We just got the official score from the College Board that Carter got a perfect 800 on the SAT math test. We are so proud of Carter for this outstanding accomplishment.

Use the Official SAT Practice Tests

Carter had taken the SAT at the start of 7th grade and scored a 760, so we knew he was going to do well, but we decided to not take any chances and have him do all of the official SAT practice tests, just to get his mind back into SAT mode. He did a great job as you can see below:

Rewarding Hard Work Paid Off

Part of why Carter succeeded (and why some others do not) is that he was really motivated to do quality work on these practice tests. I offered him the following incentive plan, $5 for 80% (90% on packets 5-10) correct and $10 for perfect packets. Then, if he got a perfect score on the actual SAT test, I would double the total. Carter likes money just as much as most people that I’ve met, so he was highly motivated to do quality work. This is the component that I see lacking in so many students these days. They seem to be going through the motions. They don’t really want to do the work and do not push themselves to get every question correct, regardless of the how difficulty of the question. It’s sort of an “I’ll try harder next time” approach. Rewarding him for his tenacity on the practice problems is the key ingredient to making sure that he has the will, the skill and the experience to break apart any unusual question that appears on the actual test.

Why Younger Students Can Succeed When Older Students Sometimes Cannot

Some people are probably wondering why a 7th or 9th grader would be taking the SAT at all. There are several reasons. First, the 7th grade test was to qualify for talented youth programs like Duke TIP and Johns Hopkins CTY. The 9th grade test was based on what I was seeing every week in my tutoring center. Older students often have too many distractions and too much stress to actually perform at their best. Also, older students seem to forget a lot of what they learned in middle school (which to the surprise of many people is actually a sizable portion of what is on the SAT math test). Carter has a fantastic understanding of math, so I never worry that he will forget his middle school math, but I wanted to shelter him from some of the pressure that I see negatively affecting the older students.

Only time will tell if a perfect score in 9th grade will be a benefit or not, but for now we are celebrating his extraordinary achievement and could not be prouder of him! Congratulations Carter! You are amazing!