<p>What's opinion of SAT community on this? Should you guess only if you are able to eliminate 1 or 2 multiple choice answers? Please elaborate. Thanks</p>
<p>Okay, I’m going to help you because this used to be a concern of mine.</p>
<p>Many prep books will tell you that if you can eliminate at least a couple of the choices you should guess. They then drone on about probability and how if you guess 5 questions after eliminating one answer choice from each one then you should even out to zero raw points. However, what these books fail to tell you is that your overall raw score is not based upon how many points you lose, but rather how many you earn minus the deductions for wrong answers. </p>
<p>So, for instance, the math section of the SAT is out of 54 raw points. If you were to guess on a question and get it wrong, you’re not losing the .25 of a point like they say, you’re losing that plus a potential point you could have earned, meaning you would lose 1.25 points for a total of 52.75 (which would in fact round back up to 53, but you get my point).</p>
<p>Anyways, I’m not telling you to not guess and just omit answers if yo’re not 100 percent sure because the top scorers answer as many questions as possible and hardly ever leave any blank at all. I am saying though don’t just guess for the sake of wanting to answer the question; if you’re really not that sure and your educated guess isn’t as educated as it could be, then leave it blank.</p>
<p>Mathematically, it is in favor to guess when you can eliminate 3 or more answers. It is neither favorable nor unfavorable to guess when you can eliminate 2 questions. Best solution: just study harder instead of trying to figure out tricks!</p>
<p>I have never left a question blank on any standardized test I’ve ever taken and have done great, though I probably would’ve done alright if I’d left ones I didn’t know blank.</p>
<p>Technically, just guessing without eliminating would let you break even (4 wrong would be -0.25<em>4=-1, 1 right would be +1, leading to a net effect of 0). Also, mantis2014’s point is a bit misleading (at least to me), since if you omitted an answer, you would lose 1 point (vs. 1.25 if you got it wrong), so by guessing wrong, you have a net loss of 0.25 points (Looking at it this way, if you guessed 5 questions, you would have -1.25</em>4=-5 (wrong answers) + 0 (right answers, since answering right would lead to no loss of potential points. If you left them blank, you would still have a net loss of 5 potential points). Thus, I would say that it’s beneficial to guess.</p>
<p>For me, the part that’s tricky is when that extra -0.25 puts you at a raw score of X.25, which will be rounded down, essentially meaning that you lose 1 point for getting that question wrong instead of omitting (since X.50 is rounded up). Thus, if you are sure that what you answered is right (and you have 3 questions left), maybe educated-guess 2 and leave 1 blank. Likewise, if you have 1 or 2 questions you are unsure about (but are 100% certain that everything else is right), it would be beneficial to guess, since the guessing penalty vs. omitting penalty would be the same from the rounding.</p>
<p>Sorry about that long rant…</p>
<p>I won’t bore you with a lecture about expected values. If you guess on five questions, statistics predict your score will be 0. If you skip 5 questions, your score will be 0.
If you can eliminate a single answer, guess.
Or take the ACT, where you don’t lose any points for incorrect responses.</p>
<p>Let me summarize: the Collegeboard doesn’t want to penalize you for incorrect answers. They simply do not want to reward you for guessing.</p>
<p>For Mantis2014, if you are unsure about a questions, you really only have two options: guess and risk a penalty or skip it. You cannot consider the option where you get the correct answer. Therefore it is simply an expected value problem.</p>
<p>It depends on you. Some people are good guessers (get more right than statistically likely). Some people are bad guessers (having eliminated two possible answers, they choose the wrong one of the remaining two more than half the time). Some people are neither good nor bad.</p>
<p>Take a couple practice tests. Answer every question. Mark all the ones you were 100% sure on. Mark all the ones you were able to eliminate at least one answer. Mark all the ones you had no idea on. Then figure what percentage you got right in each category. That should tell you whether you’re a good guesser or a bad guesser. If you’re a good guesser, guess. If you aren’t, don’t.</p>
<p>GUESS NO MATTER WHAT. Even getting 1 right and 4 wrong would still be a 0 net. So why not guess? Just do it</p>
<p>I would recommend only guessing if you’re stuck between two answers. If you have no idea, skip the question and go back if you have time so that you can look at it with fresh eyes. If you really have no idea, just leave it.</p>
<p>I feel weird leaving questions blank, idk why but yeah… Usually if I can eliminate 1 choice I go with my instinct instead of doubting myself and leaving it blank, at least on vocab questions. If you have no idea on a question or run out of time, then leave it blank. But otherwise, I would guess.</p>
<p>I never left any question blank. I think it all depends on your goal and capability. If you’re aiming for a 2200+ and you’re at that level. Then obviously you’ll want to answer every question and even your “guesses” will be well-founded and most likely correct.</p>
<p>I would say guess most of the time, always if you’re down to 2 answers. If you have ABSOLUTELY no idea then leave it blank.</p>
<p>According to this tutor… [url=<a href=“Quest Prep – It's Dangerous To Know Alone”>Quest Prep – It's Dangerous To Know Alone]NEVER[/url</a>] guess.</p>