<p>Hi 3ks et al--</p>
<p>This has been really interesting to read. I have a couple more comments that I'm very eager to contribute, and I plan to do that tomorrow (I'm extremely busy right now with customer emails).</p>
<p>See you guys then!</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p>3ks,</p>
<p>When I was a public HS student many years ago, very few students I knew had any professional help for the SATs. However, my first semester senior year English teacher had written the most popular review book which was used for the verbal part of the exam. He dedicated a portion of our daily class to SAT test prep. When I bumped into him 2nd semester Senior year, he asked me if I had increased my SATs from Junior to Senior. I replied, "yep, 140 points". He seemed pleased with himself until I added "30 points on Verbal & 110 on Math."</p>
<p>My point is that IMO repeated test taking does help to increase scores, and may be more valuable than all of the tutoring & study. My daughter's school encourages the IB kids to take the PSATs freshman year. Her Sophomore score, if allowed, would have qualified her for NM semifinalist, and her Junior score was even higher.</p>
<p>Hi everybody--</p>
<p>I'd like to respond to some of the things that taxguy, godot, and 3ks have written, and add some of my own thoughts.</p>
<p>First, my answers to 3ks's questions:</p>
<p>(1) I agree with audiophile that the natural progression from one test to the next can certainly be significant. Indeed, the only "prep" I ever did for the SAT was actually taking the SAT. As others have noted, the more a student engages himself in the process of taking the test and paying attention to the "games" it plays, the more the student can improve with each new test day. In essence, you're back to Xiggi's method, with previous official SATs just filling in for the practice tests Xiggi would have you take at home. Of course, with the "multiple test" method, there's probably a less rigorous examination of your errors on past tests, but still--the repeated exposure to the test can only help in most students' cases.</p>
<p>I should note that, as with other methods, the more self-motivated the student, the better 3's S's approach will be. If a student doesn't pay attention to the test, it will make little difference whether he's seen it before. (See below for more.)</p>
<p>(2) The problem of evaluating a tutor beforehand is a very serious one, and I'm afraid I don't know of any good way around it. If you have close friends who have tried tutors in the past, listen to what they have to say--hopefully they have somebody good and effective to recommend. Short of that, you're in a tough position. Many parents that I've worked with ask for the tutor to sit for half an hour with the student for free beforehand to see how the two get along. This is problematic for at least two reasons--first, many tutors are insulted by the request (although I wasn't), and second, almost anyone, no matter how bad a person, can get along with someone for half an hour. :) So I'd say the only way you can really gauge a tutor is to use her for a couple of sessions, get the student's feedback, and go elsewhere if you're not happy. I'd be very interested to see if anybody else has another solution.</p>
<hr>
<p>To answer taxguy, I can't imagine that it would take anyone as <em>long</em> as 4 months to cover the SAT in the classroom (I'm not including time spent taking practice tests in this estimate--I'm just talking about actual instruction time). This probably puts me and taxguy at completely opposite ends of the SAT prep spectrum. Taxguy especially seems to think that the new Writing section will take a long time to prepare for. I disagree with this, and the reason for my disagreement got me thinking . . .</p>
<p>In my opinion, there are two ways to beat the SAT, roughly speaking:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>you can beat it by being generally knowledgeable, well-read, and mentally quick in exactly the ways that the SAT rewards, and/or</p></li>
<li><p>you can beat it by catching on to the weaknesses inherent in the test's standardization and exploiting them</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Of course, many people use both approaches to varying degrees. But, in general, there are solutions to questions based on what you actually know and could have explained to another person before the test, and there are solutions to questions based on what you can figure out from the situation presented by the question <em>combined with what you know about the SAT's design.</em></p>
<p>I completely agree with taxguy that it would take well over 4 months to teach a person to be generally knowledgeable et cetera in exactly the ways rewarded by the SAT. It takes at least a young lifetime to get to be that way, and most of us don't get there by the time we're in high school--which is, I think, exactly what that SAT <em>purports</em> to show when it gives a low score. So if you want to beat the SAT by becoming an extremely "smart" person in all the ways rewarded by the SAT, you're looking at a very long project indeed.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you exploit the test's design, you can increase scores very quickly WITHOUT necessarily increasing the student's useful academic knowledge.</p>
