Why won't my score rise???

Test Preparation
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<p>Hi everybody,</p>

<p>I've been preparing hard for the SAT since June now. I study an average of about 10 hours a day and I've finished the following books:
Blue Book
Direct Hits 1 & 2
Meltzer's complete Grammar Guide</p>

<p>I am currently working on Dr. Chung's Math Guide, Gruber's Complete SAT Guide, PWNtheSAT's math guide, SAT Essential 500, Barron's 2400, and Princeton Review's grammar smarts. I also take 1 practice test (collegeboard) daily.</p>

<p>However, what really ticks me off is how my scores rise extremely slowly.
One of my friends started with a score of 1500 and now he's already scoring up to the 1850s. (does not do much self-prep)
On the other hand, I started with a score of 1630 and am now hitting an average of 1850s as well. I really want to get around a 2300 on the SAT my junior year; the question is, do i have enough time? I mean, I know for sure that I am putting the hours in; I'm just not getting much results. Is there something wrong with the way I study? I basically solve the problems, check my answers, see why I got them wrong. I don't really think about strategies because I feel that they will naturally develop in my head as time goes by. Maybe I should take a different approach to self-prep. Somebody please help me.</p>

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<p>Also, when taking practice tests, should I take them untimed or timed? I tried taking one untimed (30-40 minutes per section) and I got an 800 for the math section. I’m just worried because on the real test, time is not a luxury.</p>

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<p>Hello. First, I have an honest question: are you really doing all of the things you say? Do you really take one practice test and study 10 hours a day? If so, you should at least be in the 2100’s. Personally, I think you put in too much time. I mean 10 hours? That’s ridiculous. Your brain will never be able to handle all the info being shoved in for that amount of time. Maybe consider 5 hours. 2 hours before 12 PM and 3 hours after. Don’t take a practice test everyday. Seriously stop. The last thing you want to do is run out of CB tests because no mock test can compare to the collegeboard’s accuracy. Take practice tests when you feel ready (after you’re done with your books). Also how carefully did you read DH and Meltzer’s book? Those books are excellent Meltzer’s book got me to the 720s in writing and with practice I got it to the 770-800 range. I think you rushed through these books too quickly. You should take your time and soak in as much as you can. For me, I had to read Meltzer’s book twice before I could break the 600s. I suggest you reread the books carefully; who knows you might pick up on things you missed before. I’d do that for all the books. Also, do not work with multiple books of the same subject at once. IE do not work with PWN the SAT and Chungs at the same time. I suggest you work with PWN the SAT first then move onto Chungs as Chungs is the more challenging book. It seems like you may put in the time but are not paying attention when studying, which is essentially a waste of time. Work smart, not hard. If you give me a score breakdown, I can give you better, more in depth advice and could recommend some additional books. Best of luck.
-Doc</p>

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<p>Thanks for your reply Doc. and yes, i do take daily practice tests along with that time. I really wish I could break 2000 already. I just wish someone could have told me earlier that it isn’t smart taking practice tests daily, because I agree that they take alot of time up, and that they are also valuable. Well, for Direct Hits, I reviewed each book about 3 times. I can confirm that I know at least 95% of all words there. </p>

<p>Thanks to Meltzer’s grammar guide, I know all of the grammar concepts (or most of them) but my score simply wont improve (560-600) because sometimes I completely forget about the rules while taking the test. I’ll check my answers, and then I’ll go “Oh yeah, how could I have forgotten about that, stupid me”. Is it lack of practice? I honestly don’t know anymore.</p>

<p>Right now, I’m getting 650 in Math, 570 CR, 630 Writing.</p>

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<p>Actually, your scores were a lot like mine. I had trouble breaking the high 600’s in math. All I really did was I went through Dr. Chung’s 9 practice tests. After the 9, I went back to the BB and I could finish each section with 6-9 minutes to spare. I checked my answers and just read the questions carefully so as to avoid stupid mistakes. So for math, practice with Chung before moving onto the BB. For writing, I also had the same problem and so I reread the book. After I reread it, I just practiced in the BB and from official practice tests. After a lot of practice, you kind of just recognize the error without trying too hard. As for CR, that is my worst section too. All I can really say is to pay attention. If you pay attention, you will do way better (or at least I did because I used to zone out passages all the time). If you took AP Lang then CR becomes a little easier. </p>

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<p>Try this for a study routine: </p>

<p>-Start the day off with one practice SECTION (vary subject everyday) - 25 minutes
-Review incorrect answers - 35 minutes
-Daily vocab practice - 15-20 minutes (an app like Mindsnacks is really nice for this; otherwise, one lesson/chapter of a book like Direct Hits works - try going through the book again)
-1 untimed section (same subject as timed section earlier in the day) - 45-60 minutes</p>

<p>This amounts to about 2.5 hours a day, which is 1/4 of the 10 hours that you are currently spending. This allows for a more efficient routine with limited boredom and minimal time loss. And you could always add in a 15-minute grammar lesson or math exercise into this schedule, without using up too much time.</p>

<p>Also, you say that you received an 800 on an untimed math SAT, spending only 5-15 minutes longer than the time allotted. This shows that your accuracy is fine when working untimed. Or, you’re just not getting to all the problems in the allotted 25 minutes. The way to overcome this is to keep on practicing to the point that earlier problems (1-5) take less than 30 seconds and later problems (16-20) take at most a minute and a half. Keep doing untimed tests for Math and start doing them for CR, too. Focus and try not to zone out on CR, and you’ll be able to see better results in no time!</p>

