<p>i was completely surprised when i saw my sat math was 680 for my first sat. i am pretty competent in honors math. when i saw my report i missed mostly level 3 and 4 questions! do you guys have any good books and tips to avoid missing these easier problems? just practice, underline stuff in the problem, what do you guys do?</p>
<p>I am only a 790 math, but I can offer my advice. I went from 700 to 790, from the first to third sittings.
Since you said you are competent in math, the problem could be doing something too much or too little, meaning working too fast, too nervous, not careful enough. For me, the errors were careless. I lightly underlined the problems as I read, heavily underlining things such as positive integers, etc. Although I did not do this on the easier problems, I think the same thing can be applied.
Another tip is not to let an answer box out the other options. Sometimes you get an answer and rationalize it, when there is a clear problem. So dont be afraid to really check your work, more than just lazily look over -- this goes for easy problems and hard problems.
In terms of practice, I would slow it down and work on pace, spending a little more time on the easier problems. Just make sure you finish in time.
This was not a very organized response, but ultimately if you are competent it just comes down to focus. After all, I would have got 800 if I knew that 1.5 + 7 was 8.5 not 9.5 =)</p>
<p>on my first PSAT I took I got a 76/80 because i missed one question due to a careless mistake. Since people generally perform better on math than on any other section, the harsh weight can really make small errors add up. I made certain on my second PSAT and my SAT to check over every single one of my problems once i finished the section simply to avoid misreading a question or bubbling in the wrong answer. The strategy paid off and i got an 80 and an 800.</p>
<p>I was wondering about this too, I need to get a better math grade. I heard grubers works really well.</p>
<p>A lot of missed math problems on the Math section come from carelessness and what we call "stupid mistakes." I got 70 and 73 on the PSAT soph and junior year, though I knew I was capable of doing better. To minimize errors, a good tip is to go through and check at the end of each section especially if you're fast and finish the problems ahead of time. Also, this might just be me, but it especially helps for math if you've had a good night's sleep and are not tired.</p>
<p>thanks everyone. how fast do you guys usually finish the sections? for me i think its the pacing i get wrong, as i usually finish with only a minute or so. also, is it just me, or is the section with the grid-ins a little more difficult/time consuming?</p>
<p>I usually finish all of my problems with 5-7 minutes to spare. If i get stuck on a problem part way through i definitely do NOT sit and try to think about it for more than ~30 sec. I stick a dot by the number on the answer key and move on. Needless to say, for the rest of the test i am scared out of my mind that i may actually miss one (gasp!), but once i come back to look at the problem for a second time i almost always understand it immediatly.</p>
<p>I think speed is one of those things that can be achieved by a lot of practice. I usually finish each section with about 3-4 minutes left. I used to have trouble finishing on time, but the more practice tests I took, the faster I became. Keep in mind that you shouldn't sacrifice accuracy for speed (though I'm sure this is obvious). Check your work and work deliberately</p>