<p>As an example--you could learn to answer the old analogies by learning every word in the English language (an extreme example, of course), or you could learn certain design patterns the CollegeBoard used in writing those questions and figure out how to leverage your existing knowledge.</p>
<p>When it comes to the writing assignment on the current test, you can beat that by (1) becoming a decent writer, which takes years of dedicated practice, or by (2) learning exactly which essay traits are rewarded by SAT graders and learning a formulaic way to include them all in your essay, which takes about an hour or two.</p>
<p>Unquestionably, the first approach will make you a better, more well-rounded person in addition to potentially increasing your SAT score (though, for that matter, there is some evidence that actually being a "good writer" as that term is widely understood today actually hurts you on the SAT, but you know what I mean). But the second approach is a lot faster and more efficient with respect to the SAT.</p>
<p>Which one is actually "better?" I don't know. I know I prefer the second approach, myself, but I can't deny that a person who learns the SAT from me learns precious little besides what she needs for the test, except perhaps some general strategic thinking by example.</p>
<p>I would be inclined to think that anybody with a normal high school background who spends a year of instruction time getting ready for the SAT is maybe overdoing it. I don't doubt that most people would benefit greatly from a year of dedicated work and gradual development, but I just don't think it's necessary. As I said somewhere else, I think in an email class, over-preparing for the SAT is like driving from South Carolina to Florida by way of California--it's possible, and you'll certainly be a better driver with a lot of life experience at the end of such a long trip, but if your goal is simply to get from South Carolina to Florida then there are far more efficient methods.</p>
<p>Having said that, if you have the time, resources, and dedication, then I'd say go for it--I can't imagine that such a long program of study could do anything but help.</p>
<hr>
<p>I also wanted to point out, for anyone who's unsure, the difference between "Xiggi's method" and the standard approach to self-studying, since I don't know if that's been spelled out anywhere. (If I'm repeating something someone else has written elsewhere, please forgive me.)</p>
<p>The problem is that many students who self-study don't learn from their mistakes and don't practice the right things. They take a practice test from K, PR, B, or whomever, score it, and then they're done with that practice test and on to the next one. Because of this, they're not really getting ready for the right types of questions (because they're not using CB questions), and they're not learning to plug the gaps in their approach to the SAT (because they never stop to consider where those gaps are). These students are essentially spinning their wheels, and, as a result, many of them don't score as high as they could.</p>
<p>With Xiggi's method, after you've scored the test the work has only just begun. You still have to figure out why you missed what you did, and correct yourself so you don't make the same mistake in the future. This can be very time-consuming and frustrating, but it is absolutely worth it and it will pay off handsomely.</p>
<p>Another bunch of random, scattered thoughts--hope somebody out there finds it useful :)</p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p>Grammatix backwards, and others . . .</p>
<p>Thanks for addressing the issue of evaluating tutors. When I briefly shopped around the idea of tutoring, I felt heavily influenced by the guarantees (read carefully) and the so-called professional background of the tutors. Many are grad students, and an equal number are local high school teachers hanging out a shingle (scary and hardly convincing in the cases where I know the teachers). A Vice-Principal at our school resigned and is now running a SAT Prep company, same with an AP English teacher. You would not believe the number of parents in our area who have middle school children and are already hiring SAT tutors for the CTY programs! This SAT Prep is getting out of hand.</p>
<p>With that rant said and not wanting to waste anyones time, perhaps you and the other posters could help CC parents by outlining some basic criteria to look for. </p>
<p>For example, you all seem to agree that it is most desirable to find a program based on Official College Board tests. Some of you have quite a library of CB materials that would take an individual a while to acquire on their own. Likewise, you seem to agree that tutoring or self-study should begin with a diagnostic from a practice test to evaluate the student's strengths and weaknesses.</p>
