Test Taking Strategies to Improve Your SAT Score

1. Test Taking Strategies to Improve Your SAT Score Westminster High School October 4, 2010

2. Average GPA and SAT for Admission in 2009-10

3. What does the test look like?

4. How difficult is the SAT? • On average, students answer 50 or 60 percent of questions correctly • 80 percent finish nearly the entire test • Almost all students complete at least 75 percent of the questions

5. Timing is Everything! • Test is 3 hours and 45 minutes of testing time, plus three 5-minute breaks, for a total of 4 hours to complete the entire test. • Don’t spend too much time on any one question. • Spend seconds on the easiest questions • Hesitate to spend more than 1-2 minutes even on the hardest questions • Remember the SAT consists of a series of small, timed, mini-tests. • Keep track of the time allotted for each one and how much time remains. • Wear a watch to the testing center.

6. Understand the Scoring! • You get a point for a right answer. • You lose one-quarter point for a wrong answer. • There is no deduction for omitted answers, or for wrong answers in the math section’s student-produced response questions. • Each of the 3 sections is on a 200 to 800 point scale.

7. Overall Test Tactics • Learn the section directions now. • Answer easy questions first. • Mark skipped questions so you can quickly locate them. • Guess….. IF you can eliminate at least one answer choice. • Skip any question if you don’t have the faintest idea about the answer. You DON’T lose points!

8. Overall Test Tactics • Easy questions usually precede hard ones. • Don’t change an answer unless you’re sure you made an error. • Read the words of the question carefully. Be sure to answer the question asked and not the question you recall from a practice test.

9. Recording Your Answers • You MAY and SHOULD write in the test booklet. • Cross out wrong answers. • Do scratch work. • Take care when filling in the answer grid for the student-produced response questions. • Avoid stray marks on the answer sheet. • Make sure you are using a No. 2 pencil. • Mark only one answer per question. • Keep checking that you are placing your answer in the correct section and number on the answer sheet.

10. Retaking the SAT • 55% of juniors taking the test improved their scores as seniors • 35% had score drops • 10% had no change in score • On average, juniors repeating the SAT as seniors improved their combined critical reading, mathematics, and writing scores by approximately 40 points

11. Using SAT Skills Insight www.sat.collegboard.com/practice Shows which academic skills students can concentrate on to improve their scores

12. Using the College Board site to prepare for the SAT www.sat.collegeboard.com/practice/sat-practice-questions Sample questions for each area of the test as well as a full length practice test www.sat.collegeboard.com/practice/sat-study-plan Allows you to create a personalized plan to prepare for the test based on the number of times you’ve previously taken it and your testing date

13. Using the College Board site to prepare for the SAT www.sat.collegeboard.com/practice/answers-imagined Helps provide suggestions for how to handle tough SAT questions www.sat.collegeboard.com/practice/sat-question-of-the-day Sign up for a daily emailed question of the day Answers will include explanation of the correct answer

14. Calculator Policy • Calculators are highly recommended. • You may NOT share calculators. • Calculators permitted during testing are: • Graphing calculators • Scientific calculators • Four-function calculators (not recommended) • Unacceptable calculators • Models with typewriter keypad, pen-input stylus, or touch-screen capability • Models that use paper tape, “talk” or make unusual noises • Modes that can access the Internet, have cell phone capability, or have a digital audio/video player or a camera

15. Critical Reading Section • What does it test? • How well you understand what you read • What do the questions look like? • Sentence completion (19 questions) • Passage-based reading (48 questions)

16. Sentence Completions • Measure • Knowledge of the meanings of words • Ability to understand how the different parts of a sentence fit together logically

17. Sentence Completions • Work on these first. They take less time to answer than the passage-based reading questions. • The difficulty of sentence completion questions increase as you move through the section.

18. Sentence Completion Strategies • Answer a sentence completion question with two blanks by focusing first on one of the two blanks. • If one of the words in answer choice is logically wrong, then you can eliminate the entire choice from consideration.

19. Sentence Completion Example Hoping to ------ the dispute, negotiators proposed a compromise that they felt would be ------ to both labor and management. (A) enforce. .useful (B) end. . divisive (C) overcome. . unattractive (D) extend. . satisfactory (E) resolve. . acceptable

20. Passage-Based Questions • Measure your ability to read and think critically about several different passage ranging in length from about 100 to 800 words. • Passages are taken from a variety of fields including the humanities, social studies, natural sciences, and literary fiction. • They vary in style and can include narrative, argumentative, and expository elements. • Some selections consist of a pair of related passages on a shared issue or theme; in some questions, you are asked to compare and contrast these passages.

21. Types of Questions about the Passage • Vocabulary in context • Ask you to determine the meaning of words from their context in the reading • Literal comprehension • Assess your understanding of significant information directly stated in the passage • Extended reasoning • Measure your ability to synthesize and analyze information as well as to evaluate the assumptions made and the techniques used by the author • Most of the reading questions fall into this category • You may be asked to identify cause and effect, make inferences, recognize a main idea or an author’s tone, or follow the logic of an analogy or an argument.

