What are finding most confusing/difficult in the NEW SAT?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

The new version (2016) SAT had changed dramatically from the previous versions, and I know what I think are major difficulties, but I am interested in what students who are currently tackling the SAT are struggling with.

What are you struggling with the most? What would you like a clear explanation or some step by step guidance on?

2

My R students are struggling with a few things:

  1. History ("Great Global Conversation," ugh) passages. Some are pre-1800, many are very hard to read, most depart from modern organization conventions (claim->evidence->claim->evidence).
  2. Inconsistencies in released material. The four "official" released practice tests, for example, do not feature "Except" or "Analogy" question types, but the material on Khan frequently does so.
  3. The false claim that the test no longer emphasizes advanced vocab. I meet many students who have prepped for the exam without significant vocab study, and when I look at their work, virtually everything they miss in the R section is because of vocab.
3

Hi,
Thanks for the response. #3 is my pet peeve because who in their right mind would think that having a robust vocabulary wouldn’t be an aspect of the reading test? I have had long conversations with students about marketing and how the test is being marketed to them.

The history is also difficult for my students because they are Canadian/Korean/Chinese students with very little knowledge of American and World History which handicaps them to begin with before they even start to tackle the old-fashioned and formal writing structures.

4

I agree vocab is still important but not as much as the old exam. You still need strong vocabulary to understand the text. I see many students with weak vocabulary have trouble understanding the passages.
What I recommend is learning the core SAT words. I assume you still have to know vocabulary like adversary, affirmation, explicit, feasible, etc. But I think you no longer need to know what words like semaphore,wanton, zephyr, emollient means.