<p>So then, is the value-added material of a tutor, over self-study, the experience and analysis of recognizing SAT patterns and then deriving techniques or shortcuts? Or is the value-added material of a tutor the targeted and personal evaluation of that particular student's progress? Or both? In hindsight, these are questions I would ask.</p>
<p>Also, is it reasonable to inquire how many times the tutor has taken the test and what their results were? I've seen PeteSAT remark on how many times he has taken the test and I find that reassuring.</p>
<p>Finally as to timing, in retrospect it would have been nice to be ready for the Junior year. But I wonder if the full import and motivation would have been there in the summer before the testing takes place in the Spring. Any thoughts on timing?</p>
<p>Audiophile . . . I like how your D's school brings the PSAT test along from freshman year on. The scores aren't reported and students benefit from the practice.</p>
<p>Again thanks for all your help. We are done, but hopefully parents can avoid some of the hype and waste money on the latest shingle. I agree with Xiggi that this can be done on one's own. I also acknowledge how flexible Xiggi's approach is when students already have extremely demanding schedules. I also know kids and their lack of motivation and discipline in many cases. A tutor is helpful for the structure, so to each his own.</p>
<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>Sorry I havent posted for a few days. Ive been extremely busy tutoring for SATs, SAT IIs and finals, so I hope youll forgive my temporary absence. And I hope some of you actually had time to enjoy the Memorial Day weekend Im going to have to catch up on my recreational time this summer. :)</p>
<p>Ive just had the chance to catch up on this fantastic thread, and thought Id throw a few more comments into the ring.</p>
<p>3Ks, I think the value of a good tutor (or a good class) comes from a combination of 1) experience and familiarity with the SAT and its inherent patterns, 2) learning or developing various approaches to those patterns (often more than one approach for each specific question type, 3) tailoring the approach to the needs of the particular student (or even group of students in a class), and 4) a true understanding of the actual math or grammar etc. concepts being tested. Flexibility is a major component, but so is a true understanding of how a variety of students approach different material, and being able to coach any student at their optimal level of understanding. One of the best tutors Ive even know, for example, could talk to a 3 year old or a Nobel prize winning physicist with equal dexterity, speaking on their level without sounding either pedantic or foolish. Thats a bit of an extreme example, but you get the point. (That particular tutor sometimes forgot to eat for a couple of days at a time, but thats another story.)</p>
<p>I also agree that it is difficult to evaluate potential tutors. I personally try exclusively to hire tutors with whom I have worked extensively in the past. Currently, all of my tutors have at least 10 years of tutoring experience (or teaching experience We also do a lot of academic tutorials and I hire top-notch high school teachers as subject-specific tutors.) This really limits my potential pool of tutors, so my company has stayed fairly small. The few times I do hire tutors from outside my pool of colleagues, I run them through the ringer. I test them, have them teach and tutor me extensively so I can assess their style and knowledge, and then train them further. (There are always exceptions, of course. Id hire Xiggi in a second, despite the fact that he doesnt have 10 years of tutoring under his belt. :) ) I never want to send out a tutor I dont trust completely.</p>
<p>That said, not everyone holds his or her tutors to the same standard. There is really only one way to approach finding a tutor: get personal recommendations from friends, colleagues, other parents, etc. Sometimes guidance counselors are good resources for tutors, but often they dont have any experience with the specific tutors they recommend. As Mike said, give one of these recommended tutors a couple of sessions and assess, with your kid, whether the tutor is helping, and whether the student and tutor are compatible. If not, dont be afraid to switch tutors immediately.</p>
<p>I do think that taking the actual SAT is an important exercise for tutors. It keeps the experience fresh and allows us to have a better understanding of what students are going through. I dont sit every SAT, but I make sure to take a test every chance I can reasonably fit it into my schedule. When I cant take a test that is released, I get a copy of the test as soon as possible and take it in one sitting. I owe it to my students to keep on top of any subtle changes in the test or its patterns.</p>
