<p>I have a 175 PSAT (took the test half-heartedly, I've scored 2100 on CB practice tests), and I plan to take the SAT in June. I'm also a junior.
I signed up for a Kaplan course and wondered if they actually raise your score.
Does anyone know if they actually raise your score?</p>
<p>I took Kaplan last summer. My score went from a 1870 on a practice test to a 2010. The material you learn helps, but you have to learn it yourself. My instructor was God-awful in teaching the course. </p>
<p>Notice how suspiciously your score goes up even if you aren’t actually improving…</p>
<p>I’ve heard people saying that Kaplan courses inflate and deflate scores on their practice tests. Are they any good in teaching math and Writing? I’m not worried about CR, but my Math especially could use some brushing up if I want that ~2300 score.</p>
<p>My instructor was crap. If you are motivated I would just get the Blue book.</p>
<p>i took the kaplan online practice it was ok i guess, but still way better than revolutionary prep</p>
<p>I took a course, and my score went from 1930 to 2170 with a perfect math score.</p>
<p>I think the key thing is that they make you familiar with the type of questions and give you a basic idea of what you’ll be seeing. There is power in repetition.</p>
<p>I was wondering about this, also! My mom has been on my back about taking the course this summer (I’m a junior), but is it worth it? The only improvement I need is my mathematics, but not by a momentous amount.</p>
<p>I’ve also heard that repetition is key to the SAT’s, but that Kaplan tests aren’t really reliable. Does anyone know anything about that? Are Kaplan tests like the real thing?</p>
<p>Sorry for not exactly answering your question, but I have found that these courses do not help much…all we (and by we, i mean all students from my school who got 2200+) did was practice the practice tests from barrons, offical sat, princeon review, grubers, and kaplan. the people who actually took courses like these knew more than us, but ALL of them got less than 1950. it’s not really that hard.</p>
<p>I teach for Kaplan (I hope the posters above were not my students!). Here’s my take:</p>
<p>Sometimes, I am a little suspicious that Kaplan’s first test is harder than the subsequent exams (and is not curved accordingly) so it looks like your practice score improves. But, I don’t have any real evidence of it. It does make sense, though, since they have the Higher Score Guarantee.</p>
<p>Some students claim that Kaplan tests are harder than CB tests, and some claim they are easier. I don’t really have a sense about which is actually true.</p>
<p>I think that Kaplan questions are pretty close to actual SAT questions, but I do believe there are some differences. As one (minor) example - Kaplan makes it sound like all the questions for the CR paired-passages go in perfect order (Passage 1 questions, Passage 2 questions, questions on both passages). But, I’ve seen actual SAT’s where that isn’t true. I also think that Kaplan over-emphasizes some things that aren’t that important on the CB tests.</p>
<p>Kaplan does raise people’s scores - even from one actual SAT to the next. However, I guess I believe that most of the increase comes from (a) familiarity with the kinds of questions asked, (b) practice, and (c) being forced to take practice tests multiple times. As a teacher, I don’t think I have a magic bullet solution for my students. I just see myself as the enforcer . . . I make them review when they otherwise wouldn’t.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input Got2BeGreen. I just took the Diagnostic test from Kaplan. As I haven’t taken the actual SAT yet, I have no basis to compare the Diagnostic test with, but I found it harder than the PSAT. And I can unfortunately admit that I probably wouldn’t study without someone pushing me.</p>
<p>no it is not good</p>