<p>If all my HS classes aligned with SAT II topics, that would be awful.</p>
<p>In My Opinion, the best way to try to ensure a very high SAT II score (at least in math and science) is to practice, practice, practice. If possible take the AP before the SAT II, if not, then get a book (Barron’s, Princeton Review both work well). I took Math 2, Chemistry, and Biology and got an 800 on all of them. MAKE SURE you really know the material. Just my two cence </p>
<p>At my school, people generally take the SAT II in a course after they take the honors course (after freshman year Honors Bio, most people who had the two good teachers and a few with the bad teacher took the June SAT II); however, we all use test prep guides to review the course. Even those of us who had the bad teacher for Honors Bio (we were slower than the nonhonors classes) are taking the subject test this fall. I think most of the teachers at my school know that kids are going to take the SAT II after the course, however. </p>
<p>I must be an oddity on here from what I’m reading, but I actually found that in contrast to the other popular tests (SAT I/ACT), the SAT II’s aligned perfectly with my classes. To me, that’s how it should be. I say this after getting a 770 on my US History after taking APUSH. I’ve only taken academic Biology (and two years ago to boot) but I still managed to squeak out a 740 on a SAT II Bio-E practice :)</p>
<p>Never. My school barely covers AP topics and 2% of the population actually take the SATs. </p>
<p>I felt adequately prepared for US History after taking APUSH, but I credit this all to my excellent teacher. He’s been teaching for 20+ years and is a master at standardized test preparation; his students always get the highest AP exam scores of any AP class in my school. I’m definitely not a history buff, but I think I could have gotten a 700, at least. </p>
I took honors chemistry junior year and am taking AP this year, as a senior. I’m going to be taking the chem subject test in October and while doing practice tests, I definitely noticed lots of gaps… I do not feel prepared for this test
**Sorry, didn’t realize this thread was old until I commented. Now I can’t delete it…
My introductory chem and bio classes DEFINITELY did not cover the content necessary for success on their respective SAT Subject Tests. AP U.S. History, however, covered more than enough breadth and helped me score an 800. I think AP classes are your best option for full coverage of this information; otherwise, you may need to do quite a bit of studying on your own. However, no class at your school will be exactly aligned with the content demanded of the Subject Tests; it is always worthwhile to pick up a study guide to make sure you know what is expected.
There is no nationalized education system but the SATII is for the whole country. No it doesn’t align and you always need some extra research.
Taking AP classes and respective subject classes will definitely help but there will always be gaps.
Heads up to those in bio: I wasn’t very well prepared for the SAT test because I assumed it was going to be similar to the AP(which I was studying for at the time), but the content is actually quite different
@annana Please elaborate on content allignement in AP/SAT bio.
@MrAustere there are a lot more “rote memorization” questions on SAT II while bio is more focused on applying principles of evolution, molecular bio, etc to certain scenarios
*AP bio @MrAustere
I’m not sure why you were surprised. The College Board makes no claims that any AP subject is aligned to the SAT Subject Test. Physics is another subject where none of the AP classes (alone or in combination) will adequately prepare for the Subject Test. While many on this site seem to think that one needs an AP class to do well on the Subject Test, a student taking a regular college prep class can do just as well.
I can’t tell you how many students I’ve seen get 4 or 5s on their APs, but average scores on their Subject Tests. APs and Subject Tests should be studied for separately, since they are vastly different and test different areas of knowledge, albeit with heavy AP overlap.
Another issue at play here is that the SAT Subject Tests test more than the student’s knowledge–they are also SATs, which means there are questions with tricky wording. These types of “tricky wording” questions require the student to separate that which is true from that which is correct.
For example, on a U.S. History Subject Test, you might see a question such as "the following chart illustrates which of the following about pre-Civil war America? All of the answers might be true of pre-Civil War America, but only one of the answers is supported by the information in the chart.
Nope. While my case might be a bit different cos I’m not a US student, which tbh I think places me at more of a disadvantage simply because the SAT syllabus is a lot more geared towards US students than international students. But really, if you bother working hard for it, you will do well. I did ~15 practice papers each for Lit and Math 2, and really just buckled down and memorised those darn formulas (for Math 2)/definitions (for Lit). I know many people sneer at rote memorisation, but I mean if that helps me get a 800, then so be it haha. But if you are going to go into the exam hall with no practice whatsoever and just going to depend on your high school prowess to get you though, that’s not going to work. SAT2s is NOT the same as a high school exam.