Color me loony, but I enjoy retaking the SATII: World History exam - I also do SATII: German as a refresher, even though I never actually sat that one, opting for AP: German instead.
I go to the bookstore, find an official copy of the SAT II: Subject Test guide (to which the above two belong), and simulate testing conditions: I need only a writing utensil, a sheet of paper, my portable digital clock, a desk or table, and a chair.
This kind of activity would be regarded as a waste of time and effort by some, but I believe that it's a great way to spend an hour or two.
As you might have predicted, I tended to score above average on these kinds of things, so they've been quite a reinforcement. Then again, I'm the sort who aims to prepare!
Deborah
I don't share your enthusiasm. When I took the SAT, I had rehearsed at my ballet school until about 11:30 the night before, so I got to bed very late. Then I had to get up very early to make the trip up the freeway (we had moved out of the city but I was able to continue at the same school by giving my grandparents' SF address). My strongest memory of that day is that stuffy, foggy-headed feeling you get when you're very sleep-deprived. It was definitely not fun for me.
Harrenys Targaryen
Sleep deprivation dampens a savant's potential like a hearing impairment seals a composer's fate...but maybe you were able to pull off a "Beethoven"? :wink:
Joanne
Hi HT! You found us! :D
Harrenys Targaryen wrote:
Color me loony, but I enjoy retaking the SATII: World History exam - I also do SATII: German as a refresher, even though I never actually sat that one, opting for AP: German instead.
SATs... APs...SAT IIs... I took all of those. Wow, I'm having flashbacks. :confused2: :puke:
You're loony, HT :wink: (not to mention masochistic.... :DD )
Deborah
Harrenys Targaryen wrote:
Sleep deprivation dampens a savant's potential like a hearing impairment seals a composer's fate...but maybe you were able to pull off a "Beethoven"? :wink:
Well, no...not quite a Beethoven. My score did place me in the 98th percentile, but I think the tests must have been easier back then. For one thing, we didn't have a writing section. If we had, I'm sure my score would have plunged.
KSa
Sorry for my ignorance :oops: but could you tell me what you are talking about? What are all these SAT exams, who and when takes them and what is the purpose to retake them?
Loic
I took a SAT I exam when I was 18 not because I was particularly interested in studying overseas, but because it allowed me to discreetly pursue a girl whom I was interested in at that juncture of my life.
As the acronym suggests, SAT stands for Standardised Assessment Test and is one of the few means for universities to make an informed judgement as to the raw intellectual capabilities of potential undergraduates. In my understanding, America does not have a nationwide pre-university examination with academic standards varying from state to state. However, the SAT does not allow demanding universities to separate the bright from the brilliant as I feel that too many people are able to get full marks (1600/1600) for SAT I.
However, to compare SATs to the GCEs is a little laughable. The SATs are so much easier. My French GCE A level paper was definitely harder than SAT II for French.
It'd be better to compare SAT II papers to the GCSE O level examinations.
Harrenys Targaryen
Joanne: Howdy - I appreciate it.
Deborah: I am surprised that you would consider that portion a liability: your current writing skills, devoid of run-ons, would place you above at least 95% of all adults with English as a native language. Do you mean to say that you didn't write as well then as you do now?
KSa: loic explains the basics well. I'll add that the SATs are taken by high/secondary school students, and that they are usually retaken in order to improve past scores.
loic: Oh, the SATs and GCSEs are indeed disparate. I mentioned them together as a means of listing, rather than to show their likeness.
Deborah
Harrenys Targaryen wrote:
Deborah: I am surprised that you would consider that portion a liability: your current writing skills, devoid of run-ons, would place you above at least 95% of all adults with English as a native language. Do you mean to say that you didn't write as well then as you do now?
Unfortunately, writing is not just about grammar; you also have to have something to say.
Joanne
I took the SAT II: Writing when I was in high school. I didn't want to take it, but most of my colleges required it, and my advisor told me I had to be more well-rounded and shit... :roll: I don't think they have that exam anymore, since it was recently added to the normal SATs.
Walker
Jeeze, I'm planning on writing the test which I reckon is our equivalent to your SAT. It's a five hour test. I'm not really looking forward to it.
