Hello, I am currently ending my sophomore year of high school and am about to start my junior year. In the beginning of the year (early-October), I took an SAT practice test (no prep/studying) to get a sense of where I stood, and got an 1800. I have not taken the test since, and have no clue if I have improved my raw score or not. My ideal score is a 2200, but I am aiming for a 2100, as I know that is much more practical.
I plan to take the SAT in January (the old one) but the test is obviously very intimidating, and I am genuinely unsure of how to begin preparing. I purchased the College Board Study Guide, though I thought it would be best to save the practice tests for when I am closer to the test date… so, this may sound like a silly question, how do I begin studying? What sort of schedule or ‘goals’ should I set for myself during the seven months until the test date? Is a 2100 even plausible with an initial score of 1800?
Yes, it’s possible. Take the first three tests of the BB at the end. Try to practice and learn your mistakes. Always take the practice tests with time, literally as the real one. I will suggest you these books pwnthesat math, the sat prep black book, direct hits volume 1&2, the ultimate guide of SAT grammar by Erica Meltzer.
Sure, it’s possible, but let us put some numbers to it, shall we? Of all the students who took the SAT in their Junior year and then took it again as a Senior in the Fall, what percentage improved as much as you are aiming for?
Presumably, they had an entire summer in there in which to study, take prep courses, whatever.
Well, let’s focus on students who scored between 580 and 620 on the CR section. That’s about 1800 combined. Presumably, there is some room there for improvement, right? What percentage of these test-takers improved 110 points?
One percent (1%)
Okay, you say, but maybe I will be in the 1%?
What percentage GOT WORSE by 110 points? That is to say their score went DOWN by 110 points?
One percent (1%)
Looking for a bit more modest improvement? How about a 50 to 70 point increase per section? That would presumably get your total up to very nearly 2000.
What percentage of the test takers saw a 50 to 70 point increase in the CR section?
I’m guessing if you did the same analysis as described above, but limited the population to regular readers of this forum, the result would be very different - in favor of the CC Community.
Anyway, plenty of people have used the methods described here by xiggi and others to increase their scores by 300 points and more. OP, if you do your research here and then put in the time I think your goal of 2200 is certainly possible.
Not everyone takes it twice. Students who do might be either more compulsive or have some reason that they think they can score better. In those terms, the population is already weighted towards more motivated students, such as you might find here on CC.
Again, yes, people have claimed to use certain methods to increase their scores, but these numbers represent actual facts.
@JustOneDad – I already understand that it’s difficult; I’ve known a score increase would be difficult before I had even taken the SAT. I am wondering how I can improve my score and what I need to do to a 2100 (but 2200 would be pretty cool). I am willing to put in the effort.
If it were me, I would spend the $300 - $400 for one of the online courses that provide a score improvement guarantee; and I would aim for a closer deadline (i.e. the PSAT in October, which has $ and opportunity also tied to its outcome). I do not know anyone, personally, who has taken one of these courses, but have seen on College Confidential that PrepScholar is effective for some families. So is following a plan and using study books, etc. The software just builds in the discipline and stops drilling once you have learned the stuff & moves on to stuff where you need more work. I would set aside a fixed amount of time a week, like practicing an instrument or studying.
It would not be a surprise to naturally improve by 200 - 300 points from the beginning of Sophomore year to the middle of Junior year due to progression in your academics. Whatever you aim for, plan to either hit or fall short. I would aim for 2250+.
Fwiw, the College Board has steadfastly suggested that students do not increase by more than 60 points after taking a mulligan. Although they did relent a bit about the effectiveness of “tutoring” and relying on practice as soon as they started marketing their own course. They surely will laud the efforts of their new partner, Khan in a rather short period of time.
But let’s assume that all those stats are accurate! And there are no reason to doubt that the laws of averages contribute to such abysmal results. Yet, there is a reason and that reason is the definition of madness of Einstein. Students simply repeat the same efforts and expect different results. Spend enough time with teenagers and you might figure out that the overwhelming majority does NOT prepare for the SAT or if they do waste enormous amount of time chasing the elusive trick, the secret sauce, and the highest return to the least amount of effort!
On the other hand, the students who understand that group classes are mostly useless and that the results are directly proportional to their invested time MIGHT fall in a different category, namely the ones that increase their PSAT scores by hundreds of points --considering the conversion.
The difference? One has to accept that some here have no business misrepresenting real life anecdotes, or even have the data of private companies to support the claims of improvement. Inasmuch as I could point to countless individual stories (and private testimonials) nobody gains from making such statements.
I would, however, ask you to give the people who have shared their experience and their bit of knowledge to help others for NO monetary return a bit of the credit they deserve. The statistical relevance might be lost when comparing to the pool of all the students who take the SAT, but I can guarantee you that the stories of students increasing their scores by following a sound process are real and honest!
The SAT sections are set up such that a differential of about 100 points represents 1 standard deviation. I’d be interested in looking at any valid studies in which coaching is shown to yield an increase of more than about 1/2 standard deviation or 50 points. The reason for this is that nearly all studies show coaching yields improvement of about 30 points (or less).
