SAT Vocabulary - I had no idea!

Parents Forum
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<p>My son is studying for the PSAT in October and, while his Math and Writing scores are increasing, his Critical Reading score has leveled off. So, I began to sit down with him to discuss the questions he missed. It became readily apparent that most of the questions had nothing to do with logic or reasoning; he missed them because he didn't know what the words meant. In fact, I didn't know what many of the words meant... although I knew enough to get the question correct.</p>

<p>I found this a bit odd since I'm a lawyer and an officer of a Fortune 500 company who finished at the top of my class in law school and scored very well on the LSAT. I also work with highly educated people every day and am well read.</p>

<p>I'm astounded by the level of vocabulary 16 year-old kids are expected to know. The Princeton Review publishes a list of the 250 most common words used on SAT tests (with easy words excluded and an emphasis on correct words). I didn't know 15 words on the "Hit Parade" list. I'd bet my CEO wouldn't know about 40 of those words. My ACT daughter who attends a top 25 university and received an A+ in freshman English wouldn't know about 70 of the words.</p>

<p>I don't understand why the SAT places such a heavy emphasis on vocabularly that it is rarely used among highly educated people or even in classic literature. I guess I should be glad (sorry, "euphoric") over this discovery since he will have time to work on vocabulary. It's no wonder kids obsess over getting the latest SAT vocabulary list.</p>

<p>Have any other parents had this experience and, if so, what did your child do to boost his or her vocabulary?</p>

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<p>Dying to hear what are some of the words that you didn't know on the Princeton Review list.</p>

<p>Remember that the students aren't expected to know all of the words used on the SAT. Depending on the context, they may be able to figure out the passage's meaning even if they would be able to define the words if they encountered them on a list.</p>

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<p>Ditto to both parts of NSM's post. I've seen vocab lists for the SAT before, and I don't remember thinking that the words were at all esoteric.</p>

<p>The best way to boost vocabulary is to read novels, magazines (The Economist over People for vocab purposes), school books, random internet websites, and anything else you get your hands on. If you don't know the definition of work or aren't sure, look it up. Then keep your ears open for use of that word in conversation: this will not only cement the word in your head but also show you correct pronunciation, which was always the problem I ran into when I learned/read new words.</p>

<p>Remember that many English curricula include vocab lessons through middle school and often high school.</p>

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<p>"Have any other parents had this experience and, if so, what did your child do to boost his or her vocabulary?"</p>

<p>First of all, they DON'T expect all the kids to know the words - in fact, that is the whole point: to create a test where there is enough differential in performance so as to differentiate between the superior, the average, and the sub-mediocre. If all the kids knew all the words and answered appropriately, the test would be useless. (I'm willing to argue that it is close to useless now, given that vocabulary is very much a surrogate for income, but that's an entirely different matter.)</p>

<p>Good conversation and lots of it is by far the best way to boost vocabulary. Anyone who has ever become fluent in a non-native language knows it. We are addicted to book-learning, but it is not the way most people develop large vocabularies.</p>

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<p>There's always the Top-100-SAT-Words Shower Curtain. They have French and Spanish too. </p>

<p>Good conversation will build a vocabulary but it doesn't help on the SAT if you've never seen the word written down. My D had heard the word 'nuance' but when she saw it on a test she didn't recognize it. Many words look very different from how you would imagine from hearing them. Then there's the 'too-familiar' problem. You've probably noticed this if you've had occasion to write your name or a phrase over and over. Eventually, it starts to look weird to you. So even with study, you can have a brain-blip and the word looks wrong so you think it's something else.</p>

<p>What I find amazing is that 16 and 17 yr old kids do at all well on these kinds of test...jumping from math to verbal to logic... I'd hate to have to take one myself and I'm pretty bright still.</p>

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<p>First, they say that difficult, technical reading is what boosts the CR score. Kids who read the same types of literature are at a disadvantage.</p>

<p>Second, elite private schools use special vocabulary workbooks--from primary school onwards. That work is aimed at super high SAT CR scores. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vocabulary-Achievement-Margaret-Ann-Richek/dp/066946483X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b/105-9775851-4986862?ie=UTF8&qid=1188875394&sr=1-19%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.amazon.com/Vocabulary-Achievement-Margaret-Ann-Richek/dp/066946483X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b/105-9775851-4986862?ie=UTF8&qid=1188875394&sr=1-19&lt;/a> . By the time they get to the SAT, these kids have had up to ten years of intense vocabulary practice. It's not hard for them to score above 97%. They are setting the bar.</p>

<p>Luckily, boys tend to cram well. You can reinforce or duplicate vocabulary boosts in short order with the simple use of flashcards and a Princeton Review SAT vocab list. </p>

<p>Have your son peruse the SAT word list for words he does not know. He should write the word on the front of a flashcard and the definition on the back.</p>

