Practice Tests v.s Real SAT?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
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<p>(edit) the *'s don't mean anything. I can't seem to edit them out since they don't show up when I do bur they're everywhere on the finished post. Sorry! .____. (/edit)</p>

<p>Hello!*</p>

<p>For the first time ever, I took a collegeboard-made practice test. Usually I do PR ones, or just questions from my other workbooks. The score was really different. It came out a lot higher than I thought it would...</p>

<p>I took my real SAT December 2011.
I got:</p>

<p>Critical Reading: 520*
Math: 580
Writing: 560 (11 on essay)
=1660</p>

<p>*I took a Princeton Review class from January to March, taking 4 practice tests during that time:</p>

<p>Scores (earliest--->latest)</p>

<ol>
<li><p>CR: 560 *
M:550*
W: 500 (essay 9)
=1610</p></li>
<li><p>CR: 640 *
M: 530 *
W: 590 (essay 10)
=1760</p></li>
<li><p>CR:590 *
M:610 *
W:540*(essay 9)
=1740</p></li>
<li><p>CR: 640 *
M:590 *
W:670 (essay 10)<br>
=1900</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Honestly, I wouldn't count the last one because I took the "Ultimate" course which guaranteed a point boost, so I think it's safe to say that the last test is easier so PR doesn't have to refund money haha</p>

<p>During this time I also did a little bit of my Barron's reading&writing workbooks, but I mostly used the PR SAT manual. I also memorized some words.*</p>

<p>Yesterday I took a free collegeboard practice test. You know those SAT packets collegeboard gives to schools that have one free practice SAT? I took one and timed myself. I got:</p>

<p>CR: 670
M: 700
W: 610*
=1980</p>

<p>For the essay I gave myself a 10, because I usually float around that area and it seemed to match the 5 description on the rubric.</p>

<p>I'm a bit skeptical since I'm usually in the 1600-17XX area, and then it goes up to 1980...</p>

<p>Of course, I'm just going to take it as practice and not as an accurate representation of what my SAT score would be like.*</p>

<p>It just got me to wonder, how similar are practice tests? It seems like everyone here worships the blue book, does it have the best tests? Honestly, I was just going to do a bunch of my other workbooks and do all of the blue book the month (and half possibly) before the next SAT I'm taking (June) because it seems the most effective for me (I don't know why I think that though, it just works out in my head)</p>

<p>What do you think about practice tests?</p>

2

<p>most practice tests on collegboard are past SAT test questions, so they are pretty accurate.
However, test review companies also use them as a way to write their books and guides, so you would probably score a little higher on that than on real test…</p>

3

<p>Depends. It really does.</p>

<p>I scored a 2080 on a BB test I took a week ago, but I think I got a 1900ish on the actual SAT a couple days ago. It has a lot to do with how you feel, how much sleep you get, how confident and ready you feel, etc.</p>

<p>Do you study vocab? I find the vocab on the BB really easy (Usually score 19/19 or 18/19 or 17/19) because most vocab lists get their words from the Blue Book. However, on the actual SAT, I’m positive I only missed 2 SC questions (and I had 4 CR questions as opposed to the usual 3). </p>

<p>However, on the Blue Book math, I’m a steady 620 / 630 scorer, but I think I got around 690 on the actual SAT… All of these things depend a lot on what type of questions come up, etc.</p>

<p>Normally I also don’t miss more than 4 or 5 on the WR multiple choice, but I’m positive I missed at least 7 on the actual SAT.</p>

<p>Why am I telling you all of my scores if this thread is about you?
Because my point is that unless you truly break the 2200+ range, your score will generall fluctuate at least around 100 points, regardless if it’s a BB test or a real SAT. You always hear about people on here who get a 2200 on one SAT and a 2150 on the next one they take. It really depends a lot on what material is tested and if it’s generally stuff you’re familiar with. That’s why people will always tell you to take as many practice tests as you can, since you’ll become familiar with anything they could possibly test you on.</p>

<p>Also, for the writing, the best possible practice is doing actual blue book writing sections. Trust me. I know that I missed more questions than usual on the SAT, but I recognized almost everything on there just from doing 5 practice tests. They test the same concepts over and over, literally. They will ALWAYS have subject verb disagreement, ambiguous pronouns, etc. I can usually spot what a question is gonna test… most of my mistakes are little things I don’t notice (such as unidiomatic phrases or sneaky stuff). My point is, through blue book practice, your score will become more steady. Before ever reading silverturtle’s guide or anything, I was scoring a steady -5 on MC (which isn’t all that bad). This was JUST from practice tests.</p>

<p>The same thing goes for math. There will ALWAYS be a triangle on your test. There will ALWAYS be a circle. There will ALWAYS be an x and a y. You can’t ever think “oh, it’s okay if I’m not so familiar with the area of a triangle, chances are they might not even test that.” FALSE. It’s that type of attitude that makes scores fluctuate so much. If you become familiar with what usually trips you up, you’ll become a more steady scorer.</p>

<p>Also, if you’re constantly writing 10s on your essays, you should work on the multiple choice more because it will greatly help your score. How nice would a 750 on the W section look? Yeah, real nice :)</p>

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<p>I will tell you how I do on my march SAT. I have mixed feelings about the accuracy of practice tests though. On my december SAT I got a 1710 :(. I took a course afterward and my PR practices were: 1840, 1920, 1960, 2030. I did a BB test somewhere in the middle of those 4 tests and got a 1900. This leads me to believe one of the following (maybe a little of each):
A) Practice tests are a huge help and just the repetitious nature of the tests drastically boost your score
B) Practice tests generally are not accurate indicators of your score.</p>

<p>Like I said, we should share and compare and see how accurate and beneficial the tests were. I am leaning more toward option A because I think I got a 2000 + or - 100 on my March SAT.</p>

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<p>if you really want to know see if you can find released tests (Jan and May). They are released with answers. I prepped by taking those, and they pretty much reflected my score (+ or - 100 pts). BB tests also were fairly similar to my first score (2160).</p>

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<p>Don’t forget that when taking practice tests, you are usually more reserved and laid back. While you are taking the real sat, you can be very tense and nervous. That can lead to a lower score and careless mistakes.</p>

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<p>Not to mention most students don’t actually take the 3.5 hour practice test in one sitting with strict timing. They take breaks, sometimes days at a time. The real SAT is a test of stamina and endurance too.</p>

<p>Nevertheless, the official practice tests are the accurate tests compared to the real SAT you’ll take. In fact, the first three tests of the Blue Book were actually administered to previous real students for real scores that was submitted to real colleges.</p>

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<p>I agree but during the SAT you take breaks so you don’t feel like it drains you. If it were 3 hours and more with no breaks then it would be a real test of stamina. Each section is 20 minutes or so, and it isn’t very long if you think about it</p>

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<p>Yeah, but there are only three 5-min breaks for real test. Most students take 15 min, 20 min, 1 hr, 1 week breaks during practice tests.</p>