<p>Taxguy, I completely agree with Mike that you dont need an overwhelming amount of time to prepare most students for the SAT. The writing section, which you mentioned in particular, is actually quite easy to prep for. Mikes 9 hour course, as Godot also mentioned, seems a little short to me, but I havent taken it, and his materials get high marks from everyone, so he may be on to something with a shorter course. There are things that students can do over a longer period of time, but the actual test prep can easily be done in a couple of months give or take.</p>
<p>For long-term prep, students really need to focus on the things that they should be getting in school. Reading higher-level material can be extremely helpful for reading comprehension over the long term. Learning lots of vocabulary is definitely a long-term process for most people. There has been a lot of discussion about the value of studying vocab for the SAT in the short term, but I dont think anyone would argue that significantly increasing ones vocabulary over the course of a year or more can help on the SAT and in high school and college.</p>
<p>In the short term, I do think some vocab studying can help, but as I mentioned before, it is hit and miss. For most students, there is a tremendous amount of luck involved in the vocab that appears on the SAT. Techniques for approaching vocab-based questions, which all of us advocate, are great, but they can only take you so far. Vocab still plays a part, especially for students with a smaller vocabulary. On one of the old SATs last year, for example, a student of mine told me he was able to answer 12 hard sentence completion and analogy questions because of the vocab hed learned from the hard vocab list I gave him to study. The test was not released, so I was not able to check his numbers, but he ended up scoring an 800 when we expected him to get around a 720. He got lucky. Very lucky. (As Xiggi or Mike mentioned earlier, he probably would have gotten some of those questions right by guessing or eliminating other wrong answers, but at the very least, he bought himself more time to work on other questions.) On the next test, only 3 or 4 words off of my hard list appeared. (And for the record, my hard list contains about 300 words.)</p>
<p>Jumping to an unrelated point, on the 27th, Mike posted a message that included an explanation of why Kaplan is bad. I fundamentally agree with everything he said. If an excellent teacher taught party line Kaplan techniques, the results wouldnt be fantastic. Ditto for Princeton Review (the company with which I started my tutoring career.) However, really good teachers dont do that. They expand and revise the materials based on their experience. I probably taught about 50% of my classes from the PR manual, choosing the stuff I thought worked well and skipping the stuff I could teach better. But my adjustments only came with time and experience in addition to any insight I had when I began teaching. Just to be clear, this doesnt always sit well with the prep companies, though, because theyve become so corporate. Mikes Kaplan experience may be the norm. It really depends on the particular office. I guess I was lucky and worked for offices with managers who understood that good teachers used the manual as a basic guide and taught their own way when necessary.</p>
<p>OK, so what does that mean? It means that you have to get pretty lucky to get a really great teacher from TPR or Kaplan. If youre thinking of going that way, its always best to get recommendations from students who have taken the class and rave about their teacher. Then, insist on getting into that teachers class. If the companies balk, skip them.</p>
<p>If I dare say, it seems like all of us are basically saying a lot of the same things. Let me summarize (and, Im sure, put words into all of your mouths forgive me if I misrepresent especially Mike, since I have not yet read your book and dont really know your specific approaches):</p>
<p>Every student is different!
- many but not all students benefit from various prep books.
- many but not all students benefit from good classes.
- many but not all students benefit from good private tutors.
- many students dont need any help. They can do it all on their own.</p>
<p>Learning the patterns that appear on the SAT and how to approach them is important!
- Xiggi recommends figuring them out by reading lots of prep books and taking lots of tests for most students.
- Mike recommends a specific approach to each question type, which may or may not require lots of practice, depending on the student.
- Godot recommends good tutors or good classes to get the student to an understanding more quickly and efficiently for most students.
- All of these methods are about increasing speed and accuracy and finding the simplest way to get to the correct answer.</p>
<p>Learning from your mistakes is imperative!
- Xiggi: do it yourself by carefully reviewing your mistakes.
- Mike: learn the patterns and approaches so you dont make the mistakes.
- Godot: let a good tutor or class help you learn how to avoid your mistakes in the future.</p>
<p>Use REAL test questions!