<p>We've done this for two boys. (One got to use the other's cards btw--save them). Both boyswere serious readers--though the younger one also read technical manuals online (ugh). We quizzed the older boy a few hours a week for a month ahead of the exam. His score went up 100 points from the PSAT. He didn't take it again (because we didn't know the rule of thumb below).</p>

<p>The younger son didn't think he needed a month of practice. Who were we to argue? We quizzed him with the flashcards for an hour after dinner-- in the week before the SAT. He spent a total of six hours memorizing the SAT vocab he didn't know. He scored beyond the beyond and didn't have to take it again.</p>

<p>You are right to be concerned. The SAT CR score is an important one for boys. The CC rule of thumb is +1450 SAT M + CR scores for reach schools. A high CR score is icing on the cake for a boy.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Good conversation and lots of it is by far the best way to boost vocabulary. Anyone who has ever become fluent in a non-native language knows it. We are addicted to book-learning, but it is not the way most people develop large vocabularies.

[/quote]
Except for the fact that it's much easier for people to get good books/magazines to read on their own time. This is also where income plays a huge role. Most students can go to the library and read, but wealthy students have a huge advantage when it comes to the opportunity to have developed, in depth conversations with educated adults who have good vocabularies and grammar. I will also say that most SAT style words are not words that people tend to use commonly in everyday conversation. You will definitely hear most of the SAT words occasionally in speech, but there are some words that you'll run into much more often in writing than in casual conversation.</p>

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<p>My son got perfect scores on CR twice. He reads computer manuals and sci-fi. But unlike most kids he reads ALOT. At least 100 books a year. He doesn't know every word either if you don't give him any context, but he can deduce the meaning from context nearly all the time. My GRE verbal score 50 points higher than my already quite decent SAT score. I contributed it at the time to doing the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle.</p>

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<p>First, thanks for all of your comments. Mini, point well taken... I certainly have not kept up my end by carrying on good conversation with my high schooler. </p>

<p>Northstarmom, I believe I've paraded my ignorance sufficiently to this point. I believe my post made it clear that I was able to discern the correct answers to the questions while not knowing the meaning of all the words. However, my son does not have near the years of experience I have using the English language. The kids seem to "beat the system" by memorizing a list of words.</p>

<p>I would challenge the naysayers to open up your child's Cracking the SAT or PSAT by the Princeton Review and cover up the meanings of the words and go through it. I would be glad to share my ignorance with those... by private message of course. ;) For those of you who perform better than I did (and I'm sure some of you will), I would still like to hear you say that some of the words are not esoteric. Either my hubris or experience will not permit to grant that the list doesn't have esoteric words. I anxiously await the candid feedback to determine which is the culprit.</p>

<p>Mini, the 250 word list in this case (the lists are often 1000 - 3000 words) was written with the idea that kids would not have to learn all of the SAT or PSAT words. It's a targeted list that rewards learning certain words and, if learned, will not differentiate among the "superior, the average, and the sub-mediocre." The test seems to reward those who have figured out the game. I grant you that it also rewards kids who are well read and have regularly engaged in intelligent conversation. Or, perhaps, I'm too jaded about the SAT at this point.</p>

<p>Coarranged, I have been using the "look it up" method for some time with my son and have purchased a subscription to USNews & World Report. I believe this has, and will, help to a certain degree. He is also working on prefixes and suffixes. It's just doesn't seem this will get him far enough fast enough... since he is already a junior. I have, however, learned an important lesson for my younger daughter. Unlike my son, she goes to an expensive private school and they start taking the PSAT in 8th grade. Her school has a much greater emphasis on learning vocabulary, reading, and engaging in higher level conversation. In that sense, I expect your point about the correlation between wealth and vocabulary will bear out.</p>

<p>In short, I believe all of you have offered solid advice. It also seems your kids started earlier and you did a better job of educating them at home. I will use your insights, together with the vocabularly list shortcuts, to close as much of the vocabulary gap as practical. Thanks!</p>

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<p>Conversation the best way to built vocabulary? I doubt it, though good verbal skills may be an important key to a sucessful life, in a variety of spheres. In language learning yes, if the goal is a speaking knowledge of a language. But many of us, if not most, learn more esoteric words through reading, and then introduce them into speech if around people who will understand a more highly educated vocabulary.</p>

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<p>Cheers, I just read your response and find it very helpful. Thanks!</p>

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<p>Have faith in your boy. He may cover more ground than you imagined possible. </p>

<p>Save the flashcards for your D. Even though the private school will make sure she reads difficult, technical texts and memorizes SAT words, she will still benefit from a bit of flashcard practice. You may not need to tie it into the dinner hour--as we did. Your mileage may vary, lol.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>I read many years ago that children's vocabulary depends on the parents' vocabulary. My vocabulary is enormous--both my parents were journalists and we spent far too many dinners with the dictionary open on the table arguing about "just the right word"--and I'm often told people can't understand half of what I say as a result. My kids did very well on the SAT, without studying, and attributed it largely to my insistence on using 10-dollar words instead of 10-cent words (their phrase). I checked a few online lists of SAT words before posting--and knew all of them.</p>

