I’m taking the test for the last time in September and I’m hoping for a 32. I have a private tutor who I will be seeing weekly up until the test starting next week. What else can I do to help my score? Does you have any tips to raise my science and math scores? (I’m not worried about my reading score because I tried a new technique that obviously didn’t work for me since it made my reading score drop from a 30 to a 27. I’ll use my previous technique in September)
Practice, practice, practice! I had a lot of difficulty with science as well and never got above a 25 in my practice exams, but when I sat down I got a 29– not that great, but still good enough to get me a 32 within my first sitting. For me, it was all about timing myself with every potion of the exam and focusing on my weak links. I also took a few prep classes and those help a lot with comprehension post-practice exam. When going over the test with your tutor, I highly suggest asking what you did wrong on the math/science portion so you can get a general idea of what techniques to use next time. Usually what happens is that you forget an easy, formulaic way to figure out a problem and spend too much time figuring out a single question.
Got a 33 on Science first time around: Don’t bother reading the long-winded explanations or passages in Science. Look at the graphs/images, decipher what they show, then read the questions and attempt to answer. Most questions are only about the graphs - if they ask for something in the passage, look for key words. Time is the key, essentially. Take shortcuts.