How important of a factor is luck?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>I recently took a timed practice test (an official one from an "SAT Preparation Booklet"), and I would be ecstatic to receive the same scores on the actual test. I'm a calm test taker, so I wouldn't be very nervous on the day of the test. However, I am concerned that perhaps I got lucky with this test (i.e., I happened to know the difficult vocab this time, but won't on other tests, etc.). I understand that the best way for me to settle this would be to take more timed practice tests, but I unfortunately don't have enough time to do so.</p>

<p>So, from first- or secondhand experience, does one typically score very close to practice test scores (within twenty or so points)? Thanks, guys. :)</p>

2

<p>I think that luck really only factors in +/- 50 points. You might know the vocab words on one test, but miss one on another. The SAT can't possibly test every CR, math, and writing concept it claims to test every test, so your scores would definitely vary a bit from test to test because the material is not 100% consistent from test to test.</p>

<p>It's difficult to comment on being nervous and taking practice tests at home vs. the real deal. You might be distracted by other students coughing, paper rustling, etc. that you don't deal with at home. The proctor might end a section a 1 minute early accidentally. You never know. But if you're prepared, this shouldn't hinder you much.</p>

3

<p>I would say it accounts for +/- about 100 points.</p>

4

<p>I agree with Chaucer, possibly even more so. Once you hit about 2200+, most of the remaining gap is just a few questions.</p>

<p>A couple of math concepts that you randomly didn't study.
A couple of vocab words.
a 10 instead of a 12 on the essay.</p>

<p>All that depends on the test you're given.</p>

5

<p>Its not more than 100 points even at the higher levels. You have to remember that luck goes either way. If you average 2300, you can get a 2400 on some really lucky day, but you also may get a 2200 on some other day.</p>

<p>But generally, math shouldn't matter too much at the higher ranges. You should consistently get them all right. It is the easiest section to do by far for most people.
Also a 12 essay consistently is not too much of a stretch if you know how to write the way the SAT likes.
The randomness is mostly in the vocab words that you did not know. The rest of the "randomness" is just silly mistakes that you may make here or there.</p>

6

<p>Thanks, everyone! :) Your answers were all very thoughtful, logical, and helpful.</p>

7

<p>I'd say that your score is not based on luck really until you hit about 700+ in each section, and then you need good skills + luck to get those last points.</p>

8

<p>oh yeah, definitely</p>

9

<p>i would agree and say APPROXIMATELY +/- 100 points.
im actually proof of it (at least by practice tests)
keep in mind all of these are collegeboard tests:</p>

<p>i've gotten a 2150, 2260, 2240, 2310, 2340, 2400
to name a few</p>

<p>once you hit 700 in each section, a lot of it is luck</p>

10

<p>^Are those the blue book tests?
You can really only prove it with the QAS or the actual test results.</p>

11

<p>yeah, I don't think the BB are good indicators for score, only good practice</p>

12

<p>no no no all those are QAS, except for the 2400 lol
the 2400 was a Blue Book test</p>

13

<p>Hmmm, stueydue, are those scores in chronological order? Because if so, maybe you became more accustomed to the SAT and thus scored higher?</p>

14

<p>It depends on the section, but I would say an overall of +/-100 is a decent estimate for the max range.</p>

<p>I would hazard a guess of +/-40 for math, +/- 30 for reading and writing each.</p>

15

<p>If you're really good, then luck's not really an issue.</p>

16

<p>Thanks steamedrice. Getting 40 points less than my practice math score would still be enough for me, so your opinion is comforting. :)</p>

<p>Ashraf Eassa, I'm good, but I doubt I'm that good. ;) I hope I have enough good luck so that my score is actually higher, like khoitrinh pointed out could happen.</p>

17

<p>I agree that luck matters quite a bit when you get in the high range, especially for CR and WR. For me, questions on idioms are almost always luck dependent; sometimes I happen to know the idiom expressions, and vise versa. Furthermore, since there are so many idioms out there, there's no way to learn all of them.</p>