With students at high scores looking for 750-800, I use PWN and Barrons Math SAT Workbook. I also use practice tests and the hard problems from practice tests, mostly real ones. I find it difficult to get enough missed problems to go over. With the old SAT, there were 3 different books of really hard problems. These were somewhat controversial, but there seemed like more material to use. What materials are approaches have been helpful going for a perfect score?
The new SAT does not have “hard” problems. What you need for a 800 is to make no stupid or careless mistakes. Emphasis should be given in accuracy and creating methods that you never misread, rush or overlook a question.
Sorry, but 99%+ of students taking the test don’t only make stupid and careless mistakes.
The Steve Warner book is good- be sure to buy the one that says “advanced course” and is intended for students who score over a 600 with no prep before that.
I’m pretty sure Barron’s is supposed to be harder than the actual test so just do repeated practice. It has so many practice tests and it only takes an hour of your time.
Get the Black Book for the SAT. It teaches some ways to do problems that stump you. S19 found it very helpful even after doing the entire PWN book. He got an 800. Zero wrong on his first and only SAT.
And, huh? I think 99 percent of kids probably DO make careless mistakes on a high stakes test like the SAT with a time constraint.
@RichInPitt The poster specifically asks about the range of 750-800 which is now one to two missed questions and most probably than not are careless mistakes.
Anyway, my point was that if you already score above 700 trying to solve harder and harder question is not necessarily helpful. It would be more helpful to increase your accuracy and double and triple check your answers.
I am trying the Warner Advanced book along with Barrons Math SAT Workbook. I stopped using the PWN book with students at 700+, as they generally get everything right in it and consider it easy. I can also give them the ends of real and made up tests.
I have a student who wants to do a bunch of whole practice tests, but he is averaging less than 2 wrong per test. I don’t think this is the best approach and it doesn’t work with tutoring, as there is not enough to go over.
This is a tough question for kids in that range. My daughter did no practice tests, missed none on her 10th grade PSAT, one on her 11th grade PSAT and none on her one and only SAT in 11th grade.
Looking at the one she missed, she knew the answer and has no idea why she got it wrong. I don’t know what prep would have prevented it.
There are some people who just get everything right in the workbooks, so probably just have to take the test and hope for 800. If someone is missing problems in hard workbooks and ends of tests, than we have something to work on.
Use Khan Academy, a lot of the questions there are harder than the actual test.
If you find you are scoring in that range, I do agree that you are probably just making a few silly errors rather than not knowing the content. Most books cover the content pretty well, but if you find that you keep making errors, make a word document and scrutinize every question you miss from practice, no matter how silly it is. Write down exactly what was going through your mind at that time which led to the incorrect answer and what you should have done to give you the correct answer. Make sure to go over this doc multiple times.
I did this and brought my ACT section scores in English, Reading, and Science from low 30s/high 20s to 36s in all when I took the real thing with little prep other than scrutinizing my mistakes.
If you’re already scoring that high, I agree that it’s probably just stupid mistakes. If you have any time left after finishing, you should definitely look over all your answers one more time, no matter how easy you thought it was. I’ve found this to work really well while taking math tests in particular since it’s really easy to either mess up on simple calculations or to forget to do everything the question tells you to do and looking over the questions again could help you spot an error like that.
I said “don’t only” make stupid mistakes.
Do you agree with the statement that everyone would get 800 if they made no careless errors? That the new SAT has no hard problems, everyone should get everything correct, but they are just careless?
Slowing down and making sure that you read the problem is the simplest solution to eliminating as many errors as possible.