<p>My son is a rising junior preparing for the tests in the fall. He has been using testive.com to answer questions everyday along with the college board online course. He is having the most trouble with speed on the math section. He says the questions are not hard but he is having trouble doing the math problems fast enough. Any advice on ways to help him be faster? Should he just continue to practice and read through the reasons for his wrong answer. </p>
<p>Also, does anyone have advice on a resource to help improve his reading speed. He is having the same problem there.
Thanks!</p>
<p>Well, I can’t say for reading, but maybe have your son buy a math prep book. First, give him a practice math test with the full 3 sections. If he gets below a 650, I recommend he buy PWN the SAT. That book will teach him the basics and then when he starts to score 650+, use Dr. Chung’s. After he gets his score to 650 or so (assuming he’s not already there), then subtract 2 minutes from the allotted time on the math section. I’ve been taking off two minutes on Dr. Chung’s tests and I can finish the BB tests with like 5 to 7 minutes to spare. </p>
<p>Time your son, with 2 (or an increment of your own) minutes less than the original time of 25 minutes per section (excluding the 20 minute free response), and lower it as he progresses. I believe this’ll help, because his mind will stimulate a situation to which that is the actual time given for the test, and he will STILL be take more time to finish it, however it pushes up to the normal time of 25 minutes.</p>
<p>Idk if that was confusing… but I tried my best XD</p>
<p>He should be able to save a lot of time by not calculating an exact answer but just working through a generalized answer. EG a generalized answer is something like knowing an answer will be between 8-10. If there is only one answer in this range, then time saved and on to the next question. If there is more then one answer in the range (and there will likely be) then keep working until answers are eliminated. The process should be more of an elimination process than an answer process. I did pretty good on these tests and saved a lot of time by doing this and then spending the time on the harder questions.</p>
<p>I can’t agree with you on that. In math, you need to find a specific answer. Often there are two answers that are very close. If he only has a specific answer, then he will spend even more time deciding between his final two choices.</p>
<p>SAT math contains very basic problem solving. What’s really being tested are the math fundamentals. So, if your son is having trouble with the math timing, it’s not because he’s not smart or because he doesn’t have problem solving skills, its because his math fundamentals aren’t as solid as they need to be. </p>
<p>There are several different types of SAT math questions that can be easily classified. Each time your son does a section, check to see what problems he got wrong, and ask him what problems he spent a lot of time on. GO TO A PROPER MATH TEXTBOOK AND TARGET THESE AREAS. Unlike SAT review books, these will teach your son the intuition behind something, so that he doesn’t have to think to much when answering a problem and will just act instinctively. </p>
<p>Good luck to you and your son. Hope this helped.</p>