I’ve just finished my fifth college board practice test, and I got a 730 on my math section. Not counting the first test, I’ve gotten one 720 and three 730’s. I spend between one and two hours on Khan Academy practice questions. I also look over all my test mistakes with “■■■■■■■.” My EBRW score has been steadily increasing (790 this time), but my math is stagnant, even though 70% of my study time is spent on math.
What do you suggest I do to see improved results? I’m aiming for at least a 750 on the real thing.
I only have access to free online resources and the SAT Blue Book, so please don’t suggest anything that costs money.
A 730’s in practice might easily turn into a 750 on the real deal; it’s within the reasonable range. Why don’t you take a real test and see how you do?
While there are many techniques out there, I think it’s important to keep track of what kind of questions you are getting wrong. I remember when I was studying for the SAT, I would just mark my questions wrong and never go over them again to solidify the concepts. The thing about the SAT is that the concepts are generally repeated for every exam since the College Board’s goal is to maintain consistency in exam difficulty.
@JBStillFlying
I did take the SAT (1390) I’m prepping for my second and final attempt in October.
@barebonesprep
The thing is that I have been going over my mistakes and I have been spending more time in areas I find more challenging, but I’m just not seeing improvement.
I can definitely relate with the stagnation in progress as I was someone who struggled with the Reading & Writing Section while I breezed through the Math Section.
If you could be more specific about the types of mistakes you are making, I can provide specific advice. However, I will say that what allowed me to get a 800 on the SAT II Math was that I had to shift my way of solving problems. I used to be the guy who would just brute force my way through a problem by trying every method that I could think of. Nowadays, I like to give myself a few seconds before attacking the problem. This allows to be more efficient in the way I solve questions, especially in college Math Finals as well.
@barebonesprep
Most of my mistakes are careless errors (usually in the form of simple arithmetic miscalculations). I tend to panic very easily on the SAT (and ACT), so I end up making silly mistakes.
I got a 730 on Math II, but 800 on Physics.
If they are careless mistakes, then a simple check can be helpful. What I like to do to check my answer is to solve the question using a different method. You can do this check at the end of the question or at the end of the Math Section.
Also, to be honest with you, a score of 730 in Math with a 790 on the Reading & Writing section is perfectly fine score to apply with.
@barebonesprep
The thing is that I want to apply as an engineer major, and (due to financial constraints) can only really apply to those elite schools that meet full need without loans. A 730 is a bit on the low side for these.
“I got a 730 on Math II, but 800 on Physics.”
“I did take the SAT (1390) I’m prepping for my second and final attempt in October.”
When did you take your first SAT and what was your Math score? When did you take the Math II?
The 730 in Math II is respectable (you are in the upper 50th % of a select group). You really are afraid you’ll score a 730 on SAT I Math?
I would suggest DiagKNOWstics (online resource). I used it, along with practice tests, and got a 780. Pretty sure you can get what you need on there for free.
@JBStillFlying
I took SAT I in March and SAT II in June. I got 680 on the math.
Yes, I am afraid that I won’t reach my goal.
@testprepishard you are already in good shape with the 730 on Math II, which is supposed to be the harder test. Do you think that for you it’s actually easier, or did you just not panic for some reason on the June? Do you have any thoughts on why Math II is a better test for you than regular SAT Math?
@JBStillFlying
Math II asks questions that I am more familiar with — the school kind. SAT I Math, while I can understand it and solve it for the most part, is presented in a way that I find confusing, hence me going into a panic. In short, I found Math II easier than the SAT I Math section.
^OK that makes sense. The SAT Math with the new test is a lot wordier than it used to be which can throw some testers (that’s deliberate, by the way). The trick is to outsmart the tricksters. You seem to have identified your specific issues so it’ll be a matter of “fine-tuning” what is going to be a high score to make sure it’s at its highest. This involves psychological training as much as skill-training, since you believe that panicking is what is holding you back. Your goal will be to manage the panic and confusion by training “hard” through it so that it’s simply no big deal come Test Day.
So, first: double check your subsections (heart of algebra, pathway to advanced math etc.) to see if there’s a pattern of slipping up in one of those. If you, like my kids, tend to mess up on each one fairly equally, then double check the difficulty level to make sure there’s no pattern THERE. Finally, understand whether you are weak, strong, or consistent on grid-in vs. Multiple Choice, since you can always start with Grid-In first if you think that will help (my son used that strategy because he felt the MC was just easier and he knew he could fly through. It was Grid-In that was catching him up).