This is despite all the claims you have heard.
Do you think the SAT would retain it’s validity if a significant number of students could simple buy coaching and/or materials and expect to get the kind of increases we see bandied about here with regularity?
Most increases I see “bandied about here” thank and give credit to @xiggi for his detailed (and free) explanation of not only how to increase SAT score, but personal testimonial based on many people he has helped to increase their scores. These are score increases (that he characterizes as “countless”) that he can personally vouch for. In addition, PrepScholar (as do others) give a 250 point increase money-back guarantee.
Universities do discount the absolute importance of standardized test scores for the very reason you cite- motivated & wealthy students can increase scores with hard work and proper study.
@JustOneDad - can you read xiggi’s post again? You seem to have completely missed his point.
The study you are looking for does not exist. And it can’t exist. It would need to come from the large tutors, none of whom use teaching techniques as good as the free ones available on this website. Granted there’s no science to prove the validity of the usefulness of this forum. But if you read enough old threads you will see that one of two things are definitely happening. Either many students are improving their scores from 3-6 SDs according to your metrics or many students are just lying. I know several that fit in the first bucket so I choose to believe most of the others.
Ah. Interesting theory. And the reason for this would be…? I’d be quite surprised if there was something that was actually successful that couldn’t be presented for compensation.
You’d have to be much more clear about what you mean when you throw around the term ‘many’.
I’d like to say that ‘many’ students get 800 on the SAT because I happen to know a bunch, and therefore, it’s not difficult, but that wouldn’t be of much use for the ‘many’ who don’t, wouldn’t it?
Whatever. Keep being a skeptic if you’d like. For those interested in significantly improving their scores though, I recommend reading through the stickied threads here and developing a self-study plan. I think its worth the time to see if you agree with the skeptics or the many who have shared their experiences and the stories from people who have leveraged that knowledge into extremely large improvements on their SATS.
First of all, rest assured that I am NOT trying to convince you that students who are following a reasonable path of preparation do indeed increase their scores. Some accomplish this by hiring a private tutor, sign up for individual or group classes, enroll in an online course, or simply rely on self-preparation. Despite not trying to CONVINCE you I believe that the entire cottage industry in places such as China or Korea offers plenty of support to the theory that the SAT can be coached successfully.
Regarding the studies, setting up control groups to differentiate students who follow a “coached” schedule from the ones who merely will roll the dice again WITHOUT preparation is difficult, and there is little to no interest to debunk the claims of TCB (that changed its tune about this anyhow.)
Again, I think one has to either believe the anecdotes that have been shared here and accept that they were real people who had no commercial incentives, or think that they just make up stories of improvement. As far as I am concerned, if only ONE student benefitted from the basic directions I have tried to provide, I would have been happy. I happen to have been around long enough to receive the occasional “testimonial” that confirms that a dedicated set of practices does work for some.
In the end, what is the point to offer a tangible proof? The students are the ones who make the effort to improve their scores. The tutor, guide, mentor, or whatever you might call it only can point to some strategies and understanding of the test that work better than others. It’s all about a community sharing experiences that … worked.
I do not believe in secret sauces nor do I believe that anyone possesses a crystal ball that can predict the next step or set of tested words. All one can do is to share a better vision and help the students focus on the right approach that fits them.
Practice is not magical. It cannot yield miracles, but it surely help one attain the score that he or she … could! I happen to know that the difference between underscoring and reaching the true potential is much higher than 100 or 150 points in general. Not all sections can be maximized as some students reach their maximum for CR rapidly and cannot hide a lacking concentration or … reasoning because it is has not been taught to them prior to taking the test. Others have natural abilities that have been developed by years of reading critically. And so it goes.
Perhaps, there is one thing we could agree on. Anyone who takes the time to set aside some time and attacks a stack of past tests with interest should do better than … the alternative that is to hope for an easier test.
I scored 490 on writing in my psat and a week before my first sat I read meltzer’s guide and scored 660 on writing, now i comfortably score 750 - 800. True story.
@xiggi let me point out that there is no utility whatsoever in setting up control groups since there is NO study that has shown improvement of any magnitude. None. There have been maybe a dozen-plus studies and they all show the same thing. Control groups would only be of use if substantial gains were found and it was necessary to tease out the actual effect of tutoring and preparation from the “control group”
It’s interesting that you mentioned “secret sauces”, because what’s happening with this reminds me of snake oil and patent medicine fervor of centuries past. Students are desperate to believe that there is some powerful thing they can buy to get huge increases. They can’t.
In order to maximize their performance, students need to prepare for the test by understanding it’s layout and the basic parameters of how the questions are presented. They also need to know the definitions of all the words they see, but that is not really part of what is being tested. It’s their reasoning.
Same for math. There is remarkably little actual knowledge required on the SAT.
This is NOT about tutors and secrets. The OP asked if it was possible to increase the scores through SELF discipline and using free tools over the next months.
And the answer to that question is a solid YES. The statistics and studies are irrelevant to this case. Real experience and plenty of success stories are not.