Is an 800 in math or reading more impressive?

<p>^ 800 Lit with an 800 math would be a great combo</p>

<p>112358 makes a great point. </p>

<p>I would say the CR. Math has a definitive answer but CR questions are more subjective to an extent. Brains process info differently and much reading can be left to interpretation. Also, reading is naturally more time extensive. Many math problems can be figured within seconds but CR questions can take far more time, especially when you can simply not pick the answer out with a number. Careful consideration to all answer choices is a must to do well on the CR.</p>

<p>CR is NOT subjective at all.</p>

<p>Arachnotron, are you sure? I got an 800 W, and it was really easy. 790 M and 750 CR is my superscore. It all honestly depends on what kind of a person you are. Engineering major? Have a higher math score. Linguistics major? You had better have a really high CR score. But yes, an 800 in both is definitely the best.</p>

<p>800 in all three is the best. But yeah, writing is statistically the most rare, then CR, then math. However, I too found writing very easy (I got 800 three times). However on PSAT, I got 800 Math/Reading and only 680 Writing…</p>

<p>Many people living in a country, where English isn’t a prevalent language, would disagree with the claim that an 800 in math is more impressive than an 800 in CR. With this disagreement won’t many Americans be satisfied. It just depends on your background and who you are.</p>

<p>@Mifune:
I don’t think CR is subjective. Brains may process information differently but getting the answer ultimately deals with finding what is stated and eliminating the four wrong answer choices that are designed to be either irrelevant, out of scope, too extreme and contain few other general traps of the SAT. The same applies for implication problems. Extreme choices may contain subjectivity because boundaires aren’t clear but there is a clear general agreement about this and can be identified with common sense. The fact why extreme choices aren’t a main issue is a proof that they are not subjective.</p>

<p>Btw, calling CR subjective is one of the greatest insult that can ever be made to Collegeboard because CB’s ultimate goal is to make SAT as standardized as possible. :P</p>

<p>Eh, the only thing I’ve ever found to be a bit too subjective was stuff in AP English Lang and Lit practice tests…ironically the tests themselves were fine.
And to all the people saying 800 in both is the best…that’s not really saying anything.
But aye the writing section is the rarest probably because of the human grading of the essay (and of course the human WRITING of it :P). I got perfect scores on the multiple choice many times but that damn essay knocks it down. Anyone think that “rarest” = “most impressive”?</p>

<p>Critical Reading because the passages are subject to the College Board. The mathematics on the SAT isn’t generally hard for people with a solid understanding the concepts and only requires some decent thinking on a lot of the harder questions.</p>

<p>I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a very similar thread a while ago.</p>

<p>But anyways, Cr is the most impressive for me, simply because I started out with an extremely low score in it. Even despite all of my work on CR, it is still hard to get an 800 score (-2) in practice, even though I know HOW to answer the questions. Despite the slightly more lenient curve, it is a much needed curve. </p>

<p>Math is easy, and sometimes even allows an 800 with 1 mistake. Meanwhile, even the best CR curve still does not allow an 800 with 3 mistakes because the 1/4 point off policy for wrong answers makes those 3 mistakes -4 points. I’d like to see the most lenient curve allow a 63 raw score receive an 800.</p>

<p>Actually, there was one infamous example from the old format test where the subjectivity of the CR is unquestionable - I’m sure many will have more knowledge of it than I do - where an analogy question (now extinct of course) dealt with a recreational game that was more well-known to whites than any other ethnic group due to socioeconomic factors. Due to this, that question was answered correctly by some 70% of all who classify themselves as cacausian and only in the 30%-50% range for those who classified themselves otherwise.</p>

<p>Also, hermeneutics has demonstrated that when we read, we interpret or analyze a text based on our own personal biases, experience, and prior knowledge of the subject. Thoughts that are linguistically encoded develop around certain paradigms of a day and age. Thus, some passages from a different culture or era, which may have, in addition, been translated into English for the sake of the SAT, will inevitably be interpreted differently by twenty-first century American teenagers than x-teenth century so-and-sos. Furthermore, the passages themselves do not appeal equally to everyone and those that coincide with our interests or culture are undeniably read more critically than passages that are not. For instance, if you examined CR statistics between blacks and whites on a passage on underwater basket weaving and another on black culture in the 1960s, we would definitely see some differences. Similarly, future physics majors will often take greater interest in a passage on string theory than one on the Shakespearean authorship controversy and this would ultimately, unfairly to others, boost their score. Yes, the questions do there best, but to say that the CR lacks subjectivity is subjectivity in itself.</p>

<p>^The CR section isn’t about interpretation. There isn’t a single question that requires you to interpret. They are all direct or inference based questions, and the answers to those inference based questions can be logically extrapolated from what is given in the passage. </p>