- Everyone agrees that using practice tests from the CBs book is the way to go, whether you work on your own, with a tutor, or in a class.</p>
<p>I personally use all of the above approaches in varying degrees. I often tell prospective clients that they really dont need my services, that they can work through this stuff on their own. I suggest some clients take classes. Others I recommend use private tutors. It all depends on the student. I do my best to assess a students particular needs by giving a diagnostic test, talking to parents and talking to the kids themselves.</p>
<p>I think it is important to keep in mind the most important message in this thread: you can improve your scores! You just need to find the best approach that fits you style, you schedule and your budget.</p>
<p>And finally, I just want all contributing to this thread to know how much I respect your opinions. This is great stuff.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for making this thread better and more detailed than its intended scope. I'm really happy to see that different opinions and ideas can be discussed without acrimony.</p>
<p>If I only could find the time to finish writing down my thoughts. :)</p>
<p>As you may expect, there is no universal answer to this question. For some, very little time will be required. For others, the process will require a lengthy revision of concepts and the development of an adequate strategy. </p>
<p>Normally, students who prepare for the SAT should have covered the concepts that will be tested during their high school career. While the former SAT covered material up to 9th grade, the new test has introduced a few concepts from 10th or 11th grade. However, despite the changes, the need to study in ANTICIPATION of the test should still be MINIMAL. In most cases, all what will be needed is to dust off concepts that may not have been used for a couple of years, and become familiar with the format and the rather arcane language of the SAT. </p>
<p>It is for this reason that I recommend to re-discover the material in the more interactive process of learning or re-learning while practicing. It is also important to repeat that it is not necessary to STUDY any of the source books I recommend at the end of this post. One of the reasons is that the knowledge that is needed to do well on the SAT is neither extensive nor complicate. What separates most students from a great score is rarely a lack of school knowledge, but a lack of familiarity with the test and a lack of time management concepts. On this issue, I believe -with great conviction- that the best way to improve ones test knowledge and learn how to manage time is through dedicated practices. The number of practices that will be needed is, however, entirely dependent on the background of the student. </p>
<p>Lets look at how this works! To begin, everyone should have the Official Study Guide. Yes, that is the fat Blue Book published by the College Board. The book contains sections filled with generic and mostly vapid advice. While reading the first 376 pages of the book can be instructive, it is NOT necessary to read them before getting to the real benefit of the book: the eight exams. In this regard, the blue book is a bit different from its predecessors, since the tests are a mix of old and newly developed questions. In fact, it requires a small leap of faith to believe that the tests published will be as foretelling as in the past. However, there are no known substitutes to the material released by the College Board. </p>
<p>So, what do we do with the eight tests. This is my recommendation: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Set aside 1 or 2 tests for the assessment and exploration phase. In this phase, I recommend to get all your books out and start answering the questions without any time limits. Whenever youre stumped, take a peek at the response or even at the fully developed answers that are posted on the TCB site. The idea is to understand how ETS writes its questions and what makes certain questions more difficult than others. It is in this phase that one will use the outside material the most. This is when you will read about the process of elimination, working backwards, and other techniques that are more common sense than any great secrets. It should not take more than a few hours to exhaust the strategies and tips published in the source books. So, do not overestimate the time needed to check the source books. Again, there is no need to read anything that was not covered in a question. The index and table of contents should be your best best friends. </p></li>
<li><p>For the second phase, youll need to answer the questions without open books, and with an eye on the clock. For the first test of this phase, you may cheat a bit and go over the allotted time. However, by the fourth (or third) test, you should be able to stay well within the limits. If you constantly need more time, it means that you are wasting time somewhere. This is where it is IMPORTANT to pay attention to your correct responses, and see if some different methods could have saved you precious time. For instance, spending 4-5 minutes on a single question unless it the last one on a section- is ALWAYS a bad idea. You need to develop the reflex to abandon questions that are known time-sinks, and develop your ability to recognize the lengthy questions. It is important to know that the TCB tests CAN be completed with time to spare. Not finishing a section is the result of poor time management and lacking skills, and not because of ETS trickiness. Also, realize that finishing a section with MUCH time to spare is also poor time management. Spend enough time on the SAT forum, and you will read about careless and dumb mistakes. Rushing through the test is never recommended!</p></li>
