative or Reading or Verbal?

[Anonymous]

Actually, reading is the most important, especially for older grades. The reason is that English classes are not leveled the way math classes are. I.e., a student can be placed in Algebra I or Algebra II or Geometry depending on math level, but English 9 is still English 9 (honors or not). Reading comprehension is critical for all courses. Verbal is not as essential bc it's just memorization of vocabulary words, for the most part.

Of course way off base scores in any category can affect admissions decisions, but if you were to focus on one section, Reading would be it.

The essay is important too. One thing is that admissions officers often compare the level of writing to the submitted admissions essay to make sure it matches reasonably well, to gauge how much help an applicant had in writing the admissions essay.

[Anonymous]

OP, you have identified yourself and therefore your child by name and posted the scores. You need to do a better job of protecting privacy.

[Anonymous]

Why are parents so focused on the test scores? What about grades? extracurricular activities? honors/awards? the interview? I think all of that matters, esp recommendations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are parents so focused on the test scores? What about grades? extracurricular activities? honors/awards? the interview? I think all of that matters, esp recommendations.

Let me hazard a guess: some schools say they will not look at any applicant with a score below X. They neglect to add that great scores are also not a lock on admissions. When pressed, I think most parents realize grades, extracurriculars, etc are also important, but those are pretty much baked - the only possible variable to influence are the test scores.

[Anonymous]

PP, I agree.

[Anonymous]

Well, I posed the ? about why focus so intensely on test scores b/c I happen to know that's not the only factor, nor is it the most important for many of the best privates in the area. What's interesting is that test scores do not predict how successful a kid will be,nor do they tell much about one's level of motivation/discipline. A self-motivated, highly accomplished, well-rounded, caring student would be a better prospect than a kid with mediocre grades, high test scores, and no real achievements in my humble opinion. Hopefully, member of these selection committees are not so shallow that they believe students who scores in the 80s or 90s on a test are the most promising candidates b/c certainly, I don't unless there's a lot more than that. How a student does in an interview or what teachers say about the student's work ethic and character should mean more. Some students exhibit poor behavior, but the parents are well-to-do or they take expensive prep course, and really, those scores reflect more practice than what the students' skills are.

I'm not anti-testing; I see the value in it. I just believe that scores are a poor predictor of future success, my theory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, I posed the ? about why focus so intensely on test scores b/c I happen to know that's not the only factor, nor is it the most important for many of the best privates in the area. What's interesting is that test scores do not predict how successful a kid will be,nor do they tell much about one's level of motivation/discipline. A self-motivated, highly accomplished, well-rounded, caring student would be a better prospect than a kid with mediocre grades, high test scores, and no real achievements in my humble opinion. Hopefully, member of these selection committees are not so shallow that they believe students who scores in the 80s or 90s on a test are the most promising candidates b/c certainly, I don't unless there's a lot more than that. How a student does in an interview or what teachers say about the student's work ethic and character should mean more. Some students exhibit poor behavior, but the parents are well-to-do or they take expensive prep course, and really, those scores reflect more practice than what the students' skills are.

I'm not anti-testing; I see the value in it. I just believe that scores are a poor predictor of future success, my theory.

I'm sorry that your child didn't do well on the test (just a wild guess) and that you are so competitive. God, I hope you don't let your competitive-mom-freak-flag show in real life.

[Anonymous]

12:18 Those are great scores. Very competitive.

[Anonymous]

Scoring in the 70s will not get you into the top schools. 80s will be competitive, but not guaranteed.

[Anonymous]

I think people DO understand that it is not all about the test scores. There are definitely those kids that score high, get good grades, interview well and have out-of-school achievements as well. Everyone seems to be doing the best that they can to help their kids get into good schools - we all want the best for our children. Obviously the students have to have the ability, personality, motivation - the whole package. Now it is in the hands of the admissions boards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Scoring in the 70s will not get you into the top schools. 80s will be competitive, but not guaranteed.

Both my children got into a top school named here all the time with SSAT scores on the 50s and 60s respectively. I think a big part of it was the school they came from. That school has a very good relationship with the HS and meant the test scores really didn't matter very much.

[Anonymous]

I always thought that with DC having such a high number of professionals with multiple degrees, etc, that the kids here tended to score very highly on standardized tests. I would expect that a school like Sidwell could fill its class with kids getting in the high 90's across the board on their SSATs.

[Anonymous]

Do any of the readers here understand the new reporting format used by the SSAT?
I believe the new % are based strictly against other kids who have taken the SSAT in the past 3 years; it is no longer a NATIONAL EST %.
Here's my question: BEFORE the changed SSAT reporting, the schools we are looking at all posted that they want kids in the 90+ range.
Now, only 1 of the schools we are considering (Georgetown Prep) has even addressed the change. They wanted 90+ National Est and now say that would be 60%.
My DS got a 2205 overall but his breakdown was 96(V), 93(Q), 57(R).
All other components of his app are very strong.
Do you think that 57 in Reading will close him out of the application process???
(The other 2 schools are Episcopal High School and Mercersburg).
Thanks for your thoughts.

[Anonymous]

The %tile rank is measured against all other test takers at the same grade level in the past 2 years. Reading this from my DS' score report. This is NOT a National comparison test.

[Anonymous]

Two years ago when other child took ssat, we got a 2 percentiles - one projected national one and one based on those who took the ssat. This year when second child took it we only got the percentile for those who took the ssat.