In Florida, where I counsel, we have a state funded scholarship called Bright Futures. In order to qualify, students must meet certain criteria. The most challenging of those is a standardized test score. As I write this, the minimum SAT score one needs to qualify for Bright Futures is a 1210 which is a pretty good score.
I was recently working with a student who had taken the SAT two times, both scores were around the mid 1000 mark or 1050ish. In her case, she actually went down a little between her first and second test. That’s a little unusual as I more commonly see students improve a bit, but it happens. The problem this student faced is that her mother was insistent she was capable of obtaining a score that would make her eligible for Bright Futures. This is a good student and I have plenty of respect for her intellect, but based on where she started with the SAT, I’m not so sure she can get the score she needs.
The fact is not every student is great at testing. The subject of whether standardized testing is fair or just or accurately indicative of a student’s capabilities is perhaps a topic for another day. My point here is that I believe test takers generally are who they are.
The College Board's own data from their SAT suggests that students typically improve their score 60-70 points from where they start. Anecdotally and very unscientifically, I tell my students a 100 point improvement is a reasonable expectation. The parent above and many others I’ve spoken to have expectations that fall well outside a statistical range of high probability.
To be clear, I’m not arguing that statistical anomalies don’t happen. I don’t enjoy being pessimistic about my students’ capabilities, and I have high regard for the impact test preparation can have on results. However, I also approach most things in my life with an emphasis on consideration of what is most likely to happen rather than what is possible to happen. In other words, I consider myself a realist.
There are so many financial and emotional implications in the college planning process and testing is tied so much to the same. I believe we do ourselves a disservice when we aren’t honest with ourselves about who our students are as test takers. I hope that the parent above has a backup plan for their very academically talented and capable student if she can’t obtain the Bright Futures score. She’s worked too hard not to go to college and there are other ways to fund her post-secondary goals.
Again, I think test prep is important. It might be the difference in a student making a 60 point improvement and a 120 point improvement and that can be a significant difference. However, to insist and make the assumption with your child that they will improve by astronomical amounts fails to allow for a realistic conversation about what the most likely opportunities for them will be. This can make a whole family unprepared for the transition to college and that’s not good for anybody.
