Archive

Why are my SAT Math scores so low even though I am a good Math student?

High school math courses rely heavily upon homework. It is doled out daily, done mechanically by rote, and very few, if any of the problems are word problems. This is why so many students fear Physics and Chemistry classes. They may not realize it, but those classes and life after school are word problem based. The most common misconception about the SAT Math section is that it is primarily about Math. It is not. It is roughly 90% word problems, and as such, it is primarily a reading comprehension section. Math is secondary.

Chemistry and Physics should be easy classes because they describe the world as we experience it. We have so much first hand knowledge from our first breath to our drivers’ test, that physical sciences ought to be intuitive. In contrast, analyzing the poetry of Walt Whitman, learning a foreign language, or writing an essay about democracy and the helots of ancient Greece should be far more difficult than understanding gravity, friction, or acidity.

The inherent difficulty is in the words. Our Math and Science teachers take for granted that high school students know how to read a word problem. Teachers lack the time to address this critical step because they must teach new formulas and concepts in order to give their students the requisite knowledge they need to pass their impending quizzes, tests, and exams.

Students learn to read narratives at an early age. This is a different skill than reading a word problem. Word problems don’t have a back story or character development or even a denouement. The plot never thickens because it never exists.

Word problems are a set of instructions like a manual that tells us how to assemble a doll house. Insert tab A into slot B. Check! Onto the next instruction. Ultimately we assemble information into equations.

I have developed a method for reading word problems once to conclude with the correct answer. This is vital, because if a student has to read a word problem two, three, even four times before answering, they are essentially taking 90% of the test as many times. They will not finish the section in time. It is also likely that they won’t be sure if they are answering the question correctly or even understand the question being asked.

I would love to tell you more about how I teach this technique and what it entails, but it is so simple that every student learns it well and any teacher could teach it. I am sure you aren’t the only one reading our blog.

What I can tell you is that vocabulary plays a part and I have developed a list of SAT Math vocabulary that is complete and concise and all of it is found both in the SAT and the Skinny, WaveLength’s SAT study Guide.

After students learn my word problem method they have far more time to take the test and actually think about the Math. This relieves stress, minimizes careless errors and mental fatigue, and ultimately raises SAT Math scores to reflect or surpass school Math grades. There is an added bonus to all of this. Student Science grades will inevitably rise with out extra studying.

Read more about the ripple effect of our lessons and programs on our website under, Testimonials. Or for more details about our Math vocabulary and word problem method, Contact Us. Read carefully and keep practicing!

Here is an article that I happen to find fascinating: One Key Difference Between Kids Who Excel at Math and Those Who Don’t

Guess or Skip? How and where we invest our time directly affects our SAT subject test scores.

Time is the one resource we are given and we must make the most of it. If there were no time limit, everyone would score higher in every section. It would be way easier to think carefully with out the duress of the clock. It is critical to use the limited time we are given wisely.

SAT subject tests start with the easiest questions and gradually become more difficult until the hardest questions at the end of the section.

A correct answer is worth the same 1 raw point whether it is an easy, medium, or hard question. That is why it is important to slow down and make sure you score on questions you know how to do. Do not waste time on hard questions. You can still get a great score with out them. Easy questions have best rate of return for the relatively small amount of time it takes to do them. There is a limited number of easy questions, so it is important to recognize them as an opportunity to build a strong score.

Scoring on a SAT subject test is similar to earning $100 for completing a quick and easy task or a difficult time consuming task. If either task is done wrong the penalty is $25. The choice is clear. Slow down and make sure you get all the easy $100 opportunities with out owing $25 for your efforts. With the remaining time, decide which of the harder tasks you can complete and don’t worry about the ones you don’t get to. There is no reward for completing a whole section, only for accumulating as many raw points with out giving any back. The SAT Math section has 54 total questions. If I skip the harder half of each section and use my extra time to focus on the easier first half of each section, I essentially have twice the time to execute the first half. Slowing down and focusing on the first half of the test is the best way to get them all right. By skipping the harder second half I did not give back any of the points I earned. My raw score is a 27 for the Math level I. This is about a 600 scaled Math score. Not bad for only doing half the test.

Once I know that I am not making any silly mistakes, I begin to take on more of the test. My next goal would be ⅔ of each section, then ¾ and so on. Never attempt more questions until you are sure you are not needlessly giving points away.
It is best to get two or less questions wrong…

A total of two wrong on the multiple choice in any of the three sections on the SAT means that a ½ a raw point will be subtracted from the raw score. For example, a raw score of a 30 would then become a 29.5. Raw scores are rounded to whole numbers. This means a 29.5 becomes a 30 and no points were lost. If three mistakes were made the 30 would become a 29.25 which would then be rounded down to a 29.

