Is there a consistent pattern in my wrong answers on the SAT practice tests?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

Here’s my scenario: when I read a passage, I am able to answer most questions correctly and easily; I usually get between 310 - 340 out of 400 as my reading subscore: 95% of these correct questions would be really easy for me to answer, 5% of these correct questions would be educated guessing. However, I get stuck on certain questions (like the 5% of these correct but guessed questions, and all of my wrong questions), due to not completely understanding the passage. I also get some questions wrong on certain questions that I feel, after eliminating the three other answers (including the correct answer) and matching the last answer to the passage, are absolutely correct.

Below are the questions that I got wrong on my practice tests, so if anyone is able to find a consistent pattern that leads to my wrong answers and come up with a solution to fix my issue with getting these questions wrong, that may be very helpful:

[July 7th]: Practice Test #1 (11 wrong / 330): 3, 7, 22, 26, 33, 36, 37, 41, 47, 50, 51

[July 17th]: Practice Test #2 (9 wrong / 340): 1, 6, 10, 23, 28, 30, 39, 42, 51

[August 11th]: Practice Test #4 (8 wrong / 340): 3, 9, 22, 28, 32, 37, 42, 52

[August 13th]: Practice Test #5 (7 wrong / 340): 8, 11, 13, 26, 27, 33, 48

[August 14th]: Practice Test #6 (13 Wrong / 310): 5, 11, 23, 25, 27, 28, 31, 32, 38, 39, 42, 44

Edit: Tried studying by doing the following:

  1. Meltzer's Reading - improved my reading when I knew nothing about the SAT, but now that I know every question type and the approach to take on the SAT using her strategies, this doesn't help me anymore
  2. Every Level 4 reading passage on KhanAcademy - no score improvement
  3. Looking at past mistakes on practice tests - no score improvement
  4. Reading books and articles; I read Jane Eyre and 25+ SAT-type news articles (such as Washington Post and NY Times) - can read faster but no score improvement
  5. Using the search bar in the Reddit /r/sat subreddit to look through a lot of strategies (which all happen to talk about the same thing IMO).
2

Patterns you might look for

– are the questions you miss more likely to be about a fiction passage or a nonfiction one?
– are the questions you miss about a specific line number, or about the passage as a whole?
– do you score better by reading/skimming the passage then going to the questions, or by reading the questions then hunting in the passage? Does this change between fiction and nonfiction passages?

When taking a test I timed, you should NEVER have to have an “educated” guess. If a response choice is half right and half wrong, it is a wrong answer. If all the choices are half wrong, then you have misunderstood something.

3

@AroundHere Keep in mind that I’m putting all the strategies from Meltzer’s Reading into use, which is why I can have a reading subscore of 310 - 340 and not much less.

  1. Both fiction and non-fiction. I get about the same amount wrong in each type of passage (Literature, Science, History, Social Studies)
  2. Both specific line number questions and whole passage questions
  3. I read the fiction and history passages first but don't answer the questions. It takes time for me to subconsciously take in the information and apply it (for example, recognize plot and setting in Literature), and while I do that, I read and do the questions for the 3 other passages (which are not fiction nor history), since I take in the information immediately after reading. Then I do the questions for the fiction and literature passages.

I never make an educated guess; all of my answers are backed by information in the passage, but for incorrect answers, I either misinterpret the information that backs those incorrect answers or there is no other answer that is better (for example, the actual correct answer seems wrong according to the passage, maybe because I misinterpret parts of the passage?).

And keep in mind that since I’m applying everything from Meltzer’s, that means I’m solely keeping my own knowledge and feelings out. I’m solely using the passage to answer questions.

4

If you have the Meltzer books then you can check the question index in the back for information on what kinds of questions you’re missing. The index gives categories for each question (e.g. Big Picture, Tone & Attitude, Commas & Semi-colons, etc). The index also gives page numbers so you can review those specific sections.

Go through your list of missed questions and record the categories for each one like so:

Big Picture III
Tone I
Paired Passages 0

If you’re using a prep book for math (e.g. PWN the SAT), see if it has a similar index (PWN does).

5

That’s a new one for me. Task switching between reading one passage and questions for another sounds like a lot of cognitive overhead. Studies show that students are not as good at multitasking as they perceive themselves to be. Are you sure that your strategy is resulting in a higher score? I would suggest doing the easier sections first, then saving your fiction passage for last.

At any rate, if you cannot find a pattern to your errors, it may be fatigue or it may be that you need a tutor or outside guidance to find the pattern.

6

@AroundHere I think you misunderstood. I don’t multitask the Literature/History passages; I just stop thinking about them altogether while I do the other passages. Here’s a step-by-step process of what I do:

  1. Read Literature and History passages.
  2. Read the rest of the passages. Answer questions for these passages.
  3. Answer questions for Literature and History passages.

Before, I tended to not finish on time because I had no idea what a Literature or History passage was about after I initially read them, but if I stopped thinking about them and come back to them after 10+ minutes, I would know what those passages talked about. So, instead of doing nothing during those 10+ minutes, I do the other passages immediately after then come back.

Hence why I don’t do the easiest to hardest strategy. I tried that strategy instead on two practice tests, and I finished late but my score didn’t change.