<p>Hey I'm recently took a PSAT test (I'm in 8th grade), and my scores are really awful compared to my friends. I read quite a few books and write pretty well. It's not that I'm stupid...I go to a magnet school, I'm one of the top students, and I have all A's including Spanish. </p>
<p>However, I got a pretty low score in the critical reading and writing. Any tips or comments about my score?</p>
<p>Do you have any comments about this or any tips? How can I improve my grade significantly and what's the best way to learn vocab words? Please help!</p>
<p>You’ll be getting better scores just by getting older, let alone studying, so don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>I’d say the summer between 9-10 grade is even an early time to start, but of course, it’s up to you. If you REALLY want to study, get Direct Hits I and II, Gruber’s Math, and study some grammar on Sparknotes. Don’t let it take up too much of your time though, you still have 3 YEARS.</p>
<p>You’re in 8th grade… Yeah thats true. But have you considered Taking the ACT?</p>
<p>Some students just do better on the ACT. I practice now a 1500~ on the SAT while a 25+ for the ACT</p>
<p>When i was in 7-8th grade i took the ACT as a part of the talent search program for northwestern. I got a 20. (thats the junior class average at my high school) </p>
<p>Try the ACT see how you do the ACT is more practical and in my opinion a lot easier.</p>
<p>^Yeah, try the ACT (or the PLAN first which is like the PSAT but for ACT). The tests are pretty different. ACT’s more direct while the SAT has some questions meant to trick you up. Also there’s probably math you haven’t learned yet that’s on the test. Honestly, vocab is not a huge part of the test. Your time would probably be best spent studying something besides vocab. </p>
<p>Also, what schools you plan to apply to will also determine about what range of score you need. While div301 makes a good point that scores will improve with time, it’s also important to prepare and put in the time/effort to get a score that puts you in range for your more competitive schools. You may need a lot more work than just one summer of practice to improve your score for top tier schools.</p>
<p>Well the math section wasn’t that bad. I found it as the easiest…though a few questions were a bit confusing. It’s probably because I was in Algebra last year. I’m in 8th grade right now and I’m in geometry. </p>
<p>I planning to go to a magnet highschool next year. I’ve been in magnet since 2nd grade.
I’m sure you know what a magnet school is right?
It’s a school that’s for kids that get advanced on this standarized test that you must take every year.
They give quite a lot of homework…barely any time left for fun.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help! I have been practicing a little though.</p>
<p>What do you think is the best way to learn vocabulary?
The words used in sentence completion can be a bit tricky…any tips?</p>