A person’s reaction to the SAT depends on their age. To a 16-year-old, it is another hurdle between high school and the college of their dreams. For college students it’s almost taboo: it takes a pretty pathetic person to continue gloating about SAT scores after they’ve made it to college. And to most people over the age of 30, it’s a long-forgotten piece of your past — until it comes time for your own teenage children to take it.
That is what happened to Debbie Stier, a divorced mother of two teenage children in Westchester County with a day job in book publishing. By her own admission, she did terribly on the SAT when she took it as a high school student in 1982. Her scores of 410 on the verbal section and 480 on math translated to a score of 1000 out of 1600 after the scale was recentered in 1995.
But that’s not why she set out to retake the SAT as a 48-year-old. Her “perfect score project” came about when she realized that her son Ethan’s chances of getting into — and being able to pay for — college hinged on his ability to get merit aid. And for her ADHD-addled son who confessed to being perfectly happy sliding by with Bs, she decided his best chance for scholarship money would come from a top SAT score.
As part of her effort to prepare her son, Stier took the SAT all seven times it was offered in 2011, raised her score by more than 300 points, and lived to tell the tale in her book, “The Perfect Score Project,” published earlier this year by Harmony ($19.26 on Amazon). She also maintains a blog at perfectscoreproject.com. In an appearance sponsored by the High School South PTSA, Stier visited South on March 19 to share with parents what she learned from her experience and to answer their questions and concerns.
Stier explained the motivation and ground rules for her project: “I thought maybe I could motivate Ethan to care about the SAT, just a little, if I climbed into the trenches myself.
“Initially, though, the number of test-prep options left me agog (over a million on Google). My original idea was to try out twelve different methods of test prep the year before Ethan would be taking his first SAT. But as I saw how vast and complicated the realm of SAT prep appeared to be, I kept adding layers to the idea. What was at first simply the notion of taking an official SAT at school with the kids mushroomed into a vow to take the test every time it was offered in 2011 (seven times in all). And, I’d try out different locations for each test, which turned out to be a total of five. (I didn’t anticipate the issue of test centers booking up early and ended up having to repeat a few). I wanted to see if the location played any role in the test experience, so I chose schools ranging from an elite private school in the suburbs to an urban public school in the Bronx.
“My journey would start with the first SAT of 2011, on January 22, and Ethan would take his first SAT exactly one year after me — in January of 2012. We’d overlap in our preparation about halfway through the year because (a) juniors take the PSAT in the fall (October of 2011 for Ethan; SAT No. 5 for me), so he’d need to study; and (b) I know my son well enough to realize he does better with some spare runway to build momentum.
“In spite of the escalating nature of the project, I was excited about the ‘study together’ part and assumed that by halfway through the year, with four SAT experiences under my belt, I’d have my bearings and be able to adroitly show my son ‘the SAT ropes.’
“Let’s clarify something from the start, though: I did not expect Ethan to pull off a perfect SAT score (though I wouldn’t have discouraged him from trying had he wanted to do so of his own accord). I found that by putting the pressure on myself, not on him, I was able to hold the bar reasonably high without having to nag or push (too much). I was “modeling” the behavior that I was hoping to cultivate in my son. In the end Ethan came up with his own number, which we both agreed was the right one.”
In preparing for the test Stier tried everything from the College Board’s Question of the Day to Kumon math worksheets, Kaplan online test prep, and tutors and SAT “experts” she found through her blog, and the highly touted tutors from Advantage Testing. Taking the 2400-point SAT introduced in 2005 (and soon to be changed back to the 1600-point format) Stier brought her score from 1800 (680 critical reading, 510 math, 610 writing) in January, 2011, to top scores of 760 on critical reading, 570 on math, and 800 on writing.
Some of the advice for students and parents Stier offers throughout her book:
Test location matters. A venue where students are grouped in smaller classrooms is preferable to one where all test takers are in a gymnasium or cafeteria. Centers offering full-size desks also make it easier to organize test materials.
Study from real SATs. The College Board publishes a blue book with full-length practice tests. Complete them, mimicking actual testing conditions as closely as possible.
Conquer the College Board. The College Board website (www.collegeboard.com) has a wealth of useful information and practice materials, but they can be hard to find. Once you have it, bookmark it for easy access in the future.
Connect with your kid. “Most teenagers are more interested in their friends than in their parents and the SAT,” Stier writes. “In fact, the more into their friends they are, the harder it will be to get their attention. A peer-oriented teenager will need more enthusiasm and initiative from the parent to become motivated than the one who is oriented toward adults.”
“Remain interested and involved, even if your teenager is resistant,” she continues. “Research shows that adolescents do better academically when parents are involved beyond monitoring homework.”
Pick the right prep book. A good SAT prep book will be written by a true SAT expert — not just a prolific author with a PhD — and will use materials from real SATs. The book should address goals and strategies in addition to basic skills.
Pick the right tutor. Like a good prep book, a good tutor is highly familiar with the SAT and teaches both skills and strategy. The tutor should be able to pick up on a student’s strength and weaknesses and tailor their approach. And any good tutor should be able to supply ample references attesting to their strong work.