Harrenys Targaryen
Deborah: So says the resident Renaissance woman. :roll: :wink:
Joanne: Yup, I took the SAT II: Writing exam in January '05, the final time it would be administered. As I expected, I fared much better on it than on either Verbal or Math.
Walker: I dunno - I think that you're about to take the Swedish counterpart of the GRE (Graduate Record Examination). In any case, godspeed!
Sander
loic wrote:
I took a SAT I exam when I was 18 not because I was particularly interested in studying overseas, but because it allowed me to discreetly pursue a girl whom I was interested in at that juncture of my life.
As the acronym suggests, SAT stands for Standardised Assessment Test and is one of the few means for universities to make an informed judgement as to the raw intellectual capabilities of potential undergraduates. In my understanding, America does not have a nationwide pre-university examination with academic standards varying from state to state. However, the SAT does not allow demanding universities to separate the bright from the brilliant as I feel that too many people are able to get full marks (1600/1600) for SAT I.
However, to compare SATs to the GCEs is a little laughable. The SATs are so much easier. My French GCE A level paper was definitely harder than SAT II for French.
It'd be better to compare SAT II papers to the GCSE O level examinations.
These are all official tests, as in obliged? I've never heard of them :?
Joanne
Sander wrote:
loic wrote:
I took a SAT I exam when I was 18 not because I was particularly interested in studying overseas, but because it allowed me to discreetly pursue a girl whom I was interested in at that juncture of my life.
As the acronym suggests, SAT stands for Standardised Assessment Test and is one of the few means for universities to make an informed judgement as to the raw intellectual capabilities of potential undergraduates. In my understanding, America does not have a nationwide pre-university examination with academic standards varying from state to state. However, the SAT does not allow demanding universities to separate the bright from the brilliant as I feel that too many people are able to get full marks (1600/1600) for SAT I.
However, to compare SATs to the GCEs is a little laughable. The SATs are so much easier. My French GCE A level paper was definitely harder than SAT II for French.
It'd be better to compare SAT II papers to the GCSE O level examinations.
These are all official tests, as in obliged? I've never heard of them :?
The SATs, SATIIs, ACTs, and APs aren't mandatory. However, if someone wants to go to university after high school, universities require SAT or ACT (which are more prevalent on the West Coast) scores, at least. Many of the more reputable universities require SATs/ACTs and 3 or more SAT IIs.
Oh, and for these reputable universities to even glance at an application, there had better be at least two Advanced Placement (AP) classes on the high school transcript.
Of course, I haven't applied to a university for a long time, so these requirements might have changed....I doubt it, though :?
Deborah
Harrenys Targaryen wrote:
Deborah: So says the resident Renaissance woman. :roll: :wink:
You're too kind, HT. But my experience with written exams is that they ask you to write about subjects on which you don't necessarily have anything to say.
Joanne
Harrenys Targaryen wrote:
Joanne: Yup, I took the SAT II: Writing exam in January '05, the final time it would be administered. As I expected, I fared much better on it than on either Verbal or Math.
It was my lowest score :oups: I remember being very irritated with my boyfriend while I was sitting the exam. Oh well. Writing definitely was not my forte. It still isn't.
Not that it matters anymore...I still turned out okay ;-P
Harrenys Targaryen
Deborah wrote:
But my experience with written exams is that they ask you to write about subjects on which you don't necessarily have anything to say.
Tell me about it - the essay prompt of every practice test that I had taken prior to the real one featured some abstract, often moralist topic, e.g. the best things in life are (not) free, exercise is a more important activity than studying (or vice versa) - essentially, subjects without a real concrete answer.
When the students taking Writing during that sub-arctic Saturday were given the signal to begin, we flipped open the book and found ourselves faced with the statement, "Courage takes many faces." I told the story of my maternal aunt's divorce - with embellishments left and right, of course - and how she cared for her kids, took double jobs against her will, and stood up to those who disapproved of her new marital status. I scored a 9/12. (I aced the multiple choice, though, so I somehow wound up with an 800/800.)
Harrenys Targaryen
Joanne wrote:
Oh well. Writing definitely was not my forte. It still isn't.
Maybe it's your mezzo-forte?
Loic
Sander: No, it's definitely not compulsory except for a few who are practically obliged to sit for it if they want to study in the States.