<p>Also, although it is reasonable to assume that someone will do significantly better in a passage that they know all about (this is perhaps why a rich education in high school is recommended by collegeboard), there are too many passages to group into one category. Someone completely uneducated in any field (sciences, arts, history, etc.) may get bored and lose interest, thereby decreasing their focus. However, do you believe that someone better educated deserves the higher SAT score? Even though their knowledge won’t directly affect their ability to answer the questions (because after all, no one can change what the author says), their “advantage” is unfair? It’s not like they can predict what passages they will get. Plus, a good reader will be able to objectively and effectively read every passage with sufficient efficiency, despite their lack of interest in any of them. I can say for sure that even passages that I absolutely hate - passages from the middle of stories - I can still answer nearly as effective as any other passage, including the ones that I like. The point is that the CR section rewards the types of readers that collegeboard is lookng for - objective ones.</p>

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<p>Ehm… you don’t analyze with your own personal experience, knowledge or whatever because that’s what leads you to MISTAKES in critical reading. I would perfectly agree with you if you were talking about reading novels, but not in CR. SAT prep books tell you NOT to do this. You simply look for the context clues and any other information that are directly stated in the passage. You don’t interpret anything.</p>

<p>I agree with both of you on many of your points. </p>

<p>dareallycoolguy0, I agree that none of the questions ask to interpret, but this comes from the way each of us reads. To interpret, or in other words, to tease the meaning out of something, can rely on our own individual experiences and educational opportunities. From my own personal experience, on one passage in a practice test, I was literally able to pick the correct answer out of each question, save the vocabulary in context, simply because I had already read a novel on the exact same subject. I did not use any inherent skills that I had to answer what the author inferred because I already knew. Of course, I did scan the portions of the text that were under examination, but in this instance, a student definitely has the advantage.</p>

<p>The CB does highly recommend a diverse, enriched, and appropriately rigorous courseload in high school, but, unfortunately, not all students have this opportunity to develop the skills required of the SAT. If you take statistical plots of educational opportunity and quality among schools, along with socioeconomic status and other personal factors among students versus standardized test scores, there will generally be a high correlation between high educational quality and socioeconomic status and high SAT scores. You will never know that the sum of a triangles angles is 180 or develop purely objective reading skills if the opportunity is never presented. Individual initiative can only proceed so far. </p>

<p>I don’t believe that the better educated student should necessarily receive the better score, unless each had equal opportunities (a CB philosophy) and one happened to take a better advantage of what was open to him or her. The SAT attempts to test our own visceral reasoning abilities within the context of what we have developed thus far into our lives, but it is obviously impracticable although the test itself does do a remarkable job of ensuring that it is fair to the greatest extent possible.</p>

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<p>This and all other relevant “facts” are given on the exam…</p>

<p>mifune, you keep saying you agree that SAT CR doesn’t require interpretation then you reiterate your initial point that it does. the fact remains that no interpretation is required for the SAT CR. the fact that you were able to get a question right just because you had prior knowledge just shows that you were lucky. I’m sure someone who lacked the same knowledge would’ve also been able to answer the question correctly simply from the text given.</p>

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<p>um… then who should…? you’re really expecting too much. the SAT tries hard to eliminate inequalities but there’s only so much that they can do.</p>

<p>Critical Reading does require some degree of interpretation. There is the glaring example of the phrase and word definition questions, but to answer some questions, a close look at the text is usually needed. The ability to determine what the text is actually saying could be considered interpretation.</p>

<p>when something is implicit in the text, it’s not called interpretation. the ability to determine what the test is saying is comprehension, if anything.</p>

<p>Well, I got a 800 on CR, 760 on M, and 780 on Writing…so I’m gonna say that an 800 on CR is more impressive. Really though, both are impressive, but I honestly do believe that the CR is harder to get an 800 on though. I mean with math you can kind of reason out what your doing because most people know all the math rules you need to get an 800…its just that the problems require really deep thought. However, you can come into the CR not knowing a couple of vocab words and ur basically screwed. I got CRAZY lucky = D.</p>

<p>the percentiles for math and reading are the same for an 800. So they both are just as impressive.</p>

<p>As far as interpretation goes, there is a line of sorts. You have to interpret what the person is referring to, but not place the whole thing in any of your own mental contexts.</p>

<p>But, there was one question that said in this passage, “This guy says ‘My friend, i never saw him again, he entered into a world that never crossed paths with mine again.’ What does this mean he believes happened to the friend?” That question took a bit of interpretation because you had to pick the most likely answer given information throughout the passage. Most answers have concrete evidence to back it up, but this one was sorta…vague. I got it right I think, but I’m still not happy with it as a question.</p>