U.S History difficulty

Test Preparation SAT Subject Test Preparation
1

<p>There seems to be so many questions dealing with trivial facts in the history subject test! i took a diagnosis and did terribly. There are even questions asking "who was NOT a secretary of state" . I mean seriously, do i have to remember ALL of the secretary of states?! How should i study for this subject test?! How did you guys study? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Btw i understand there are numerous threads regarding History prep but many of them just circle around the amsco prep book(which im getting). Im just wondering if there an alternative method for acquiring such a vast amount of info the the history. </p>

<p>Also, how exactly does doing practice questions help? the questions seem way to specific to be even somewhat mentioned on a seperate test. (like that secretary of state question). I mean, even if i know the answer, next thing i know they'll ask me "Which floor of the birmingham jail was MLK imprisoned in"?</p>

2

<p>A question about a random secretary of state would be ridiculous. I do not know, but i would assume that the only secretary of state questions probably had to do with the washington/adams/jefferson era and their respective early cabinets. The answer choices would probably be people that are famous secretaries of state like jefferson, and one that is clearly not a secretary of state like henry knox (the secretary of defense.) </p>

<p>I dont think you will encounter too many crazy questions like that on the SAT2. Most questions center around major themes in US History, not obscure details. Read through your review book and take another test, and im sure with a greater understanding of overall American history, you will do much better. Just my opinion, hope it helps.</p>

3

<p>No the choices were definitely not (in my opinion) famous people like jefferson. Ive actually spotted 5-6 questions like that. Another one was "Who wrote “a century of hishonor”. Omg.</p>

<p>Thanks for the input!</p>

4

<p>which review book are you using right now?..as in, where did you get this diagnostic test?..is it an official collegeboard practice test or one by a test-prep company?..many test-prep companies make ridiculously hard practice tests because they thinhk it prepares the student better, which is very arguable, as it may skew attention off of a smaller number of, but more important facts</p>

5

<p>schoolsearching is right</p>

<p>If there is anything prep books all suck at, it’s making multiple choice questions. Put yourself in the position of a prep book writer. Good multiple choice questions - those that test your understanding of the material, instead of just rote facts - are hard to write. Now imagine writing, say, a diagnostic test, 3 practice tests, and chapter summary quizzes full of “good” multiple choice questions. That’s hundreds of questions, without outright repetition.</p>

<p>So they make a few questions that are decent and test-quality, while the majority are “hard” in the sense of rote memorization. Also, you will see that the questions and the answer choices may even use the exact wording of the book. If you haven’t read the book yet (before the diagnostic, I’m guessing that you haven’t), you will laugh at this test once you read the book. You will see so many “familiar” phrases.</p>

<p>When I studied for world history (talking about format and strategy here, not the specific material, so plz read on), I only used these kinds of prep book questions to test my knowledge of facts, since I had gained a pretty good understanding of the overall idea/story behind the history from class, notes, and wide reading.</p>

<p>I would suggest reviewing every practice question - for learning facts - even if you get them right. Remember, the wrong answers to one question can be the correct one to another question. And if you get a question wrong because you didn’t know an arbitrary fact, you’ll probably remember that fact forever (or until the test day), just because you’ll remember how stupid you felt when you read the correct answer (oh…that’s it? kind of moment). Then, you can use this new “pernament” fact as a foundation to build upon. I.e. mnemonic device or word association. Catch my drift? It helps to organize your study and make sure you review everything, since history is not a bunch of random facts. Everything is connected to SOMETHING somehow, so you can use these “bad” questions to the max.</p>

<p>Also, definately get the Official SAT II book for these tests (for anything besides Math level 1/2 and world/american history - these have specific official collegeboard books that have 2 practice tests for each subject instead of the normal 1 practice test in the big Official SAT II book).</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

6

<p>Thanks guys! I guess i’ll be better off doing more practice questions, the answers to them do seem to stick to my mind for quite a while! Im probably just pressed for time since theres only a couple of months left, and seeing that there’s so many facts- as trivial as they are- i get really stressed out. Im currently using barrons, which i’ve heard contains more difficult questions. Im still going to work my way through the book as bsd suggested and become more familiarized with the test. Ill do my best !</p>

<p>I love you both.</p>