Spanish Subject Test

Test Preparation SAT Subject Test Preparation
1

<p>Is there a way to find out what exactly is on the SAT II Spanish subject test?</p>

<p>Yes, I saw the college board link:
Spanish</a> SAT Subject Test - Spanish Practice Tests & Questions</p>

<p>Yes I read it, and saw that it tests vocabulary, paragraph completion, and reading comprehension. Yes I see the recommended preparation is 3-4 years. Yes I see the anticipated skills such as "Knowledge of words representing different parts of speech."</p>

<p>What I want to know is exactly what topics in grammar, for example are tested. Does this include the subjunctive? What might it include and what might it not include? Are there any review books that are recommended for being at the appropriate level:</p>

<p>Thank you so much for any help.</p>

2

<p>Are you taking it today? If so, sorry I’m late. Hopefully you’ve signed up for one later on this year, in which case…</p>

<p>I’m on my fifth year of Spanish, and I feel that I probably did above average on the test, but definitely not a perfect score. However, I do feel much more confident with this test than Literature and Math lvl. 1 which I took today, so perhaps I did all right? (:</p>

<p>Vocabulary: you’ll definitely want to brush up on some. It’s random, too, which bothered me a bit, because I couldn’t have studied for the words that came up. I don’t even remember what they were, but I would pin them at the year 1 or 2 mark of vocab, perhaps just scan over those a bit? Wasn’t too hard if you’ve read a lot; worse comes to worse, eliminate what’s wrong and then guess.</p>

<p>Completion: some of these were really difficult, but some were ridiculously easy. It really varied on the writing style of the passage, and whether the paragraph completion questions were focusing on verb tenses or overall comprehension. I’d say the verb tenses were easier. You’re gonna need to know the preterite, imperfect, subjunctive, future, conditional, present, and irregulars; it’s not in-depth though. I wouldn’t go too crazy with them - as long as you know how to recognize which tense is needed in the passage, and the general construction of the tense, you’ll have it down pat because you simply need to be able to recognize it out of your options. If I were you, I’d just break out your notes and glance at 'em. Don’t worry too much.</p>

<p>Overall, just review everything in a general manner. Don’t spend your time memorizing charts and sentence construction, because you don’t need to be able to speak or write on the test, just recognize the correct answers. Also, maybe jog your memory by reading some easy passages online (for example, Spanish news sites) before you go to take the test? It might help. I found that I was much more “in the zone” by the end of the test than I was when starting it, so I’d recommend checking over your answers before you run out of time!</p>

<p>P.S. - Depending on how long you’ve taken Spanish and whether you’re a native speaker, my advice varies. If you’re a native speaker, hell, don’t even study. But if you haven’t at least completed four years I’d recommend studying more than I detailed above. </p>

<p>Hoped I’m not too late and that I helped! Good luck! :D</p>

3

<p>Thank you so much for the response! No worries – I’m still a junior and am thinking about taking the spanish sat 2 this spring, probably may or june. I am not in ap though. I just wanted to get all my ducks in a row and think about how i should prep over the year. </p>

<p>Is it similar to prepping for the SAT reading and writing but just in spanish? Like the passages and all that? </p>

<p>Just wondering what the recommended prep books are, in addition to the tips you provided about immersing myself in as much Spanish as I can. I just want to gain as much familiarity as possible with the topics and difficulty of the exam.</p>

4

<p>Hmm. Yes, it’s quite similar, although I’d say it’s on a lower analyzing level than the test for English. The English test frequently asks people to infer conclusions from the text, compare, find mood or indirectly stated things, etc. Basically higher-level thinking stuff.</p>

<p>The Spanish test doesn’t really do that as much. It’s not really analyzing text as much as it is following a passage clearly and being able to tell what comes next. Nothing on a higher plane. But yeah, the structure and length of the passages are very similar.</p>

<p>I honestly have no idea what the prep books are for Spanish, sorry! I picked up a prep book for all SAT subject tests at my local library and just went from there. You may do that as well or you might find it better to find a book specifically for Spanish online.</p>

<p>Good luck, and sorry for the delayed reply!</p>

5

<p>For prep books there are basically 3 you can use: PR, Barron’s, and Kaplan.
PR really isn’t so great, the grammar review is pretty sparse and there’s only 3 practice tests (no diagnostic either). Also PR tests are generally considered to be on the easy side for most SAT tests.
Kaplan’s grammar review is fairly in depth and covers basically everything you need to know, and the explanations are very good. It’s missing stuff like the pluperfect tense but for the most part it should be fine. It also has 5 tests plus a diagnostic, but some are for the listening test.
IMO Barron’s is the best of the 3. It covers more areas of grammar than Kaplan, but it’s a bit less in depth (most of the explanations are pretty succinct, which may be a good thing if all you want is a review). It also has 9 tests plus a diagnostic, but some are for the listening test.
So if you just need review, go with Barron’s. Otherwise, I would go with both Barron’s and Kaplan. From the few tests I’ve done, it seems that topics like object pronouns, the subjunctive, and difference between past/present are the most frequently tested. For completion/comprehension, it REALLY helps to know a lot of vocab. Especially for the comprehension section, as long as you know the vocab well you could probably get most of the questions without understanding much of the grammar at all.</p>

<p>Hope that helps</p>

6

<p>PapaScones and alyssa2013: Thank you very much for the feedback! How did you find that the Spanish test compared to the either the ones that you took for practice from the Barron’s, Kaplan’s or the Official Study Guide for All SAT Subject Tests?</p>