What Does Your SCAT Score Mean?
School and College Ability Test, or SCAT, is a standardized exam designed by John Hopkins University. This unique test lets students challenge themselves by taking an above grade test. This might sound intimidating but what stands at the other end of the scorecard is worth it.
SCAT can be taken by students between grade 2-12. It has three levels – elementary, intermediate, and advanced. Students of grades 2-3 take elementary, but they solve a paper designed for grades 4 and 5. An intermediate level consists of 4 and 5 graders appearing for a paper designed for grades 6-8 and so on.
SCAT requires a lot of preparation and hard work. The students need to go beyond the school curriculum to prepare for the exam. But even appearing for this exam results in a great academic boost. The spirit of participation is duly credited. But if you find a way to crack it, there are plenty of opportunities waiting for you on the other end.
SCAT test allows students to explore some programs designed for the academically gifted students. They let students find their area of interest and cultivate their skills more in the given area. This kind of an opportunity can give them a heads-up in their career. Moreover, even preparing for the exam makes you ready for the upcoming years as you will be ahead of your batchmates.
But how is it decided who gets placed in the programs and who doesn’t? This is done with the help of the SCAT scorecard. Once the student answers the MCQs in the given time, they are marked in two ways. One is their Raw score, and the other is the Scaled score.
SCAT SCORES
As the name suggests, the Raw score is the number of answers you answered correctly. So it is your marks out of all the MCQs that you’ve responded to. However, knowing your score is not always helpful. You also need to understand how your peers have scored to make a comparative analysis. This is achieved by the Scaled Score. Here, the raw score is converted to determine how the given student has performed compared to other people in their grade.
The scaled score ranges from 400 to 514. But what is a good score or what makes a student qualify for the program? So, as we know, the SCAT is divided into two parts – verbal and quantitative. So, there are different eligibility criteria for the two different parts.
Qualifying Scores
The qualifying marks for each grade are also different. The higher the grade is, the more marks they need to get to qualify for the exam. For example, in the Verbal section, a grade 2 student has to get 428 within the score range of 412-475. On the other hand, a grade 9 student has to get 468 within the score range of 410-494.
For the quantitative section, within the same respective score ranges, a grade 2 student needs 433 to qualify, and a grade 9 needs 488. So, as you can see, the complexity level of SCAT also keeps getting more difficult.
Practice, Practice and Practice
There is nothing one cannot achieve with proper practice. Take external help and make sure that you find a way to balance your school work and SCAT preparation.
You need to strengthen your base to take on higher challenges. Similarly, if your concepts till your current grade are not clear, you won’t be able to take on more complex problems. That is why start with gaining clarity in what you’ve learned to date. Only then move ahead and learn the more complex problems.
Don’t bank on the last moments to prepare for SCAT. If you strategically plan your schedule, you will be able to manage your school work and SCAT practice with panache. Thanks to the multiple worksheets that can be made available for you, you will have plenty to practice from.
Talk to people who have appeared for the exam before. Find out how they navigated the preparation process. Seek expert advice. With proper amalgamation, you will be able to achieve the right score.