<p>1) How many of you who were disappointed with your scores got low scores because of time issue (couldn’t finish all the questions in time)? My kid missed answering the last 20 questions (was a different test though, because we live abroad). Got a 620 I think. Just wondering how many others here are scoring low only because of time? My kid could ace the test with enough time, math is their strongest subject. But ‘enough time’ isn’t offered! </p>
<p>2) Have any of you had that time problem, but managed to overcome it? If so, how did you do it? My kid has only one more shot at the subject tests (Oct), and not a lot of time to study or practice. </p>
<p>The only thing barron’s helped me out with was time. Luckily my class actually correlated with the subject test. Also, if you’ve spent 2 minutes on a question and have gotten nowhere, you have to skip that. Also do tests from the blue book (the official study guide from collegeboard), they are actually the #1 score predictor in my opinion. My friend and I got a 780 and 800, respectively, on the blue book tests and those were our actual scores. Barron’s is only good for long-term use. I guess you could use Dr.Chungs but I’ve heard it’s harder and a heavy prep book is not necessary for a high score on this. Maybe get Princeton or Kaplan. Good luck to future test-takers and retakers.</p>
<p>780! Didn’t do any prep at all, and I’m too lazy to take it again. I kinda wish I tried harder because at the end I left 2 blank because I was tired after taking 2 subject tests right before (physics and chem - which was draining but I got 800s on them!). Definitely recommend taking it first if you’re shooting for an 800!</p>
<p>800! Got a 740 first try. My advice to anyone is to get dr chungs and study ahead of time. The first time I crammed with 2 weeks before the test. Time was an issue for me too at first. I’d say not to linger on hard problems and to know your calc really well. </p>
<p>@AmerigoRound I know this is two days late, but the first time I took this test, I got a 610 because I was unable to answer many questions because of the time restraint. I just retook it and got a 790 with two years in between the two tests and no extra studying. I had enough time for all of the questions (though not really enough time to go back and check my work). Honestly, for me (the first time) it was nervousness and the fact that it was the first standardized test I had taken in 6 years, so I was out of practice. Being relaxed is key - for my whole life I’ve had very bad anxiety when it comes to timed activities, so I would be stressing out so much and trying to move through the questions so quickly that I would either make stupid mistakes or get distracted really easily and spend way too much time on each problem. Having familiarity with the test and being relaxed should help your kid the next time around I would also recommend that he look at some practice problems - not necessarily for learning the material, but for getting a feel for what good strategies are for different types of problems (I believe that there isn’t any need to go buy a book - the online questions from College Board and other resources will serve this purpose just fine).</p>
<p>@AmerigoRound If you’re having problems with time on this test, you probably have poor test taking skills moreseo than not knowing the material well enough. If I don’t see something I instantly know how to do, I INSTANTLY, without thinking, put a large question mark over it and move on. All the times I’ve taken the test I’ve typically had 20 minutes to go back and mull over the ones I skipped a little.</p>
<p>Learned that technique from my teacher’s brutal Calc test. Good news is on the AP Calc test I finished both MCs in 20 minutes!</p>
<p>Thanks @LAMuniv and @BassGuitar . Great info and advice from you both. LAMuniv I think anxiety and stress are probably a more major part of the issue than I had realized for my kid. So frustrating for both of us when we know the kid is capable of getting 800’s. I don’t think the kid has time though to really study for the the test or do practice runs, that’s been a large part of the problem. Where we are it’s middle of the school year and final IB exams are coming up at the same time as the next (Oct) SAT test date. Getting practice is probably the best idea though, for the timing issues, and we’re going to have to find a way to fit that in (without stressing the kid even more, which is going to be a major hurdle!). But are there enough Math II questions online at College Board to get some good practice in? If so, I missed them completely, I’ve only seen the one ‘Subject Tests’ .pdf which gives only one practice test in each SAT II subject offered. Are there more tests than that for Math II at their website?</p>
<p>Great technique BassGuitar, thanks for the tip - will definitely have the kid give that a try. </p>
<p>@AmerigoRound I honestly used just the ones from that PDF, and I thought it was good review and gave a good variety of subjects to be comfortable with… I’m a couple years removed from the material that this test was on, but I found the questions in the PDF to be enough review. I don’t think there are other practice tests on their website, but I actually forgot to mention this before: I also read through all of Sparknotes’ review for the math II test, and that was REALLY helpful with helping me identify strategies and plans of attack. Here’s the link: <a href=“SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides”>SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides;
<p>This may seem minor, but it always helped me with nervousness: try to get to the test centre early. Like, ungodly early. I try to be ~2-3 hours early for each test. This lets me relax while driving and listen to some good music, and not focus on getting there on time to take the test. Standardized tests aren’t offered at my school, so I always have to go to schools I’m not familiar with - allowing lots of extra time allows me to get lost driving or in the school, or pull over and read or look at some scenery, haha.</p>
<p>If you think your kid is nervous about the people as well as the test/time constraint, I have suggestions for that, too. I, like everyone else in my family, am terrified of people, so being packed into a room with 50 other people never did wonders for my nerves. If the seating is not assigned, I try to sit at the front of the class in a corner to avoid being surrounded by people and to avoid seeing them and being reminded of how many there are in the room, haha. Also, your kid should register for a test centre he’s comfortable with. I’ve been known to internet-stalk the test centres in my area, and make a decision based off of how nice/comfortable/small/similar to my school’s classrooms the testing rooms are. If it happens to be an hour away, so be it. I wouldn’t normally drive half an hour extra just to take a test, but it’s really helped me with my anxiety and scores.</p>
<p>I also use @BassGuitar’s strategy, and it’s always served me well, too.</p>
I would also recommend that he look at some practice problems - not necessarily for learning the material, but for getting a feel for what good strategies are for different types of problems (I believe that there isn’t any need to go buy a book - the online questions from College Board and other resources will serve this purpose just fine).</p>