Once you’ve identified exactly which type questions are tripping you up, do “training” on those so that you are at ease on Test Day. If anxiety is your issue, do “Math sprints” where you have to solve the problems accurately in a time-cooker that’s less than the avg. time allotment on the real test. Start at a doable level, say, a Minute 15 per question (I think that’s the average allotment for the SAT?). Make sure you are 100% accurate (no dumb mistakes). Then move to a minute 10. Then a minute 5. Then a minute. Give yourself a one - two week progression schedule but don’t move on till you’ve nailed 100% at that timing. Another idea if focus is a problem: do some timed practice sessions when fatigued so that you are used to working under stress and nail those questions. These are just two examples of psychological training.
Once you believe you honestly can’t make any more improvements - then you are done. IMPORTANT: you may not yet be at 750 and That. Is. OK. You are at your peak and if you trained hard and made improvements you will perform at peak on the test, regardless of the outcome. Your focus needs to be on doing your best, not hitting a certain target. You likely will be at a certain number missed, regardless of the curve (at the high end that’s pretty much what tends to happen - you miss one or three or four or whatever, each time). Then just stay in shape by taking full SAT practice tests - one per week on a Sat. morning till Test Day, for instance. Don’t worry about the raw-to-scale conversions. Especially with tests 1 - 4 which weren’t even based on real administered SATs. Also, use the practice PSATS (using PSAT timing) if you haven’t already as those are just like the SAT only a tad shorter. Have fun with Barron’s or Diagknowstics.
For your practice tests stick to test-day conditions and pretend it’s the Real Deal. Get those pencils and calculator ready - water and a snack too, if needed. Start at the same time in the morning that you would on the real test and get a good night sleep the night before - because you are practicing for the Real Test. You are allowed a five minute break after Reading, and again after the first Math so stick to those. Get up and stretch and run to the restroom if needed. Grab a swig of water. The more you practice “for reals” the more you are likely to be used to the drill come test day. And then make sure you don’t change your routine for the Real Test.
The SAT/ACT is like a Marathon. You want to get the endurance and speed training down, even fine-tuning if need be. Then you want to make sure you can do a test run on the “real course”, pretending it’s the “real race” so you are appropriately “tuned up”. And then on the real race day, you don’t change your routine in the least - to you it’s just another practice run by that point.
One last piece of advice: my son was doing very poorly on his PSAT prep till he started drinking a cup of strong coffee in the morning. His practice score improved by 100 points! If you go this route, do NOT start this right before the test - start it now so you are very used to it. Or a Coke/Diet Coke. Or Tea. Anything with a bit of caffeine 
Good luck to you!
And just to clarify #11: every time you mess up on a math problem, make sure you understand WHY you did so. Did you read it too quickly (because you panicked or because you thought you “got it” but ignored some key piece of info)? Did you not understand what the word problem was? So when you do your drills, make sure you nail your comprehension 100%. Their goal is to trick you into a wrong answer. If you understand what they are asking, they will have failed in that task. The more you practice, the more you will think “SAT Math” and “get it”. They might be tricky, but they really aren’t all that original. You’ll see the same types of questions again and again and again . . .
@JBStillFlying
So should I start redoing the practice tests, then? I only have three left, which can’t last me until the exam.
^Save the last three those for Sept. when you are doing a full run through every week. Have you done the practice PSATs? If not, save those two as well and you might be able to do five total before Test Day.
Don’t “redo” practice tests for the drills. You need fresh questions for that but you need to know what type of question to focus on. So using your 5 completed practice tests to figure that out. Calculate your subscores, check with the answer explanations to note the difficulty level, etc. If you are just flummoxed by one particular question, re-read the answer and make sure your comprehension is 100% (if it’s not then it’s a matter of Math comprehension so work on that, etc).
Do you have a Kahn Academy account? My son would have his practice tests scanned and scored by the SAT ap. which was linked to Kahn Academy - Kahn would then “tailor” his practice to what he needed to work on. Others might disagree but I still think Kahn is the best tool because it’s interactive and adjusts for your skill level.
@JBStillFlying
I primarily use Khan Academy for practice. I do my tests in the book, and then transfer my answers to Khan for scoring and practice. I use ■■■■■■■ for answer explanations.
Honestly, the SAT has been more of a psychological fight more than anything else. I keep the book with the “SAT” on it right in front of me while working to get used to it. Believe it or not, there was a time when those three capital letters next to each other would make me uneasy.
^^ Targeting the practice to manage the psychological stress is probably your best path. SAT math is less time-pressured but a bit more wordy than ACT math. Once you target which questions in particular are making you uneasy (obviously you are doing quite well on a good majority of them!) you should isolate those and work through them so that your timing doesn’t exceed the average allotment. Or . . . understand which questions you breeze through in 30 sec. and figure out how much time to spend on those tricky ones.
How much time to spare do you have when you finish a Math section? Also, which Math section is harder for you - with calc. or without?