Hi all, I apologize for asking a question that has likely already been answered but I can not find the answer so I will ask again here.
How is the difficulty ordered for the Math sections of the SAT? Does it simply go from easiest to hardest, or is it more complicated than that? Thanks!
Yes, simple as that.
Thank you!
This one is pretty easy to look up online.
Difficulty generally ranges from easy to hard, per section, but, in more formal mathematical terms, x > y does not imply question x is harder than question y.
@ausernamenotaken
The pattern of the difficulty of the problems on the SAT math sections is as follows:
Section with 18 Questions: Questions 1 to 8 are in increasing difficulty with Question#8 being the most difficult. Questions 9 to 18 which are grid are also arranged in increasing order of difficulty, Question#9 being the easiest and Question#18 being the hardest.
Section with 20 Questions: Increasing order of diffculty, question 1 being easiest and question 20 being the hardest.
Section with 16 Questions:Arranged in increasing order of difficulty.
Although there are variations in difficulty level, for example in one of the actual SAT tests, Question#15 was of Level 4, whereas Question#16 and 17 were of Level 3. Here the higher level means a question of higher difficulty.
Please see the attached image that shows the difficulty level assigned to the questions in the math sections of an actual SAT test. You will see slight variations in difficulty level but they are generally arranged in order of increasing difficulty.
[SAT Question: Answer Sheet and Level of Difficulty](http://www.screencast.com/t/slxkRPwAMnvV)
The only problem is that “difficulty” can be a very relative term from one problem to the next…
The SAT pretty much defines “difficult” as “they type of problem that a lot of people get wrong” and “easy” as “the type of problem that a lot of people get right.”
It’s not a promise that you’ll see things the same way.
My suggestion is that you do enough practice tests that you know what your particular weaknesses are. So, for example, if #6 is a ratio problem and you always get them wrong, then #6 is probably going to be a difficult problem for you. You should skip #6, at least temporarily, and go on to the “harder” #7— which you’re more likely to get right.
Then, if time permits, go back and carefully look at #6.
Sure, # 18 will be harder than #2. But for you, #7 may be easier than #6… does that make sense?
I agree with @bjkmom – practice is important so that you can recognize your own strengths. Think in broad territories. On a 20 question section, 1 - 8 are likely to be easy for you. If you are stumped by one of those, it is most likely a matter of slow re-reading because you are probably missing something obvious. As you move through 9 - 15, you are getting into deeper water. Depending on your score, this may be where you hit questions that challenge you. And the last 5 questions separate the great scores from the good scores. But even there, if you know some strategies, there are problems that you may find easier.
Also, bjkmom is right about what makes a hard problem hard. As far as the college board is concerned, it lots of people get it wrong, it must be hard. But there are topics that I see students learning with relative ease that often show up in the hard zone. Here are a few:
- Anything with mean, median and mode
- Reading the values of a function off a graph, or finding the input from the given output, again by reading a graph
- Shifting and stretching graphs
- Interpeting Venn diagrams
- Basic counting principle questions
- Problems with weird made-up symbols
I am not saying that all of those are easy. It just feels to me that they are easier than you would expect from where they show up in the test. But of course, that may just be my opinion. Your personal list will vary. That’s why it is important to practice and also to go back and analyze your practice tests with unlimited time.