Careless Math Mistakes

<p>Well i took the Jan 07 SATs and im pretty happy with my scores.
jumped from
Critical Reading - 700 Math - 680 Writing - 590
to
Critical Reading - 740 Math - 710 Writing - 760</p>

<p>the thing is, i KNOW i can do better on my math section. When I do the math problems by themselves and not working on them in a section, I am able to correctly answer almost all of the ones i attempt. However, when I am working on a math section, i end up making the stupidest mistakes ever such as forgetting it asks for X+4 and not just X or any dumb things. Can anybody give me any tips for overcoming this? Thank You</p>

<p>take an extra ten seconds to re-read exactly what they're asking you for, and make sure it makes sense. also avoid what pr calls joe bloggs answers, the seemingly obvious ones, but i'm sure at 740 you're pretty good at that anyway.</p>

<p>after i do each problem, i quickly spend 10 sec doing it over again in my head. its really easy, and doesnt take as long as it may sound. it helped me get an 800 math. </p>

<p>and panda, what tips do you have for CR???</p>

<p>It sounds like you're good at math, so you probably have time left over after you finish all the problems, so just go over them again. Or do what stanford suggested.</p>

<p>I don't understand what you mean by "doing them by themselves instead of in sections." If you mean you have trouble doing multiple problems in a row, then it'd probably be helpful to take lots of practice tests.</p>

<p>You are just like me... I make these very STUPID mistakes... I pretty much know how to do every problem but my brain is going way too fast and miss read questions... 1st time I took SAT I i got 780 on math, should have gotten a 800 if I didnt have that one stupid mistake... 2nd time i go t 720... too many mistakes this time.. cost me lots of points.</p>

<p>Ahhhh, my old problem exactly.</p>

<p>The first SAT I ever took I received a score of 570 on math. Pathetic by my standards.</p>

<p>I went up to a 720 merely by reading the question aloud during the course of the problem. I mean, EVERY DETAIL.</p>

<p>It'll get you many funny looks during the test but I can assure you it paid off. It helped me register what the problem was asking and how I was going to do it.</p>

<p>Well congrads on your scores, I don't think anyone that scores 1450 on the old scale needs to be talking in terms of stupid mistakes.</p>

<p>The data says that after taking the test twice it's pretty much diminshing returns. Our school here in fact tells the kids not to take the test more than twice. What I wonder after reading your post is do you need to get a score higher than 1450? There is probably plenty of more exciting things to do on a Saturday morning than sitting around for 5 hours with a bunch of #2 pencils in some school cafeteria for the sake of getting a couple of points that perhaps you don't need. in fact the data says that scores actually go down on a number of kids when they continue to retest. Think about it, is there value in continuing to do this?</p>

<p>Do less work in your head and more on paper. Then when something is wrong it's more likely to jump out at you.</p>