A bit of a rant here about students who fall outside of the mold we call “the system”: I am tutoring an 11th grader in Consumer Math. He had a half-year of Algebra I and (non-consecutively) a half-year of Algebra II. He knows almost nothing about Geometry, and even the Algebra I is reallyPre-Algebra…so he’s missing quite a lot. He’s also ADD, but he may be on medication…not sure. (Then again, as proof of what one can accomplish, my nephew is ADD and, with medication, he’s in 8th grade getting A’s in an advanced math class (for his age)…Algebra II!)
Anywhow, my pupil took the SATs in the Fall, and he did terrible in both English and Math. He’s about to take the exam again this April 5th. He’s going to flunk with flying colors…
My question is this: Are the SAT people just money-hungry snobs? Why aren’t the parents told of options, like the ACT test for two-year colleges? Why do the SAT people have no conscience about collecting money from people unsuspecting AND brainwashed into believing they need the SATs???
Lastly, my wife and I are fighting over how much responsibility lies with the parents vs. the schools. I say it is 50/50. Those guidance councilors sit on their butts collectin easy money hoping no one bothers them WHEN they know full-well what this kid made on the SATs! If the parents don’t make the first move to contact the schools, shouldn’t the school do something? OK, maybe not in all cases, but perhaps we could establish some threshold (minimum) below which the schools should AUTOMATICALLY contact the parents about all the options…
Ultimately, the SAT people should carry some responsibility here, too! I think they should refund my pupils’ money! - Jinx
I should add: I only started working with my pupil in the past month. So, yes, the parents waited too long to wake up! Still, the school system should be geared to smell smoke because where they smell smoke, there’s a student burning down…
If the kid plans on going to college, he’ll need a SAT score for almost all schools now so the Collegeboard (company that makes the test) isn’t being totally untruthful.
I don’t know if schools know what students got on the SAT. When I talked to my counselor, she had to ask me about my scores. There may be some privacy issues that the Collegeboard doesn’t want to deal with although it does send scores to college for recruiting purposes.
Personally, I think the people running the Collegeboard are greedy butt-munchers. I’ve paid hundreds of dollars to them in registering for tests ($80 for one AP test!), paying for a copy of the test questions to be sent (that never got here), and paying for scores to be sent to colleges during the admission process. They also charge if a student wants to find out his or her score a week or so early. They’ve already scored all the tests but just want to take advantage of the anxiety kids feel about the tests.
It’s become very fashionable to bash the SATs (and all standardized tests, for that matter).
They provide a relatively level ground for students to demonstrate skills, and offer an opportunity for college admissions to be more than a popularity contest.
The OP seems to have more to do with gripes about schools and guidance counselors* than with the SAT.
And I wonder if the student in question will be able to handle college level work if he’s having huge problems getting a satisfactory SAT score.
*Based on experience and hearing other stories, I think high school guidance counselors are, in general, somewhere due south of totally useless.
$17 for the privelege of resubmitting what is basically the College Board FAFSA
$6 to send scores to a college after I already took the test and declined to report them to anybody
$320 for four AP tests
That was your choice. You can send scores to several schools for free if you want to, at the time you take the test.
The purpose of AP tests to get college credit or placement. At most colleges, taking courses to achieve the equivalent credit or placement would cost much more. AP tests are quite a bargain, I think.
I’m not familiar with the College Board FAFSA, so I won’t comment on that.
- Jinx