<li><p>The last phase involves taking one or more tests under testing conditions. Some people recommend to build up your stamina by working through a few 4 hours ordeals. As usual the more you do, the better your preparation will be. While I do not subscribe to the theory that it is essential to take the test in a single session, I would leave it as an individual choice! If you are worried about your resistance, by all means, take a few timed and complete tests. My personal view is that I rather keep the practice sessions as fun and painless as possible. The College Board has published reports that indicate that high school students are able to take tests for about six hours before showing signs of fatigue. Obviously, a grain of salt is sometimes necessary to digest the official reports from the College Board.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Again, it is important to repeat that NOT everyone will have to take the eight tests. For some, the eight tests will be a major overkill. I do believe that anyone who goes through a preparation that includes working on this many tests should be VERY CLOSE to his or her expected maximum scores. At the end of the preparation, every possible SAT concept should have been covered and reviewed adequately. If a student made sure to verify all the answers, look up and compare proposed answers and methods in the source books, or discuss the questions on the SAT forum at CC, he should encounter very few surprises on THE official test. </p>
<p>However, some students may require or desire more practice sessions. As time passes by, more tests will become available through releases by TCB. A subscription to the online course of TCB gives accept to three additional tests as well as access the grading system for essays. My recommendation is to sign up for the service, especially if you need more tests. </p>
<p>This brings us to the question about source books. While I recommend to acquire as many books as feasible, this does not mean that one has to buy and read ten to twenty books cover to cover. For the old SAT, the recommended books composed a pretty short list. For general strategies, most of the books published by Princeton Review, Kaplan, or Barrons represented a good start: the strategies for the math sections were pretty interchangeable, but the verbal strategies offered a few variances. As usual, during the preparation phases, a student should try the strategies that fit him or her better. I found that concepts such as read the passage first or read the questions first were NOT as important as the techniques needed to approach the sentence completions and reading comprehension sections. Among the books, one deserves a special mention: and that is Grubers. In general terms, Gruber went further and faster than the other authors, and its math section was deeper and better. Alas, Grubers also included many elements that went beyond the scope of the old SAT. I am not sure if Gary Gruber intends to update his book soon, but it is still a very good choice as a source book. Again, the source books are NOT meant to be studied cover-to-cover but are meant to be used as you would use encyclopedia. You look up concepts when needed, and not in anticipation of possible questions. Let the practice tests guide what you need to review!</p>
<p>With the changes for the new SAT, we also witnessed the arrival of a few new books. So far, the books written by Adam Robinson (Rocket Review) and Pete Edwards (Maximum SAT) have raised the bar considerably, especially in clarity and focus. I would highly recommend making the books part of your library. However, this does not mean that students should follow Adam Robinsons often pompous and grandiloquent- recommendations and subject themselves to his recommended game plan. Use Robinsons book as a source to clarify a few blurry concepts, but again, let the practices dictate what you need. In this regard, Maximum SAT provides a cleaner and more subtle approach. Without the annoying and mostly unfounded- rhetoric of Robinson, Maximum SAT is able deliver what it promises! In the same vein, the solutions book published by Testmaster(s) should be a very valuable tool for everyone, especially for developing a set of shortcuts and tools. </p>
<p>To round up your source books, I would also recommend to add a good grammar book as well as the Grammatix guide. Guide books are different from source books that tend to focus more on theoretical approaches and try to be more complete. Some people may not like the more direct and shorter style of a guide book, or even doubt the effectiveness of the methods. However, when it comes to the most challenging part of the SAT (critical reading) I have yet to read a book that can help anyone as much as and as fast the Grammatix guide. However, I view source books and guide books as being complementary. Being able to cherry-picking the best from all sources is the key to a good self-preparation. </p>
<p>Lastly, as far as PSAT books, the books that were published last summer were mostly equal in their mediocrity. My only recommendation is to wait for new books to surface during the summer or simply use the SAT books and ignore the essay discussions.</p>
