Great PSAT but poor SAT

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>little brother had a 10th grade PSAT of 67-68-66=198 and a 11th grade PSAT of 68-75-62=205; he is now taking a SAT review course(Princeton review) in preparation for the March 1 SAT. Anyway, in two practice tests he has yet to score above 590 on any section. Parents are frantic and brother says 'it will all work out". Has anyone seen such a drop in scores from PSAT to SAT, is it just effort, do you postpone SAT until practice scores improve or what?</p>

2

<p>My math went from 67 Sophomore PSAT to 590 first BB test. PSAT math is a lot easier than SAT math, so that section is no surprise. Get him RR. It did the trick for me :)</p>

3

<p>These courses will purposely give you hard tests at first to show you that you really need to take their course and give you a slightly easier version at the end to show that you've improved.</p>

4

<p>^Mmmmhm. </p>

<p>If you insist on using a big-name prep company like PR then so be it. But do NOT under any circumstances use their practice tests. The BB is your friend. Past SAT's are your friends. PR, however, is your nemesis.</p>

5

<p>lol but harder practice tests are good to learn from!</p>

6

<p>^ nah. The best way to learn is to get test that resemble the actual test. Practicing from calculus test will not help with a geometry quiz. </p>

<p>also, using practice test that resemble the actual test make the SAT even more predictable than it already is...</p>

7

<p>Godfatherbob,</p>

<p>I do not understand your abbreviations: BB?? RR??</p>

8

<p>BB = bluebook. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Official-SAT-Study-Guide/dp/0874477182/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202245003&sr=8-1%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.amazon.com/Official-SAT-Study-Guide/dp/0874477182/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202245003&sr=8-1&lt;/a>
RR = i dont know?? </p>

<p>and lol learning math should be for the sake of learning so SATs promote the opposite. >_></p>

9

<p>RR = rocketreview ^_^</p>

10

<p>No, go Barron's.</p>

11

<p>what about McGraw Hill?</p>

12

<p>Blue Book is your best option because it has real SAT questions. The other companies create their own questions and oftentimes these kinds of questions do not appear on the official SATs. And like RahoulVA said, these other books give you hard tests at the beginning and an easy test at the end to "prove" that you've improved. </p>

<p>It was the first thing I realized when I heard about my friends doing the "Princeton Review" SAT prep course and the course's guarantee of improving your score drastically.</p>

13

<p>Wait, so you shouldn't do Princeton Review Practice Sets?</p>

14

<p>There's nothing wrong in practicing from other books as long as you know that the content in them is not official College Board material but mimics it quite well.</p>

<p>I actually heard from a friend that the SAT back in October had a whole section that was exactly the same as a section in the Princeton Review book she was studying from. I don't know if she was sure about that but it did surprise me.</p>

15

<p>I'm having the same problem. I got an 80 on the math section of the PSAT, but I can't seem to get higher than a 680 on the math section of the PSAT =/</p>

<p>If you figure out the secret, let me know.</p>

16

<p>darnfancylettuce: maybe because the SAT's math section is more difficult? lol... it is not that hard to figure out...</p>