<p>I wish what you did worked for me @mea1997 I took the SAT for the first time in March and got a 1580. Took it a second time without studying very much in June and got a 1620. Basically I think studying and taking practice tests is going to be my only option.</p>
<p>Honestly I have no idea what happened with my score. I think the first time around I was super clueless, but with a couple months of school under my belt, I simply knew more and had better solidified skills in math and grammar, which brought my scores up </p>
<p>I have taken 5 AP classes so far and have gotten an A in every single one of them. Taking 4 my senior year. My weighted GPA is 4.85 and I am in the top 10% of my class. I do not receive extended time for school tests. I just do not seem to do very well tests such as the SAT. I think maybe I need to do some actual studying for it though. @gibby</p>
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Did you take the AP tests following the classes? And what were your scores? 3’s? 4’s? 5’s?</p>
<p>I X’posted with 2018RiceParent, but that was my reason for asking your scores.</p>
<p>I do not do very well on AP exams either…Usually 2s or 3s @gibby @2018RiceParent </p>
<p>College’s are going to wonder why you have A’s in your AP classes, yet have low AP test scores. One reason might be test anxiety, but your A’s do not indicate that test anxiety is an issue for school work. And, as you don’t receive extended time for class tests, that will lead them to question whether your high school has a very lenient grading policy or possible grade inflation. Do other students at your school have similar issues? High GPA’s and low test scores?</p>
<p>When you are comfortable with the format of either the SAT or ACT, you should do better on the tests. But, that takes a lot of practice. Here’s a tip you might want to try.</p>
<p>The ACT is all about timing. My son practiced with an egg timer set for 5 minutes less than the time allowed for each section. We bought four or five ACT books from Amazon and he did two-sections at a time (never the full test), which took about an hour for each practice session. Then we corrected the sections and went over the answer key. He did that for 6 weeks prior to the test for two days a week (Saturday and Sunday), again never taking the full test until the day of his actual test. Initially, his scores were all over the place, but they slowly increased each week until he was averaging about a 34 on each section going into the test. But, because he practiced with 5 minutes less than each section allowed, when my son took the test, he felt like he had so much time – enough time to check over his answers on questions that were toss-ups – and was pleasantly surprised when he scored a 36. Give it a try and see if the system works for you. Best of luck!</p>
<p>@gibby That strategy looks very good. My only caution would be that if the OP is having trouble with longer tests (high school tests tend to be shorter than SAT/ACT/AP exams and the HS grades imply lesser problem with shorter tests) - may be an endurance factor involved here (being able to sustain concentration). Throwing in some full length practice tests into the mix might help with that.</p>
<p>There are also strategies for reducing test anxiety (and various threads on this on CC)</p>
<p>I think my particular issue is with multiple choice questions. I do best when I study specific material or information, and then get tested on that specific material. With SAT tests and AP tests, I feel like you never know what is going to be on them, so I do poorly. I also think I second guess myself on multiple choice answers and pick the wrong ones. @2018RiceParent @gibby
PS. Thank you everyone for the great tips that you have given me on this thread</p>
<p>There are many on-line tips you can find for acing multiple choice tests. The best strategy is for you to control the test, not have the test control you. That means skipping questions that you cannot immediately answer and going back to the harder questions after you’ve done all the easy questions, or the questions you know how to do. Doing the reading sections in your preference order – not the test makers. Looking for wrong answers and crossing them out (most multiple choice tests have 2 wrong answers and 2 that COULD be correct, but one of them is more correct). Google “tips for multiple choice questions” and you’ll find lots of helpful information.</p>
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