what should I be doing over the summer to be prepared for the new tests?? What will you all be doing? What books should I buy? I’m freaking out I can’t believe after 2 years of intense study they change the test!! What should I do???
Several prep books (Kaplan–just out 6/2/15-- Princeton Review, Barrons) are coming out June-July. Also, free online prep for the New SAT is now available from Kahn Academy. Get to work!
I have the new SAT book on pre-order form Amazon. I have two kids that will be taking the new SAT next year. So far I’ve had them read IVY Global’s New PSAT Book up to the the practice tests. I’m saving the 3 full length tests until I see what’s in the new Official SAT book. In the mean time I have them working through Khan Academy. They are signed up for a local prep class this August that will be taught to the new PSAT and will use the new College Board Book. I want them as prepared as possible before they start the prep class so they can make the most of it!
I’m not as stressed as it sounds, S18 won’t have to take it “for real” until Oct 2017 and S20 only has to take it for admissions to out of district high school. I’m still waiting to hear back from them if are even offering the new PSAT 8/9 or if the want him to take the PSAT/nmsqt as his sister and brother did. The only reason he is taking the prep class is that it will be his first real testing experience since he is home schooled and this prep class offers free retakes of PSAT and SAT classes. This will be S18’s second time taking this prep class, the first was when for the older PSAT and even though the class has changed to the new PSAT there isn’t any extra charge which I though was a great deal!
I saw how crazy things got for D16 in her Junior year and I want the boys to spend time prepping for the SAT/PSAT now, while they have plenty of free time.
@3scoutsmom, you stated “In the mean time I have them working through Khan Academy”.
Would you please elaborate what materials your students work on using Khan Academy?
From College Board/Khan Academy, I only saw one PSAT practice test and its explanation.
@4beardolls They are working on the redesigned SAT on Khan to prep for the new PSAT. It has the same format, if they can do the new SAT, the the PSAT should be a piece of cake. Most students that prep for the PSAT also use SAT materials, the tests are very similar.
S18 and S20 have just finished the diagnostic tests on Khan and S18 has found that he has forgotten some of the geometry he learned in 7th grade. Better to find this out now then later! He did not seem to have a problem with the two part reading questions and said he was actually able to rule out some answer choices from the first question based on the options given in the second. S20 did not have any issues with the geometry as he is just finishing geometry but it was a good lesson seeing his older brother struggle with things he has just learned. He now understands that he needs to learn for life and not just for the test and forget!
Khan Academy is free and available now so I see no reason not to use it. The local prep classes my boys are taking in August will use the official CB SAT book when it is released. I’m not sure how much time the Khan SAT prep will take after the initial diagnostic tests but if they get through Khan before August I plan to have them go through the PWN the Math SAT book, and Erica L. Meltzer’s books the Critical Reader and SAT Grammar. If they don’t have anything else going on, I expect them to put in a little time on the PSAT/SAT every day during the summer. I’d rather them not prep during the school year.
Next summer S18 will start PrepScholar to review and ‘fine tune’ for both the PSAT and SATs in his junior year.
@3scoutsmom Hey could you report your thoughts on the Ivy Global book compared to the actual official book? Is it worth purchasing the Ivy Global book or are they not as helpful as they claim to be?