<p>I have been taking several practice tests, CB practice tests. I just took the January 2006 test and got a 690 and it seemed pretty easy, I had a lot of time to spare. How come on the real test day, the difficulty of the test seems about 100x harder and i finish with 0 time to spare?</p>
<p>^
it could be just that you're very anxious... But I personally think that you just need MORE practice. I say practice, practice, practice under REAL TESTING LIKE SITUATIONS untill you're very, very comfortable with everything... That's what I'm doing right now, and it seems to be working to some degree...</p>
<p>although it might be possible that you just have the bad luck to see a passage that bores you or that you find particularly challenging, it's more probable that your problem is the result of test-day jitters. after all, the january 2006 test was a real test, right?</p>
<p>Speaking of which, where did you get the CB practice tests?</p>
<p>@xitammarg: Is it true that BBook's and OCourse's tests are easier than the real thing or is it just the anxiety that makes the difference?</p>
<p>Everyone has different experiences on the real test. I remember when I took the SAT, I said to myself, "Man, this is so much easier than the PSAT," and in fact, I did do a lot better.</p>
<p>I think different people like different types of passages.</p>
<p>I suppose that it's partly anxiety, and the only way I know of to get rid of anxiety is to realize that (1) this is a test that supposedly measures basic reading skills, (2) you can always retake it, and (3) you'll do fine. Also, practice, practice, practice!</p>
<p>@714--i don't find them to be easier than the real thing; i'd say they're exactly the same. at any rate, they're written by the exact same people according to the same design principles.</p>
<p>it just seems especially that the sentence completions are way harder. </p>
<p>also, i have been taking lots and lots of CB math tests, both real and ones from the blue book. I got a 680 last time i took it... and after practicing soo much i started doing well, getting 750's on the first two tests, and im going down and down from there back to what i originally got. is this normal???? aren't i supposed to be getting better. and these are real time administered tests. any help is appreciated.</p>
<p>^
I'mhaving the same problem too. Here's my suggestion: Try to pinpoint your weaknesses. for me, it's Number theory and logic. Those categories tend to have the hardest problems and they tend to throw me off pretty badly on test day. So, try to find out where you need to work on. That way, you will keep your 750's!(Incidentally, I got a 760 on the recent practice test that I took, missed 2)</p>
<p>And btw, totally not related, but where can I get the previously released SAT tests? Do I need to contact the collegeboard for that?</p>
<p>@Mark: Thank you. I thought you'd say that.</p>
<p>i got them from the CB online course, u can find them lingering around this site however</p>
<p>if your problems with the critical reading section are coming from the sentence completion questions, and if you're prepping for those questions by studying the popular vocab lists, that could explain the problem--the vocab lists tend to reflect words that have already been on tests, not words that appear on new tests, so on test day you're very likely to see a lot more unfamiliar words.</p>
<p>if it's not vocab but the passages themselves that are bothering you, i'd say your problem is probably a combination of jitters and/or subject matter. being thrown off by the subject matter on a passage is, in turn, a question of technique, because with the idealtechnique and mindset you should almost not even notice what the passages are about.</p>
<p>@714--it's mike :)</p>
<p>This is just me, but it takes me a LOT more time to take tests for real than practice, even if similar style questions/difficulty. I think the time of filling in bubbles is underestimated-it usually takes at least 10% of my time to make sure I'm not skipping any, and the time it takes to pace myself. Also, I'm panicked and trying not to freak out about the questions</p>
<p>i completely agree, but i dont think bubbling takes that long, but i really don't kno what it is.</p>