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<p>I agree with some of the earlier posters that reading a variety of types of material is very helpful. My son read a lot of science fiction and other novels, but also a lot of non-fiction, e.g. bios, history, newsmagazines, science and technology mags...</p>

<p>But here is what probably helped as much as anything else: he studied Latin for five years, and ancient Greek for two. Being able to recognize the roots of words is invaluable.</p>

<p>He is a science/math type, and didn't study a word list for one minute, but scored a 780 on the SAT I.</p>

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<p>Just to clarify, I wasn't asking for an example of words so that it would display your ignorance or anything like that. I didn't use prep books for the SAT, and I'm beyond that point in my life now anyway, so I don't have access to the types of word lists you're talking about to confirm for myself whether or not it's true. I could look online, but I didn't think I would be able to find full lists that way. I apologize if I came across as condescending.</p>

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<p>Just to add--my son's doing SAT review this summer and I've been surprised the number of words he doesn't know.</p>

<p>I thought it might be better to have him learn roots & prefixs & that sort of thing. Plus have him read the "SAT novels" (there are about 3 or 4) that are out now--engaging books full of SAT vocab w/the definititions at the bottom of the page.</p>

<p>Maybe this would help your son, Parentrap? Btw, my son is also studying for the PSAT in Oct. </p>

<p>I'm going to work on more vocab w/my 5 year old after reading all this! lol</p>

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<p>Interesting discussion. I think reading, rather than conversation, is the key to a good vocabulary. It's also the key to knowing how good English sentences are constructed and being able to "intuitively" know which sentence (of the 5 given) contains the error. Or is the best choice, or whatever the heck they're asking. :eek:</p>

<p>In our house we use the (online) dictionary frequently to check words we come across in newspapers or magazines. We point out grammatical errors in print to each other. (As well as faulty logic in letters to the editor.;) ) And I try to introduce my kids to words they may not know but should, with explanations of prefixes/suffixes where helpful. </p>

<p>My DH does crossword puzzles avidly and the kids at least have absorbed that interest in words for their own sake. And we all love to play Scrabble (which admittedly won't help you with those 15-letter SAT words.)</p>

<p>Two of my kids took Latin, but the two that took Spanish also found it helpful in correlating roots. And the child that liked to read exclusively science fiction and technical journals had to be prodded to expand his choices a little, but did very well on the SAT, probably due to our family atmosphere.</p>

<p>Anyway--we had 3 NM finalists and child #4 is no slouch!</p>

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<p>Knowing that my D is a very visual person, we got her the Vocabulary cartoon books. Each word is represented in whimsical cartoons that are easy to remember, and also visually convey the meaning of the word, so it is more than just a memory tool. I agree with previous posters that taking Latin helps as well, the second D is taking Spanish so it will be interesting to compare...</p>

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<p>
[quote]
although I knew enough to get the question correct.

[/quote]

I think that this is actually the point of the exam - not a specific word, but the context of it. (I think that's one of the reasons they've eliminated the analogy section - no context.)</p>

<p>And while conversation is the initial way to expand vocabulary, such as when initially learning a language (be it mother tongue or a subsequent language), reading and writing is the way to expand it. One doesn't speak the same way one writes; speech has a different cadence and is generally more "casual".</p>

<p>
[quote]
I thought it might be better to have him learn roots & prefixs & that sort of thing.

[/quote]

My d's 7th grade english teacher spent the year teaching roots & prefixes. After a while it became almost second nature for her to search for roots & prefixes of words she didn't know. It helped her both throughout high school and on the SATs.</p>

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<p>Just being a highly verbal household in general (loving words, loving books, having conversations about words & books) seems to be key. That's why I'm puzzled that the OP's educational/verbal level didn't seem to make a deciding difference in S's vocabulary mastery so far. Both of my parents had an amazing vocabulary; yet my older sis (probably because she does have an auditory-processing learning disorder) was not helped by that, and was also just less interested in words, more in numbers. I way outscored her on CR, possibly because (in addition to not having the LD) I'm interested in words, love roots, took Latin early, studied vocab exercises independently, & was an avid fan of word puzzles, etc.</p>

<p>Similar pattern with my own D's. A differentiation in the level of technical interest in words themselves, between the 2 girls. They are both similarly avid readers. (Reading tastes for one is broader than for the other, but similar in volume & depth.) Yet one is less interested in the details of words.</p>

<p>In addition, perhaps having excellent visual/verbal memory helps. Again, perhaps also part of this is interest. I remember words because I care about them. Others remember numbers & formulas because they care about those.</p>

<p>Just some speculations....</p>