I’m taking the SAT for the first time in October, and I don’t really want to spend too much money on a program/tutor, and I’m not sure if my school has a class.
I’ve been using the Khan Academy SAT program, and its helping me a lot with my reading/writing score, but I haven’t improved on my Math score from the PSAT and a practice test I took recently on Khan Academy. I haven’t taken Algebra 2 yet(I’m taking it this year), and I forgot most of what I learned in Algebra 1. I’m 100% comfortable with most of Geometry and basic trigonometry, but that’s barely on the SAT anyways.
I figured out what categories I needed to work on, and I started watching videos on Khan Academy’s regular website. At first it was great, but I couldn’t figure out which videos I truly needed to watch, as there were a lot in one lesson, and I have less than 2 months.
The topics I need to work on are
-Manipulating Polynomials
-Quadratic Equations
-Exponential Functions
-Systems of linear equations
-Solving exponential equations
-Complex Numbers
-Dividing Polynomials
-Function Notation
-Systems of equations w/ nonlinear equations
I know I’ll do better after finishing Algebra 2, but I want to prep enough to improve between now and October, I currently have a 560 in the math section.
Thank you!!
I’m in a similar situation at the moment so I’m not sure if I can necessarily be of any help. But if you already know which sections you need to improve, I’d suggest finding out which types of problems have the most questions on the test and focusing on those first (that way you’re getting the most mileage out of improving in any given topic). Just go into the list of topics on the KA practice page and answer as many questions from those categories as you can. If you start to feel a little bit more comfortable with the first topic, move on to the one with the second most questions on the test, and so on. For me, I’m not testing until December so I’m somewhat counting on my next algebra class to get me where I need to be. I’m planning to focus on each of the math topics I have trouble with at the same time I’m learning them in class and hoping that helps me understand better. I know you’re testing earlier, but maybe a similar tactic with some more targeted practice on your own will help your score.
Good luck!
@papaya12 If you forgot most of what you learned in Algebra 1, you’re going to have a hard time in Algebra 2, and you’ll probably be less efficient on learning/reviewing the topics you listed for the SAT.
Review the topics you learned in Alg 1, solve lots of problems, and if you wish, challenging yourself by solving more difficult problems (e.g. MATHCOUNTS or AMC 10 problems).
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