<p>Tomorrow's installment: Is there a better time to take the SAT and how often can I take it?</p>
<p>Hi all--</p>
<p>I think Pete summed it all up perfectly, and Xiggi's last post is solid, as always. Well done! And thanks for the vote of confidence, Xiggi :)</p>
<p>Mike</p>
<p>More great advice from Xiggi, and thanks for the Kudos on the book!</p>
<p>I am in the "take four hour ordeal" sample tests group. I do think it's important to learn how fatiguing the test can be, how you react to that fatigue, and how you can overcome it. Losing focus is a major issue for a lot of students, and practicing ways to get back on track might be useful. Balanced snacks and electrolyte drinks during breaks can help a lot of people keep their energy level up. (You're not allowed to have food in the testing room, but you should be able to head to the hall during one of the short breaks for a few bites and sips.)</p>
<p>Xiggi is absolutely right about the importance of pacing. I say that it's NEVER a good idea to spend 4 or 5 minutes on a problem, even if it is the last question on a section (unless you're an SAT wizard who's shooting for that perfect score). Almost all students will be better served by looking back over the section and checking other questions that gave them trouble. And, as Xiggi said, if you have 5 minutes left at the end of a section, you may have gone a little too fast. Xiggi also said that "Not finishing a section is the result of poor time management and lacking skills, and not because of ETS trickiness." I personally think that it is exactly ETS' trickiness that results in poor time management...once you've learned that there is almost always an easy way to solve any question (especially math) and you threfore avoid the pitfalls of ETS' tricky questions, your pace will improve. As Xiggi said, the material that the SAT tests is not difficult...students should have covered all or most of it in high school. It's the way the questions are asked -- that "arcane language" -- that makes it tough.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that it's not always advisable to finish sections. Roughly speaking, if a student is scoring in the 650 or below range, finishing the test will very likely hurt his or her score because of the wrong answer penalty. (On the ACT on the other hand, there is no penalty for wrong answers.)</p>
<p>Keep it coming, Xiggi! And Mike, and Godot, and Mark, and everyone else!</p>
<p>So, when does the "Xiggi Method" manual go on sale? :)</p>
<p>On this issue, allow me to be a tad controversial and direct: You can take the SAT as many times as you want. This means that you should take it until you obtain the score that satisfies you. This said, you really should not HAVE to take the SAT more than a few times. If you plan your preparation correctly, you should be able to maximize your scores without having to spend too many Saturdays at a test center. With the availability of released tests and books, there is no reason to use an official setting as training grounds. There is no validity in taking the test to see where you fit or how well you could do. There is also little validity to repeat the effort shortly after the first attempt to see how much you improved naturally. There are always exceptions to the general rules, but I would always recommend to take your trial runs at home and use your SAT dates for bona fide efforts only. </p>
<p>Why do I believe that you can take the SAT almost at will? </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Despite a few common sense voices that will negatively depict a multiple tester as an obsessive candidate, there is little evidence if any- that colleges penalize multiple trials. On the contrary, schools are actively encouraging multiple trials by using the best individual scores or best one-sitting scores. It would be easy for schools to implement policies that discourage multiple trials: they could average scores or apply a diminishing scale to scores obtained on repeated tests. Yet, there is not a single confirmed report of a school applying such penalties. The evidence shows that schools show interest in your best scores, since it is in your and in THEIR best interest. I have to recognize that Chuck Hughes, a former Senior Admissions Officer at Harvard College, gave the following tip in his book: Never take the SAT I more than 3 times. However, as related in Tom Fischgrunds Perfect 1600 Score, the example of a student who was accepted at Harvard after scoring a 1600 on her FIFTH trial would contradict this position. Further, despite my multiple requests at various admission offices, no schools has ever accepted to acknowledge the existence of penalties for multiple trials. </p></li>
<li><p>It is important to know that, at most schools, the information sent by candidates is processed by technicians or other administrative personnel. The consensus is that only the BASIC information such as grades and test scores are copied onto the admission files used by the adcoms. While the detailed information does not disappear in a dark hole, it is very doubtful that the schools that receive tens of thousand of applications devote much time in analyzing the number of SAT attempts. Chances are that the adcoms will only see the sanitized test results and base their early selection on the best scores. </p></li>
