My son took his first standardized test today.
In less than one hour, he took the SCAT test on a computer where he quickly clicked on the multiple choice questions. Perhaps too quickly. The test administrator mentioned that he didn’t seem to be reading all the possible answers, and he seemed to choose “A” way too many times. We’ll find out in three weeks whether he chose well, or not.
Afterwards, he told me that he didn’t understand some of the questions. It took some digging but I finally figured out that he was introduced to analogy questions, the bane of college entrance exams.
I suppose that in our society this could be considered a rite of passage. Today, he discovered the intricacies of an analogy question. Why, you ask? Will he ever need to understand analogies in the real world? Is this just a bizarre verbal question only found on college admissions tests? What is the point of subjecting an 8-year-old to a standardized test?
I can’t say that I have a good answer. The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth offers a list of testing benefits, and I have a few of my own. Mostly, I’m still figuring our what I’m doing homeschooling a child who may or may not be intellectually gifted. I guess I’m hoping that this test will give me some indication of whether or not he excels in verbal or mathematical reasoning.
If he does excel in either area, I may need to reconsider whether I’m offering enough challenging instruction. If he does poorly, I may want to review whether I’m giving him enough exposure to age-appropriate material.
Still, it’s just one assessment tool, and perhaps not the best one. I’m still debating meeting with a Gifted & Talented Counselor who can administer a barrage of tests and give me specific advice for my son, especially about some of the social and emotional challenges that we face. We’ll see. I have to ponder that for a bit.
In the meantime, I asked my son how he felt about the SCAT test. He said it was mostly OK, except for the math material that he had never seen before. And he really didn’t like the self-assessment at the end where he was asked to rate his performance. When asked why, he responded, “Well, I really don’t like to face the truth.”
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{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Ah, standardized testing, let me count the ways I loathe them…what does testing really tell us? Whether or not you have answered the questions correctly on any given day, in different environments, and under various conditions. Take child w/ an above average IQ, who doesn’t function well in a cookie cutter classroom, add some underachievement, mix well, ask for enrichment, and add a bunch of school administrators who think your nuts:) End result – a parent that’s toast…thank you for letting me vent, it was getting smokey in here;)
Does anyone know of any examples of questions
that are on the SCAT test, or is there any practice
questions for 2-3rd graders?? Thanks!
Here is a link for sample 2-3rd Grade SCAT test questions:
http://cty.jhu.edu/gifted/dcc/docs/SCATelem_preview.pdf.
I am assuming there is a homeschooling curriculum and assessment tests. How did he fair with those tests?
In my own experience though, it sometimes hard to judge kids. Sometimes they are plain board and will only perform when they are a little older and when it’s getting close to crunch time (boys especially).
Jollyjo,
You have some interesting assumptions.
Actually, 2nd graders are not required to take any particular tests. I’ve given him tests to help me plan his instruction, but informal assessments such as discussion or writing also work. Generally, he fares extremely well in most academic subjects.
There are many homeschooling curriculum choices. In New York, there are some requirements but there is also a lot of freedom to decide how to meet those requirements.
In fact, it is this desire to learn without restrictions that is one of the primary motivations for choosing to homeschool.
Why should a child only learn the state-mandated curriculum, when there is a world of exciting material to explore? Instead of worrying about performance indicators, let kids continue to love learning.
Bottom line, I’m not worried about his performance on this test. It’s just one tool for getting more information about his abilities.
I’m wondering; however, what did you do to counteract your child’s boredom?
lol…board (bored)…my spelling is awful!
Anyways, I wonder to what extent you have introduced board games (chess), puzzles, music, light projects…maybe even a sport like soccer which is out of the ordinary.
I mentioned these as having seen a lot of bright kids, I think I know some of the things that while fun, help the learning process considerably and make some excel.
All of the above! We’re always trying new activities. It’s part of the family culture.
Both of my kids hate soccer, but one/or both enjoy swim team, running, skiing, ice skating, rock climbing, biking, white water rafting, and mountain biking. My son is begging to try fencing, but we haven’t worked that into our schedule yet.
I was wondering if there is a study-guide for the 6th grade SCAT analogy and math test.
This message is for Mayank. I am also going to take 6th grade SCAT test. Have to found any study tools yet? Or got any reply of your query posted here? Please let me know.
Im taking the SCAT in 2!!!!!!!!!!! days and dont have any study material!!!!!!!
This message is for Arnav007. For analogies try MAT books.
Could anyone suggest books to prepare for SCAT?