Otherwise, the A levels are the gold standard here for university entrances although the GCEs have taken a slight battering in recent years as some schools lauched the IB (International Baccaleureat) programme for their students in the (mistaken) belief that anything with a more international outlook has to necessarily be better.
What I dislike about SAT I is the format: I think multiple choice questions are one of the more disagreeable ways of testing a student. It places less stock on the process and more emphasis on the destination. Granted, it makes grading the scripts easier, but that's wandering from the point if the aim is to test the student's understanding of key concepts.
On top of that, it cost me a pretty penny as well. I can't remember how much it cost exactly, but I remember it being near the hundred Singapore dollars range. My music exams were only slightly dearer.
Uriel
In my day, SAT stood for Scholastic Aptitude Test, and was half math and half verbal. No SAT II existed, there was no writing, and no history, science, or anything else. It was just supposed to measure your powers of logical thinking, not make you regurgitate facts you had memorized.
I got a 1270 on it, which I thought was pretty disappointing -- 740 verbal, 530 math. I had been accelerated in my math classes, which unfortunately worked against me -- by the time I took my SAT's in 12th grade, I had long since finished my math requirements (in 10th grade!) and I no longer remembered how to do esoteric things like factor trinomials or calculate cosines -- use it or lose it stuff. :roll:
I don't think it cost me much to take, if anything.
Deborah
loic wrote:
What I dislike about SAT I is the format: I think multiple choice questions are one of the more disagreeable ways of testing a student. It places less stock on the process and more emphasis on the destination. Granted, it makes grading the scripts easier, but that's wandering from the point if the aim is to test the student's understanding of key concepts.
I agree. But it worked in my favor, so I can't complain. When I took the SAT, it was as Uriel described. I got about 675 in each section, which was much lower than I expected in verbal and much higher than I expected in math. I had only taken 1st-year algrebra in the 9th grade and first-year geometry in the 10th grade, so a lot of the math problems were way beyond me. However, I apparently was a good guesser. And I do recall guessing for a good part of the math questions.
It didn't cost me anything to take the test (except a couple of hours of much-needed sleep and my Saturday morning ballet class).
Loic
Well, different strokes for different blokes. I think the maths section should be open-ended, though. By my own reckoning, I am not a very meticulous person and I have a tendency to compute the wrong value right at the very last step even if my approach has been correct thus far.
I think I've mentioned it before but I got 1340. Bearing in mind that in Singapore, the majority of candidates sitting for the SAT have ambitious plans to study abroad and I was just there to make up the numbers - or to give them a leg up as I try to make the bell curve more negatively skewed.
As with all exam papers, there's grade inflation and I am sure that both (Deborah & Uriel) your grades would be markedly higher today when adjusted for inflation.
Walker
Quote:
Walker: I dunno - I think that you're about to take the Swedish counterpart of the GRE (Graduate Record Examination). In any case, godspeed!
I don't think so because the test, högskoleprovet, is for students (or future students) who wish to study at a university/college/academy. It's not mandatory in most cases, but a way for people whose high school grades aren't as good as the gaining admittance to a certain college program requires (weird sentence). Some people take the test just to get a better mean (correct word?) and some people take it because it's a good merit to have taken it. There are different parts, like critical reading, vocabulary, maths etc, like the SAT and it's not computer-based. So it's not the test you take to go to grad school. Most people I know who are my age have taken the test at least once. You might've thought due to my current job (lab) that I have a college degree but I do not, although I have attended university. Anyways, thanks!
Elaine
Re: Standardized Testing. (SAT's and GCSE's, oh my!)
Harrenys Targaryen wrote:
Color me loony, but I enjoy retaking the SATII: World History exam - I also do SATII: German as a refresher, even though I never actually sat that one, opting for AP: German instead.
You take SAT tests just for the sake of taking them?? :gaf: Honey, I've got my box of Crayola's right here, when can I start coloring?
Harrenys Targaryen
Walker: Wow - the högskoleprovet seems much fairer than the SAT. The College Board and the Educational Testing Service (ETS), who jointly administer the latter, should take note of the former's written (as opposed to electronic) format, lest they decide to do to the SAT what they did to the GRE.
Elaine: *rolls down his socks* - I'm all pores, though I hope your set contains tangerine.