<li><p>Even if a mild penalty for multiple attempts did exist, there are NO schools that give a bonus to reward a single attempt. If you obtain a 1450 on a first trial, no school would EVER round your score upwards or send you a brownie! If you consider your score sufficient for your target school, that is wonderful. However, if your score could be improved, you should NEVER hesitate to take the test again. </p></li>
<li><p>The current SAT has brought a lot of uncertainties about the possible comparisons of prior scores. For the next few years, adcoms will face students record that may present scores from different administrations. It would be extremely farfetched to believe that adcoms could penalize students who were caught in the cogs of changes. What if a student took the old SAT twice? Would it be fair to restrict this student to only ONE attempt on the current version? Obviously not! </p></li>
</ol>
<p>On the issue of best time of the year to take the SAT, the answer was clear and unequivocal before March 2005. All tests dates were equal and there was no benefit in analyzing the pool of candidates at a certain date to find a weaker date. Simply stated, since the curve was established before the test and based on prior scores, it made no difference whatsoever to tale the exam in October or May. The fact that some high-priced consultants -such as the infamous Mrs. Cohen- remain oblivious to this information only illustrates their lack of knowledge of the inner workings of the SAT. However, we have to recognize that this issue might be slightly different with the new SAT, and that The College Board has yet to issue a report on its use of experimental sections and new policies on equating. In the meantime, we can safely assume that TCB will maintain its past policies, and that there wont be any differences between the various administrations of the SAT.</p>
<p>The SAT Subject tests present a different situation and opportunity. It is also very simple: taking the SAT Subject tests immediately after completing the corresponding class at school is always a good idea. It is also a good idea to take the tests as early as possible and not wait until the last possible opportunity. In programming your SAT test dates, try to maintain a certain level of security. Every year, there are reports of closings due to inclement weather. Scheduling any SAT during the winter represents a risk that is best avoided. If you plan to take SAT Subject tests, do it as early as possible and you wont regret that decision.</p>
<p>One great attribute of sharing information for free is that the price is always right. This also allows detractors to point out that you "get" what you pay for! And then, I could always claim that I never had to refund a customer's money. :)</p>
<p>Now, let's jump onto the next post: ACT versus SAT.</p>
<p>Once again, great information! ACT vs. SAT is a post I'm eagerly awaiting!</p>
<p>actually i want to add something before you guys move on</p>
<p>I just graduated from high school just a couple of days ago and I just want to share my experiences with the SAT. </p>
<p>I was here on this forum in the summer of 2003 (posted as dkm back then). I really wanted thank xiggi and everyone back then for helping me. </p>
<p>I used the so called "xiggi method" back then and with some hardwork i managed to improve my SAT score from 1210 (first try) to 1460 (second try). I can assure you that the adivice xiggi gave out was some of the best you will ever hear, no books can even come close. </p>
<p>I am living proof his method works and furthermore I am not "extremely intelligent" like most people on these boards. I am just an average or above average student. </p>
<p>Anyway good luck to all you juniors taking the exam, just work hard.</p>
<p>I came to know of this thread only now, barely more than a day before the June 4 test! What a shame!</p>
<p>I don't have the CB book and I did my practice tests from the PR and the Gruber books! Am I screwed? Are my scores from the practice tests anywhere near accurate?</p>
<p>Maybe this entire thread should be moved to the SAT prep section. I don't know about any of the other parents, but I have no plans on taking the SAT soon. :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
In the same vein, the solutions book published by Testmaster(s) should be a very valuable tool for everyone, especially for developing a set of shortcuts and tools.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>What book are you referring to? If this is a book that provides the explanations for the questions in the blue book I would be very interested since the only way I know of to get those explanations is by paying for the expensive online course. A link would be helpful if this book is what I think it is. Thanks</p>
<p>Testmaster(s) has put out a book (ISBN: 0976744805) with "complete detailed solutions to every test" in the College Board's Official SAT Study Guide: for the New SAT<a href="ISBN:%200874477182">/u</a> as well as online essay and score analysis.</p>
<p>Hey Xiggi I was just wondering if you had any advice on ACT prep. I know that I will follow the basic formula of the Xiggi method only with the official ACT book. Unfortunately, there are only three practice tests in the ACT book. I know I can take the test and not report my score, but other than that any ideas to get my hands on more tests? Thanks. Also, I would like to know if there is any difference besides time between the ACT essay and the SAT essay?</p>
<p>ooooooooooops</p>