Interesting article about a family with three perfect SAT scores

[bisous]

I saw this come through my feed yesterday. I think there are some interesting points that this mom makes. What do you think?

http://community.today.com/parentingteam/post/actsat-test-prep-tricks-from-a-family-with-three-perfect-scores_1505933651

[♥ms.pacman♥]

i skimmed through it. honestly, it seemed very meh..., most of those things were so ridiculously obvious. Like "choose good schools" and "read more" and "take hard classes." Um, DUH. :) I don't know, i felt most was stuff most of us here on BBB already know. But i guess it's just a Today Show blog entry.:) the one good nugget was the Khan academy link, which seems would be cool to check out. i've heard of it but never checked it out.

also, i tend to think that parents can read tips of SAT/class prep till the cows come home, but nothing matters if your kid isn't motivated. i think that's the biggest hurdle many parents face...wanting kids to succeed in school and having resources to provide many things, but kid just not caring about it enough.

For me, i tend to subscribe to the "grit" theory and discussion of the "growth mindset." i like it bc it is based on scientific and psychological studies and i can make sense of it. it basically says achieving certain goals can be done but it's about hard work and motivation (but gives more specifics and reasons). i've heard a ton of podcasts discuss this (the freakonomics one and a few others)

I have the book "Mindset" by Carol Dweck and that was one of the most amazing books i've ever read on this sort of thing (success, giftedness, etc). ..i would recommend it to anyone.

Also, Angela Duckworth has written a book and gives a good TED talk

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjCt6Gx0cjWAhVG6mMKHR3LAZoQyCkIKjAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ted.com%2Ftalks%2Fangela_lee _duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_persevera nce&usg=AFQjCNHlF-lM7gsrTQdhJR_CkRlle6wYXg

NYT article
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/10/education/edlife/passion-grit-success.html?_r=0

[squimp]

I think I am tired by the time I got about halfway down the page. I agree with a lot of the advice and am doing many of those things. I also think so many of our kids are stressed out and under pressure.

I do appreciate that kindness was first on the list. We far under emphasize the importance of kindness in our world.

[AnnieW625]

Meh. I had to read all of it to make sure that she wasn't an advertisement for Khan Academy. My sister who scored 975 or maybe 1000 on her SATs and is a middle school teacher with a masters degree raves about Khan Academy too!

I think you either are a good test taker or you aren't. I am not so maybe I am biased (my SAT score was 670 combined) and I had a solid mid 3.50+ gpa in high school. I would've gotten into some great private universities and colleges had I had better scores, but that's just life. I knew someone in high school who was a mediocre student like a mid 2.50 he kept steady so he could play football and tennis, and be in band, but got 1350 on the SATs. He just wasn't motivated by school. He got into a 4 university based on his scores, but did two years at a JC and opened up his own painting business in his mid 20s with another high school friend, and both have done well for themselves. School just wasn't his thing.

We have all opened a box of cereal upside down....we don't need to be a genius to do that or need it to be ironic that we scored 1500 on the SATs and opened cereal the wrong way.




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[citymama]

Not earth shattering. Good schools, have books, read newspapers, do unusual activities...could result in perfect SAT scores, or could not! My cousins (both girls) had perfect SAT scores and both went to Yale. The top factor IMO was their highly-educated parents who were also super involved and engaged with their kids from babyhood to adulthood. To me that's the variable that can best predict success - again, no guarantees, but innate talent + involved, supportive parents is a pretty winning combination.

[bisous]

All good points. I think I was surprised to actually stumble upon a FB article with SOME meat to it. I've read so many bad lists and compilations! Additionally, I was new to Khan Academy (though my DS1's math teacher just recommended it at BTS Night too). I hadn't thought about the impact of print newspapers. Come to think about it, it was a good way to expand my literary capabilities. Maybe I'll find a friend with a subscription and well read the papers the next day. (Cheaper and less waste).

[magnoliaparadise]

I don't know.... while it's true that I learned something, I had to keep myself from being annoyed by this woman. I thought she was smug (though to be fair, she did try to lighten the article up).

I also liked the kindness part.

