i literally don’t know what is up with me and the reading section of the sat but im having all kinds of problems. lemme start by saying im a junior in high school, but i took the SATs when i was a freshman after my math teacher recommended me (the test is mostly algebra 2 and i had just done really well in the class). i was expecting my math score to be in the 700s and my english in maybe high 500s, but somehow pulled a 630 math and a 680 english out. i only missed 4 reading questions???
thats all fine and great but now that its junior year i had to get serious about test prep. im not about to drop hundreds of dollars on some SAT course though, so khan acedemy has been a blessing. problem is, i suddenly suck at the reading. ive gone from 4 questions wrong to 15 questions wrong, which (obviously) is significantly dropping my score. im especially horrible at the literature section. i dont know whas wrong with me im literally in ap lang yet every time i do these tests i manage to entirely misinterpret the passage. any (specifc) tips and tricks would be amazing!!!
Are you taking the official practice tests offered through the College Board? Trying taking those in a timed setting, and then review the answers you got wrong and determine WHY you got them wrong. It’s really the most effective way to improve. When I take any exam with reading, I always mark up the passage. Underline important parts (like the thesis/main idea sentence, sentences that support, etc.), and definitely familiarize yourself with types of questions SAT asks (they always have the same ones).
The hardest area for me is always the double questions, where one asks you about the passage and the second asks for “what lines support your answer in the previous question?” If those give you trouble, make sure to mark through any evidence in the 2nd question that you know doesn’t help answer the first, and if you come down to 2, ask yourself which works BEST. Doubting myself on the reading always gets me 5-9 wrong, but if you mark up the passage, write in the margins what stands out as important, it can be a little easier. What you can also try doing is reading all of the questions FIRST, and then read the passage knowing what you’ll need to find.
Practice using these strategies, because that’s what it comes down to in the end: strategy. You can earn top marks in English Lang and still struggle with SAT Reading, because it’s, well, SAT Reading. Hope this helps!