22. Passage-Based Reading Questions • Do not increase in difficulty from easy to hard. Instead, they follow the logic of the passage. • Information you need to answer each reading question is ALWAYS in the passage(s). • Don’t be misled by an answer that looks correct but is not supported by the actual txt of the passage(s). • Reading questions often include line numbers to help direct you to relevant part(s) of the passage. • Do not jump from passage to passage. Stay with a passage until you have answered as many questions as you can before you proceed to the next passage.

23. Mathematics Section • Contains two types of questions • Standard multiple choice (44 questions) • Student-produced response questions that provide no answer choices (10 questions) • On the HSA these were called “grid ins”

24. Strategies for the Mathematics Section • Familiarize yourself with the directions ahead of time. • The test does NOT require you to memorize formulas. • Commonly used formulas are provided in the test book at the beginning of each mathematics section. • It is up to you to decide which formula is appropriate for a given problem.

25. Strategies for the Mathematics Section • Read the problem carefully. • Note key words that tell you what the problem is asking. • Ask yourself the following questions before you solve each problem: • What is the question asking? • What do I know?

26. Strategies for the Mathematics Section • With some problems, it may be useful to draw a sketch or diagram of the given information. • Use the test book for scratch paper. • Decide when to use a calculator. • For multiple choice questions, you may want to refer to the answer choices before you determine your answer. • Eliminate choices. • Make sure your answer is a reasonable answer to the question asked. • Especially true for student-produced answer choices. • All figures are drawn to scale unless otherwise indicated.

27. Grid-In Guidelines • Answers are NOT multiple choice • Written in a grid as numerical values • All fractions should be expressed as improper fractions, not mixed numbers • Start the answer in the left-most grid column • Never forget to fill in the bubbles as well as writing the number at the top of the grid • Always guess on this section • You are not penalized for a wrong answer in this section

28. Calculator Tips • Remember to bring your calculator to the test and be familiar with how to use the calculator you bring. • Make sure it is in good working order and contains fresh batteries. • Don’t buy an expensive, sophisticated calculator just to take the test. • Don’t try to use a calculator on every question. • Get your thoughts down before using your calculator. • Take the practice test with a calculator at hand.

29. Number and Operations (20-25%) Arithmetic word problems Including percent, ratio and proportion Properties of integers Even, odd, prime numbers, divisibility, etc. Rational numbers Sets Union, intersection, elements Counting techniques Sequences and series (including exponential growth) Elementary number theory Algebra and Functions (35-40%) Substitution and simplifying algebraic expressions Properties of exponents Algebraic word problems Solutions of linear equations and inequalities Systems of equations and inequalities Quadratic equations Rational and radical equations Equations of lines Absolute value Direct and inverse variation Concepts of algebraic functions Newly defined symbols based on commonly used operations Mathematics Topics on the SAT

30. Geometry and Measurement (25-30%) Area and perimeter of a polygon Area and circumference of a circle Volume of a box, cube and cylinder Pythagorean Theorem and special properties of isosceles, equilateral, and right triangles Properties of parallel and perpendicular lines Coordinate geometry Geometric visualization Slope Similarity Transformations Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability (10-15%) Data interpretation (tables and graphs) Descriptive statistics (mean, median and mode) Probability Mathematics Topics on the SAT

31. The Writing Section • Writing section includes: • Multiple choice questions • Improving sentences (25 questions) • Identifying sentence errors (18 questions) • Improving paragraphs (6 questions) • Writing an essay • Essay counts 30% of your total score in the writing section

32. The Essay • Need to show effectively you can develop and express ideas • Take care to develop your point of view, present your ideas logically and clearly, and use language precisely • Must be written on the lines provided in the answer book • Avoid wide margins and keep your handwriting to a reasonable size • Write or print so that the writing is legible to scorers • Must use a pencil – if written in ink it will receive a score • An off-topic essay will receive a score of zero • If your essay does not reflect your original and individual work, your test scores may be canceled

33. Sample Essay Prompt Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. Many persons believe that to move up the ladder of success and achievement, they must forget the past, repress it, and relinquish it. But others have just the opposite view. They see old memories as a chance to reckon with the past and integrate past and present. Adapted from Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, I’ve Known Rivers: Lives of Loss and Liberation Assignment: Do memories hind or help people in their effort to learn from the past and succeed in the present? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience or observations.

34. Tackling the Essay • Decide if you agree or disagree with the essay prompt and write your thesis. • Take 5 minutes to outline your essay response. • Essay should consist of 4-5 paragraphs • An introduction • One paragraph each detailing 2 or 3 different examples that support your thesis • A conclusion • Try to use one example from literature/history/current events and your own personal experience • Make sure you allow time for proofreading

35. Final Preparations • SLEEP • Eat breakfast • Use a reliable alarm clock and have a back up • Be aware of traffic and other potential delays • Things to take with you to the test • Admission ticket, acceptable photo ID, number 2 pencils with a good eraser, calculator with fresh batteries • Snacks (to eat during braeks), a watch (without an audible alarm), a backpack or bag (to be kept under the seat), and extra batteries • DO NOT BRING • Any electronic device, scratch paper, notes, books, a dictionary, compass, protractor, or ruler. NO CELL PHONES!! • Highlighter or colored pencils • Portable listening device or recording device • Camera • Arrive early to select a seat you are comfortable sitting in for the test • If you are easily distracted don’t sit near the door or test administrator