<p>I'm really in need of some pointers - any at all would be immensely appreciated. </p>
<p>I've basically reviewed every math and grammar concept there is this summer, and I've been stuck at around these scores (from my last practice test):</p>
<p>Math: 670-690ish (Raw 46). I only miss the hard questions, but I miss like a good 60-70 % of them.</p>
<p>Reading: 680ish (Raw: 57). I miss one sentence completion occasionally, but it's usually the passage ones that I narrow down to two and then miss.</p>
<p>Writing: 700-730ish (Raw: 43-45ish). I mostly miss a few "No Error" ones and a few pretty random ones that doesn't constantly repeat - mostly idiomatic. </p>
<p>So, I'm wondering how I should study ... I have a month left till the test basically. I'm a tad worried about the essay, since last time I got a 6. This time I have that formula thing down, but I haven't actually been practicing WRITING the essays. I've just been thinking of examples I could use and jotting them down. Should I actually practice writing full essays?</p>
<p>It would be AWESOME if I could just push Math and Reading up to the 700-730 range. Should i keep taking practice tests? Will that help?</p>
<p>As an SAT Math tutor and author of an SAT Math prep book I can give the following tips:</p>
<p>(1) Learn SAT specific math strategies. If you don’t know these, then you are putting yourself at a serious disadvantage. For example, if you find yourself doing algebra or complicated computations, then you are not optimizing your score.
(2) Practice SAT math problems 10 to 20 minutes per night. This will maximize your retention and keep you from burning out.
(3) Redo every problem you get wrong OVER and OVER and OVER again (a few days apart each time) until you can get the question correct ON YOUR OWN.
(4) Practice problems of the appropriate level.
(5) Practice tests should be taken just a few times to make sure you are applying all the right strategies under timed conditions, and to make sure you are familiar with the structure of the test. This is NOT the time that you are actively improving your score.</p>
<p>same, i’ve been doing the PR 11 practice tests, but i don’t know if they’re helping. the explanations are sometimes still pretty confusing.<br>
and for the BB w/ the 8 practice tests, there are no explanations at the back. how do i improve if i don’t know what i’m doing wrong on those?</p>
<p>I don’t think that the practice tests alone with help I’m trying to raise my score by 200+ points by October and I learned that just doing BB tests over and over is not helping. I think that I really have to figure out which sections are hard for me and review them until I know exactly what to do. I really recommend buying a workbook for math (I personally use Barron’s Math Workbook which I think is great) and writing as well.</p>
<p>DrSteve, why do you say that practice tests do not help one improve their score? Personally, I’ve found them to be immensely helpful, raising my scores from 2050-2070s to 2250-2300s. I’m quite sure this is the case for most other students as well.</p>
<p>If you take practice tests and review carefully (checking EVERY answer you were unsure of), it’s sure to be a boon to your score. Where have you gathered this notion that practice tests, generally, do nothing at all?</p>
<p>You have a different meaning of taking a practice test than I do. If you take a practice test, check your score, and never look at those problems again, then your score cannot possibly improve. Your score does not improve by getting questions right - it only improves by learning from your mistakes. (This may seem obvious to you, but it is NOT obvious to many students.)</p>
<p>If you review the questions you got wrong to see the mistakes that you made, and learn what you did wrong, then you may see improvement. </p>
<p>If you periodically redo the problems you got wrong until you get them right on your own, now you are actually practicing SAT problems. In this case you will see substantial improvement.</p>
<p>So Studious, the way that you are taking practice tests is not a bad way to study, and is sure to boost your score. In fact, I don’t have any particular problem if you choose to study this way.</p>
<p>However, it is NOT the ideal way to study. You are not using your time as effectively as you could. Your score is improving when you get problems wrong, then periodically redoing them until you get them right. Furthermore, you can’t retain an hour’s worth of information all at once. So why not just spend 20 to 30 minutes a night doing problems, periodically repeating problems until you get them right? This will get you the maximum score with the minimum amount of effort. You can focus on the topics and difficulty levels that are at and slightly above your current ability.</p>
<p>Do you need to take full practice tests? Yes. But just a few. When you take a practice test, you are simply checking your current score and practicing implementing SAT strategies under timed conditions. Make sure that when you do take a practice test, you keep redoing the ones you got wrong once a week until you can get them right on your own. Do you need to keep redoing all of them? No! If you’re getting all the level 4 and level 5 problems wrong, then don’t worry about the level 5 problems. Hold off on them until you can get most of the level 4 problems right.</p>
<p>Where can one find more of a specific type of problem (ex. level 5 algebra problems?) I would very much benefit from sets of these, and not just in math.</p>
<p>@DrSteve: Alright, I see what you’re saying. It’s not the test-taking that improves your score but the review (including reworking questions). I did, in fact, see that to be obvious. Who doesn’t review what they get wrong?</p>
<p>Additionally, I do go back and rework problems that I had trouble with before. After I take a full-length test, I only have 10 or fewer missed questions, which means I don’t have that much to review (surely less than 30 minutes).</p>
<p>However, redo-ing problems doesn’t work for everything–it really only works for math. Even then, I don’t tend to forget the explicit information in the problem (I seldom forget the answer to the question). Thus, reworking problems tends to simply help me to solidify the process of solving the problem, but not necessarily allow me to completely resolve the question (after all, I already know the answer).</p>
<p>That would work, except that I want practice questions from all three sections, and I want to keep my budget low. If you know of any, uhh, cheaper ways to get that book or such problems, you can PM me. ;)</p>
<p>@Studious: I should have said that my advice is only for math. I have no expertise in verbal. Thanks for reminding me that this thread is about both.</p>
<p>One suggestion I have is to try to give yourself enough time to forget problems you get wrong before attempting them again. For most students this is just a few days to a week. But if you have high retention, you may need to wait longer. </p>
<p>You would be surprised how many students don’t do things that may seem obvious to you or me. I suspect that it’s not the case for most people on this forum, but I prefer for my advice to be relevant to the least motivated students. The stronger students tend to do the right thing anyway, and they just need a little fine tuning.</p>
I’m trying to raise my score by 200+ points by October and I learned that just doing BB tests over and over is not helping. I think that I really have to figure out which sections are hard for me and review them until I know exactly what to do. I really recommend buying a workbook for math (I personally use Barron’s Math Workbook which I think is great) and writing as well.</p>