MAT books for Analogies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m going to be honest and say I’m wondering why people are attempting to “study” for an SCAT. My son took them, and he was given a sample of the questions so he at least knew the format. Other than that, the point is to determine where your child is at academically. Further, they’re designed to have a higher ceiling than most standardized tests, so a child may feel like they did poorly, but actually did well because the questions they couldn’t answer were far above level.
As far as testing goes, make sure that you have a psychologist who is familiar with the gifted test your son. It makes a huge difference. If your son is anywhere in the top 10 percent, chances are good they will be able to give you an idea of what would be helpful and what you may expect. Gifted kids do have a lot of emotional issues, and that changes with the level of giftedness (which the SCAT won’t measure). I wish I had been able to test my older son much earlier than I did. Once I finally had him tested by someone knowledgeable (rather than the public school psychologist, who didn’t seem to have a clue), a lot of things made sense.
Best of luck.
Mayank, how are you studying for maths?
I already took the SCAT but unfortunately did not get in also I didn’t have time to study for the maths part of the test, sorry
do u actually have to read the math books and buy them becuz my dad says that there must be one website where there is free sample questions.atleast one
wow i did it in third grade and i almost passed! i was in average. my older sis did john hopkins but i cant ask her for advice becuz she always says she totally forgets
any1 help me out like mayank even though i dont kno u! what grade r u in? I need like a lot help here becuz i have no idea what will come
Just check books out of the library.
From what I gather, the SCAT is designed to scale one student’s score against the average 9th grader. My (11y.o.; 6th grade) daughter scored just below the Math cutoff so I debriefed her and learned the SCAT includes algebra questions, which she recognized from our prior discussions but cannot yet solve. We scheduled a retest and bought Algebra for Dummies. I hate the series’ title but the content is well organized for rapid learning: complete, concise, & comprehensive.
After reading the generously left comments, above, I’ll also be looking for a book similar to the one I had in High School, entitled Word Power Made Easy.
As to the comment/question about Preparing for the SCAT, I’d like to respectfully add that we live in a competitive world. A fact I wish I had been clued into long before vying for college placement exams. My kids both love to compete and none of us see getting fully prepared by getting full informed as anything unethical, deceitful or wrong.
She also blew through the test, though I cautioned her to recheck ALL of her work before finishing each section. If anyone knows how to make a kid listen to wisdom, I am listening!!
Be well.
CORRECTION: Algebra for Dummies the Workbook (or a similarly worded title)
well the books actually dont help. but u gave the help at the ring time cause i alredy took the scat
i didnt do so hot! 
i got an 80 % 
i am very sad at the score especially when i studied so hard! did u take the scat test? which grasde r u in anways?
and also i saw that there was one website tht sandra foyt gave me which was very helpful
thank u! :d
http://cty.jhu.edu/gifted/dcc/docs/SCATelem_preview.pdf.
this is one website!
I guess I better do a follow up to this blog post! My 3rd Grade son took the SCAT again this year, and he did very well on the Verbal, but not as well on the Math. It helped that he practiced Analogies, but I suspect the biggest difference is that his reading has blossomed tremendously. Math problems, however, still take him a long time because he has not mastered the basic facts.
My daughter, since she is in 7th Grade, took the SAT instead of the SCAT. She qualified for Hopkins programs with the Verbal section, but not with the Math. To prepare, she took practice tests which helped her gain confidence. However, she only prepared for the month before the test. Still, the prep tests were an eye opener just to see what kind of stamina it takes to work through a 3 hour test!
We’re not stressing the prep this year either. She’s reading steadily, and making good progress in Math. That’s plenty!
well i am doing the star test rite now. do u have any helpful sites cause my mom is crazy over my math grades so it wud be nice if she saw tht i was practicing on sum math sites.:)
Standardized tests are great. Those who naysay them have their own agendas for doing that. The SCAT tests analogies and that is great. Reasoning and problem solving are reflected in this aspect of the test, as well as vocabulary. Many students today don’t have a firm grounding in vocabulary. They guess at words in context and never look them up, so they have a vague, contextual understanding at best. To perform well on analogies they need to really know what words mean and they need to differentiate shades of meaning and relevance. This tests their ability to problem solve.
If your child is flying through the test and just saying they don’t understand, then you need to intervene. Kids need to try, I mean actually try, not just glance and give up. Kids are small human beings, not Faberge Eggs. They can ride a bike up a ramp, spin around twice and land on the ground and ride away no hands. They can take a test.
As a teacher I can say that every other teacher I have known that says tests are not relevant is just a popinjay who doesn’t actually teach the kids what they are supposed to to be teaching them. But they are good a pumping up their students with unrealistic expectations and overstating achievements. The problem with standardized tests is that the test exposes the lack of real education.