I guess the things that were annoying were:
1) this fallacy that we somehow make the complete difference in our kids' lives. I do know that we make a huge amount of difference, but I also think a lot of it is... fate, genes, personal motivation of the kids. I have a friend who has this very very put together kid who is also kind, happy, easy going, on top of being seemingly brilliant and beautiful. The kid is lovely and I have no doubt that she will succeed in anything she wants in life, but my friend often goes on and on about how her parenting all the kid's life was so conscientious and she gives herself a lot of credit. I find it grating. When I had one child, I thought my children were much more about my parenting than DNA. Once I had a second, I was astonished to see how much DNA makes differences in kids. Yes, my friend is an amazing parent. But her kid was blessed with great genes, too.
2) this view that perfect scores on the SAT is so exciting. OK, ask me in 10 years after we go through testing and I may be more onboard to be fair :). But... there are so many ways to be valuable and of value and I just feel so irked that it all comes down to the test. And the school. Part of me wanted to say, 'talk to me after your kid goes to school and does well' or does something - has an adventure, gives back to the community, invents some really cool thing. Taking a test is good, but there are so many other ways to succeed as a human being.

In this article, I guess the difference is that all three kids got good SAT scores. But... in the context of the statistical odds of some family out there having three kids getting a perfect score, it was bound to happen. Low odds, true, but not unfathomable.

BUT: The parts of the article that stuck out for me that I did learn and do want to add to my and my kids' lives are:
1. Buy a newspaper rather than read online.
So true - I read online and the other day my 5 and 9 yo asked why I never read the newspaper. Ouch. I am going to try to talk what I'm reading with them more and eventually encourage them to read;
2. Khan Academy
I laughed at the poster who said it sounded like an advertisement. So true. I do know of Khan Academy and thought it looked a little dry when I checked it out last year, but will look at it again.
3. Good Youtube videos
I am going to have my kids check out some of the things this woman mentioned (and do it with them). TedEd, Extra History, SmarterEveryDay and MinutePhysics. (But why Studio C, Jimmy Fallon?)

I so agree with Ms.Pacman about mindset being a huge factor in all of this. And that a kid's motivation is most important.

[citymama]

magnoliaparadise, totally agree that perfect SAT scores are not the holy grail! To me, the holy grail is happy, kind, loving and self-sufficient kids, not pre-programmed geniuses. Although my cousins who aced their SATs have managed to be all those other things too, and beautiful to boot!

[TwinFoxes]

"When you have three kids in a row who get perfect SAT scores, people clamor for advice." Because they're printing scores in the newspaper and announcing them on the news now?

Anyway, there are a lot of factors that go into SAT scores. Everything from the fact that some people just aren't that smart to cultural factors can affect scores. I'm glad she recognizes that perfect scores shouldn't be the goal, although it's a nice outcome. I went to school with plenty of perfect scorers, some were great people, some were not, just like people who don't get perfect scores. (I did not have a perfect score, but I survived.)

I agree with some of her advice, starting with "take hard classes". If you're used to taking rigorous tests, be it AP tests or just classroom tests that are scored rigorously you'll more likely do well on the SATs. I took AP level English and History classes, but not AP math...guess which section of the SAT I did better on? I'm a big fan of Khan Academy, my girls really like it. As my daughter put it "it teaches you in a way that's fun and make sense." (Unlike her teacher last year whom I couldn't stand.) If you guys haven't checked out KA, do. Especially if you have a kid who's struggling with a particular concept. Find that section of Khan, and I bet it will help.

[gatorsmom]

I hesitate to post this because there has to be some measure of academic ability and education. BUT I know off the top of my head 3 people who nearly flunked out of high school, got poor ACT/SAT scores and are very successful financially. My DH is one of them. He really struggled in high school and nearly dropped out. But he got an 18 on his ACT. He became a multimillionaire at the age of 43yo. On the other hand, I know a girl Dd of our friends who got a near perfect SAT score and yet can't figure out how to cook frozen chicken nuggets in our microwave.

I agree with the posters who say that to be happy, healthy, self-sufficient, kind people is more important than having a perfect ACT/SAT. I'd go even further and suggest that a perfect score could indicate some unbalance in a different area of life. NOBODY is perfect.

[speo]

I agree with the posters who say that to be happy, healthy, self-sufficient, kind people is more important than having a perfect ACT/SAT. I'd go even further and suggest that a perfect score could indicate some unbalance in a different area of life. NOBODY is perfect.

There has to be a balance in life! I don't necessarily think it is healthy to teach kids to maximize learning at all moments. There are other important things in life, like socializing with peers during down time in class. I would hate for my kid to see his friends having a good time and feel he needs to go learn something for 10 extra minutes.

I do agree that Khan Academy is wonderful. That kind of thing is one of the great positives of the internet.