I have heard many people say this. One of my friends said that he crossed 1400 only once when giving the practise tests but got a 1490 on the real SAT. Also, how is the october SAT difficulty compared to the SATs in other months
All SAT tests are normalized so that scores reflect the same level of achievement. There’s no easier or harder test. Also, in general the real test feels harder, in part due to stress, in part due to practice tests being older and sometimes not reflecting the handful of more difficult questions which have increased on terms of difficulty.
Some kids are just more focused during the actual test - it is pretty common to do better on the actual test than the CB practice test. It was for our three kids. Best of luck!
Also, practice tests 5 - 8 were actual tests. So that’s as real as you are going to find.
I’m curious. Have practice tests changed in the twenty years that have passed since I last took the SATs? I ask because I would check out books that contained actual past tests, time myself during the various sections, and then score the results. But now the SATs are computer-based (and have been for a long time, and I got a taste of this when I took the GREs, which is basically the same exam, just a tad harder I guess), and they’re still adaptive, right? Answer a question correctly and the program presents a question that’s a bit more difficult. Answer a question incorrectly and the opposite occurs.
So, are practice tests computer-based? I imagine that they might be when one pays for test prep, or surely there must be practice tests online that mimic the actual exam? Again, just curious. If one takes practice tests out of a book, there would be no way for that to mirror the adaptive exam that one actually takes.
If you’re using actual past tests published by the CollegeBoard then they’re representative of real difficulty of the actual test (not easier, not harder). Some of the CollegeBoard “practice questions” are similar but easier. If thee questiones are not real Collegeboard questions but are “made by” a group like PR, Barron’s, etc, it varies. In addition, older tests can be useful to practice but may not reflect all the questions you find.
The SAT is not adaptive or computer based - yet! And they definitely have changed over the years. That’s why doing the most recent real practice tests is the best use of prep time. You know that the level of difficulty is correct but also that the focus is on the topics that the SAT considers most important. So for example, from the old days, counting problems are gone. But you better know the ins and outs of linear functions and linear modeling.