When skipping problems on an SAT subject test , mark them on the test with a symbol that let’s you know whether you want to attempt it later with your remaining time. That way you don’t have to waste time rereading every skipped problem. I like to use a star to revisit a problem and a question mark to avoid a problem. I know that feeling good is important to performing well. I do not think, “I should know how to do that” when I skip a problem. Instead, I think, “Glad I caught that giant waste of time and effort early. Now I can use this extra time to make sure I get easier problems right.” Be your own biggest fan and keep practicing. Contact WaveLength if you want to learn more about this and other SAT subject test strategies. Keep practicing and good luck!

Should I take the ACT or the SAT?

It’s a question I am asked more and more frequently since almost every university and college now accepts either test for their admissions process. There is no easy way to answer this with out knowing many different things. In an effort to find the best answer, I respond with the following questions:

Have you taken the PLAN and the PSAT?

If not, have you taken both a real (not third party) SAT and ACT and scored them?

If so, have you compared the two test scores by percentile?

An apples to apples comparison is hard enough since the scores are scaled differently and made even more difficult because the sections of the two tests only roughly correspond. Here is a useful link to compare SAT and ACT scores

The SAT subject tests also deserve serious consideration.

Make a list of ten to twelve schools that you want to apply to. It should include, reach schools, 50/50 schools, and safety schools. Find out what all of their unique admissions requirements are. Do all or some of the schools you are applying to require SAT subject tests?

Most schools accept the ACT in lieu of SAT subjects tests. It may seem like far less work to take the ACT instead of the SAT and two or three one hour SAT subject tests but this may not be the wisest choice. The College Board offers eighteen different Subject Tests, many of which are foreign language tests. If you are multi-lingual this is a great place to shine.

Choosing the subjects in which you are tested presents a rare chance to show off your knowledge and put up some flashy standardized test scores. If you are going to be taking an AP exam in a given subject it would be smart to take the corresponding SAT subject test. I recommend taking SAT subject tests both Sophomore and Junior year on the date offered closest to final exams. This way your studying is synergistic. Why not kill two birds with one stone?

While it is en vogue to take the ACT, there is no advantage in doing so unless your PLAN scores are significantly higher than your PSAT scores. This is because the SAT requires far less knowledge and more test strategy than the ACT. This means that knowing how the SAT is graded and knowing whether to guess or skip can drastically change your score. It is something that anyone can learn. In contrast, knowing Trigonometry and the rules of logarithms will raise ACT scores, but will take far longer to master.

In addition, the SAT is the most studied test in the world, as such, it is more predictable than the ACT. This means that tutoring in and studying for the SAT usually leads to greater score improvements in every section of the test. ACT scores also improve with tutelage and study, but not as dramatically.

Which is right for you? Take a test in each and compare your results. Only if you score significantly higher by percentage in the ACT do I recommend taking it over the SAT. If you are favored by the ACT and decide to take it, you should still seriously consider taking two to three SAT subject tests in your very best subjects. Let your light shine!

Whatever you decide, decide on one test and prepare for it. Many parents register their students to take multiple ACTs and SATs. This is overwhelming for any Junior and generally a losing strategy. It is best to pick one and focus. I hope you find this perspective helpful. Contact us if you have any further questions and good luck.

Understanding your SAT Math Score and how it is derived is critical to scoring high.

When I began playing organized soccer I caught the very first ball kicked to me. I thought I did well and was confused when my coach yelled at me and the opponents got possession of the ball and a free kick. Catching the ball was natural to me, but not a great strategy for a fullback in soccer. Likewise,some test strategies that work well in school back-fire on the SAT because the SAT has a different set of rules. It is difficult to win with out knowing these rules.

The scaled score on the SAT is the final score we receive.

This score is curved and ranges between 200 and 800 for each section of the test. 500 is the national average (50th percentile) for a specific test section and date nationally. The scores that we see are derived from a raw score. The average of the raw scores is assigned a 500. You cannot score below a 200.

The SAT raw score determines the final scaled score.

As such, it is the score that you should focus on. It is calculated by giving 1 raw point for each correct answer and subtracting ¼ raw point for each wrong answer on every multiple choice question. No points are lost in the Student Produced open-ended section of the Math, so it is best to guess if you don’t know the answer in this section. Do not guess on the Multiple Choice questions unless you can eliminate three of the choices because they are definitely wrong. Otherwise, guessing leads to lower scores.

In school, if an answer is blank, it is wrong. So it is better to guess than to leave an answer blank. While this is a good strategy in school it is a bad strategy for the SAT. It is better to leave a blank and not give away fractional raw points. After all, there is an 80% chance that a guess is wrong.

This means that a guess is far more likely to hurt your score than to help it. Don’t ever guess out of five multiple choices and keep practicing. Questions? Contact WaveLength and we will be happy to answer.