<p>Back in August 2013 at the beginning of Freshman year, I took an SAT practice test without review and got a 520 in math. Even in February, I took another one and got a 560. However, in lieu of the SAT changes and my wish to take it before they change it, I downloaded a few of the old SAT tests from 2005-2007 (3 in total) and just did the Math sections. My scores amazed me, 720, 670, 700, and a 760 most recently. I completed the tests within the time limit and didn't review anything. I'm very thankful for this change and NOT trying to show off or anything, but how such an increase of 200 points come about without any change in habit?</p>
<p>P.S- I also posted this in the HSL forum but didn't get any solid responses.</p>
<p>There are several possible explanations…</p>
<p>[ul]
[li]Mental fatigue: Have you considered that the way you took the old SAT tests – doing just the Math sections – helped you avoid mental fatigue? As you can imagine, stamina plays a factor in a student’s performance on the full-length SAT.[/li][li]Bad test: If the initial SAT practice test was generated by another company (Kaplan, PR, etc.), then its difficulty level would probably not be comparable to an authentic College Board SAT.[/li][li]Inability to concentrate: What were the circumstances under which you took the initial SAT? Was it a proctored test at school or a test prep company? Were you well rested prior to taking it? Were you nervous or unable to focus? An inability to focus can result in substantially lower scores.[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>Or…what wcao9311 said.</p>
<p>FYI, I think that you misused the phrase “in lieu of.” :)</p>