By the end of the week, where they take a diagnostic test to see if there has been any improvement, it seems like both Anna and Rebecca scored in the high-1500s, but there was next to no room for improvement for them.
I got an 800 on reading and writing, as I did last time, so I focused much more on the math portion, in which I went up 50 points. That should be enough to ease up on studying a bit, or just focus more on pre-calculus since they are again my biggest sources of mistakes, but less so than at first, Daisy realizes that the gameplan is to focus on one's weaknesses, and not only from a material standpoint. Developing speed is important and they all know it.
"If you don't quite know the material in math, what's helpful to you would be to bracket the answer" Rebecca explains to the others.
"Bracketing an answer?" Albert asks, confused.
"It's when you know the answer lies between two numbers, but can't decide among choices. Also, there is no shame in giving up on a question if it's too hard, and you should write your answer on the question booklet, and only put these down on the grid at the end"
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This week-long cycle of doing practice questions based on the latest weaknesses and then doing a full-length practice test continues for the whole summer. However, Albert seems a little shaky in the late stages of studying because of how football practice occurs. On the Friday night before the SAT the booster club pays for...
"I know I need to do better than the SAT equivalent of a thirty-two on the ACT, fingers crossed for a fifteen hundred or better" Rebecca then warns the others. "By now, you may be aware of this, but don't expect to score the same for real as you did in practices"
"I'd be okay with a fifteen hundred or better, and then I can rest easy for the ACT in March" Daisy pitches her expectations in.
"Has everyone entered LOSFA's code on your SAT registration?" Rebecca's mother asks the foursome.
"Ah yes, TOPS money" Albert sighs. "Yes"
"Me too" Anna sighs. "If I do well tomorrow, I won't need to worry about testing"
I am the only athlete who took up the booster club offer for the August SAT, I learned a lot with them over the summer. Most of the players on the football team would just wait until the state-sponsored ACT date in March of their junior year. I took up the booster club on their offer because it was less cumbersome than a fee waiver from the College Board, especially when dad lost his job lately, Albert reflects on the circumstances leading him to take the SAT on the booster club's dime.
"Don't forget: upon returning home tonight, prepare your supplies for the SAT, get a good night's sleep and then I will pick you up early in the morning" Rebecca's mother goes over the plan to get the four to the testing center in Lafayette by 7:45 AM.
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The foursome takes one last practice SAT, albeit under digital testing conditions, so they would all get an idea of where they stand, and whether their expectations are realistic. Especially Albert, who has the lowest practice score: 1300 at this point in time.
They return home and get to bed early that night so they can be awake by 6AM on a Saturday morning for the test, and eating breakfast beforehand.
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Upon arriving at Acadiana High, the four meet dozens of other test-takers from other parishes, all going through security before they can get seated to take a pencil-and-paper SAT in various classrooms. I really hope that I made the right decision to take the SAT now, early in junior year, rather than to wait until the state-sponsored ACT date in March, Daisy ruminates while shaking in her seat. I might not yet know what I want to do with my life, but I do know that my future won't play out in this region. To make it a reality, I must score high on the SAT.
And a lot of people taking the test (whatever that meant, when Louisiana is clearly an ACT state) are shaking in their seats, too. They are motivated by moving up the TOPS scholarship ladder for some, getting into a better college for others...
Most people have practiced some for it, but in very uneven amounts of time. As such, some students are sweating more than others. I won't let a stupid test, paid for by the booster club, wreck my future! Albert and Daisy both think, in different positions in the testing room. And they start sweating when they come across test items they deem to be harder. Just not the same items. I mustn't squander the trust the booster club placed in me!
Three hours and a half later, most of the test-takers are getting tired. At the end of the test, or at least those who don't have the extra 50% time, one of the proctors answers a question that so many taking it have in mind.
"You will all be asking when your scores will be released. Scores will be released to you two Fridays from now, and colleges will receive the results within ten days of that date" a proctor pre-emptively answers the test-takers.
Joy... two weeks until we find out the cold, hard truth. About how a summer of nightly practice questions will bear fruits, if any, Daisy then clutches her daisy chain necklace.
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As she keeps doing during the following 13 days. Especially when she feels like the stress of waiting for the results of the SAT are getting to her. She feels like the rest of the school year lies on the result of this one God-forsaken test.
On Friday night, after the SAT takers are done with their respective practices (debate for Rebecca and Daisy, football for Albert, band for Anna), they receive an email notification from College Board. The four then rush to the library's computer lab to get their scores.
After writing down what their scores all are, they leave the library and discuss these scores in the hallway.
"Eight hundred reading and writing, seven hundred seventy math" Rebecca states her score first.
Like Sadie and Cristiano, I am a straight-A student, and I want to leverage my top-10 at NSDA Nats in policy to the fullest! If this means Stanford REA, so be it, Rebecca then reflects on what this 1570 on the SAT means to her, over her previous score of 32 on the ACT.
"Eight hundred verbal, seven hundred math for me" Daisy adds, but she feels like she needs to get more done in debate this season to make the most out of this 1500. Playing well at inter-state tournaments is a must, and playing well at Nats or ToC will help massively, she ruminates while the other two talk about their scores.
"Seven ninety each on verbal and math" Anna announces them.
"Finally, six forty verbal, six sixty math" Albert tells them as they return home.