<p>I second @doc325‌ in saying that AP Lang is a major score booster for CR.</p>

<p>Remember: Study smarter, not harder.</p>

<p>Hope this helps! Good Luck! :)</p>

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<p>@EngineBus2015 You know, it’s ironic. One of my daughter’s best friends got less than 600 on the SAT in the fall of her senior year, yet got a perfect 5 on the AP Lang and Comp exam a few months before. How weird…</p>

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<p>@AnnieBeats - I believe that the correlation between the SAT CR and AP Lang varies quite a bit. I had a teacher who prepared us extremely well for the AP Lang test, with numerous multiple choice practices coupled with a plethora of analytical essays. I prepared very minimally between the 2013 October PSAT and the 2014 June SAT and jumped from a 62 (620) on the CR section of the October PSAT to a 720 on the June SAT. I owe this primarily to AP Lang. And I got a 5 on the AP Lang test taken during May 2014.</p>

<p>Also, AP curves work quite differently from SAT curves. ~74% on the AP Lang test earns a 5, owing to the difficulty of the test (college-level passages). Missing about 26% of the questions on the SAT CR earns approximately a 600, according to The College Panda’s SAT Score Calculator.</p>

<p>They’re two different tests, so your daughter’s friend’s score discrepancy is possible. I still stand by the fact that AP Lang is an SAT CR score booster. </p>

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<p>@EngineBus2015 I didn’t say it isn’t a score booster. I agree with you, it is. But I find great irony in the fact that a student excelled on an exam graded by college professors, but struggled on an exam that is actually used in college admissions.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much to everyone who replied. “work smarter, not harder”. i can’t believe i was so ignorant about that…</p>

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<p>Hmmm i was actually in a similar situation as you a week ago. Seriously, i literally studied all day doing sat prep. My score was a stagnant 2000. I had read erica meltzers critical reading guide, pwn the sat math, and i took a look at barrons 2400, princeton review, kaplan, etc… But then i thought: what is all this actually doing for me? If my score is not changing, why would I continue to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result? So what i did was i looked on college confidential and read a bunch of people’s strategies. And this one worked for me:</p>

<p>CHEAT ON THE TESTS</p>

<p>Really cheating helps. Turn off your timer, have your computer next to you, and go through the test METICULOUSLY and SLOWLY. Im certain you know a wealth of strategies from reading dr. Chungs, erica meltzer, etc… So this is the time you put them to work. You have to be painstaking and slow. So for example:</p>

<p>Critical reading: go through the test using your vocab strategies. Underline key words, words that indicate contrast, assign positive and negative charges, etc… Then look up all the words you dont know. Write them down or type them up and review rhem every day. You have to go through each question methodically. What you are doing is training your brain to think the correct way. Youre training your brain how to approach each problem. When you are timing yourself or treating the test like “an actual test”, you forget to use your strategies and everything youve learbed, and end up just focussing on finishing.
Once youve done this several times (trust me, it only took me like 3 full practice test) your brain will catch on and quickly, and automatically you’ll be able to tackle each problem correctly. You have all the strategies and knowledge, but you’re not putting them to use. Thats why you have to do the tests this way.
For the passage based questions read the passage slowly, looking up words and phrases that you dont understand. Try to find main idea, key points, etc… Then when you get to the questions, translate them in easy-to-understand language. Seriously this helped me. My CR score was a 620-670 even after taking 8 blue book tests and about 5 princeton review tests. This cheating method helped me bring my CR reading score to a 720.</p>

<p>Math: go through each problem applying strategies you learned: can i back solve? Should plug in? Is it asking for greatest or least? </p>

<p>Writing: go through a grammar checklist. What words are underlined? Verbs? Nouns? Adjectives? Are they in the correct tense? Correctly conjugated? </p>

<p>If it pains you to waste a test since obviously this cheating strategy wot give you an accurate score (its only to train your brain how to correctly approach each problem) then do what i did: i took the test timed, then i redid the test using the “cheating strategy” and i compared my scores. This worked for me: i went from a 2000 to a 2260. Just remember: ITS NOT HOW LONG YOU STUDY, ITS HOW WELL YOU STUDY. </p>

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<p>thanks for the great advice jpmac. but i have a question if you don’t mind. what score did you start out with before you had any form of preparation for the test?</p>

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<p>for me, the problem is just doubting myself so when you start to question yourself,unless there is a good reason, don’t change it. the difference between 1800ish and 2200 is just a few problems. Even though the math is really basic for me, I drop to 600 at times just because of stupid mistakes. limit those and your scores will improve (how… is the question. if I could figure that out id get myself a high 2200 constantly:(). either way, just keep trying. even if your score seems to stagnate, it will increase after like 10 more tests</p>

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<p>i just wanted to thank everybody again for all of your helpful methods. I just finished taking a practice test right now and I got an 1910, which is a relief for me since I finally broke 1800. :)</p>

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<p>Try getting a tutor, I heard they’re helpful</p>

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<p>Just thought I’d toss in my two cents. If you’re blowing off using test-taking strategies because you think they will “naturally develop”, they won’t. SAT tests are written to exhaust you. Start taking those strategies seriously. It’s not always about how well you know the subject matter, it’s how well you know the test.</p>

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<p>I would suggest reading online and within the books you have for strategies to master the sections within the SAT.</p>

<p>However, I might suggest you try the ACT and see if you are better at that. I know a bunch of students who are better at the ACT than SAT (including myself).</p>

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<p>alright thank you. but i have another question? What is the most efficient and info absorbing way of reviewing your wrong answers on the test?</p>