<p>I see now that we are fundamentally in agreement. When it comes to evaluation of performance, one cannot beat the real test. Practice and learning subject matter are not the same as evaluation. <<<</p>
<p>I will not answer for SatQuantum, but your conclusion cannot be derived from his post about using the official test. I am afraid you are missing the point that the IDEAL preparation phase also relies on official tests. I do not understand what purpose is served from making a distinction between preparing and evaluating as one prepares for the test by practicing with tests and using source materials to refresh or acquire the necessary skills. </p>
<p>The discussion in this thread is about practice tests, and not generic materials.</p>
<p>@gpakistan, another section that CB throws in there that doesn’t affect your score. I think it’s used for statistical purposes, including scaling the scores.</p>
<p>xiggi: “I will not answer for SatQuantum, but your conclusion cannot be derived from his post about using the official test.”</p>
<p>Wood5440: I see now that we are fundamentally in agreement. When it comes to EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE (caps added), one cannot beat the real test. Practice and learning subject matter are not the same as evaluation. <<<</p>
<p>SATQuantum: "Here I list reasons why Collegeboard’s Practice Test should be used exclusively for EVALUATING PERFORMANCE (caps mine) during SAT preparation:</p>
<p>xiggi: “I am afraid you are missing the point that the IDEAL preparation phase also relies on official tests.”</p>
<p>Wood5440: The key word being “also”. Testing alone is not enough. If it were, classes would be taught exclusively using tests. There would be no lectures, no assigned reading, no hands on projects, no demonstrations, no discussions. IDEAL preparation includes learning the skills and concepts that the SAT tests, in addition to practice taking the test itself. This is a point that you acknowledge yourself. …</p>
<p>xiggi: “I do not understand what purpose is served from making a distinction between preparing and evaluating” (see above) as one prepares for the test by practicing with tests AND (caps mine) using source materials to refresh or acquire the necessary skills.</p>
<p>xiggi: “The discussion in this thread is about practice tests, and not generic materials.” </p>
<p>Wood5440: I see your view of permissible discussion comments is as inflexible as your view of appropriate practice materials. I thought it appropriate to make the point about the value of using prep materials other than the College Board Blue Book when I saw that the OP took your comments and those of SATQuantum as an indication that all other materials should be avoided…</p>
<p>gpakistan: “thank you! today, i have completely switched to the blue book and pretty much got rid of all my other ones.”</p>
<p>Wood5440: It seemed to me that your advice led the OP to throw out the baby with the bathwater.</p>
<p>When you take the test, one of the seven sections is an experimental section. The experimental section is used by the College Board to test prospective questions that are to be used on future tests. You will not know which section it is, but it is a section that is most likely to contain defective questions. The CB uses statistical analysis to identify those defective questions. They avoid a lot of legal problems that way. </p>
<p>The score you get on the experimental section is not counted on your test, but the experimental section can affect your performance if it comes early in the test and defective questions cause you to become discouraged.</p>
<p>If your test has four math sections and three verbal sections, then the experimental section of your test will be one of the math sections. If you find you have an especially hard time with one math section, it is best to chalk it up to being the experimental section. You can relax and go on expecting the score on that section to be thrown out.</p>
<p>I personally recommend using the questions from the official collegeboard tests for the preparation stage as well. How best to do that is something not really elaborated in any books or guides. Here is the general format I follow:</p>
<p>1) Establish initial baseline for SAT score using an official SAT practice test.</p>
<p>2) Teach the core concepts tested on SAT using my own notes/videos. </p>
<p>3) Assign homework segmented by topics and level. I use the four practice tests in the Official Guide(#7, #8, #9, #10), but one could use the Practice Quizzes[200 Questions] that are part of the Official Online SAT Course.</p>
<p>4) The first three steps help lay a solid foundation of core concepts. After that it is all about taking practice tests under timed conditions and carefully reviewing mistakes.</p>
<p>The test prep books can be of value in Step 2 as far as teaching the concepts are concerned. Some are of questionable value and others do a decent job. But, I would personally recommend using the official tests as a source of practice problems as well. Of course, the test prep companies have to claim that they have proprietary methods and tricks to conquer SAT, and also fatten their books with tests of questionable value, but those are mostly marketing ploys, and something that is prevalent in all fields(how to eat healthy, how to lose weight, how to get rich, etc.)</p>
<p>Now, if one were to ask me about the SAT Math Subject test the advice would be different because of the lack of adequate number of official practice tests that have been released.</p>
<p>Frankly, I have a hard time following this conversation and why there appears to be a disagreement. My point is very simple, and it relates to the uses of tests in both preparation and evaluation of this preparation. If you were to read the bulk of my posts in this forum (good luck with that) you will learn that I do not pay much attention to partial scoring, but place much importance in preparing with the best approach and tools.</p>
<p>As far as source or reference material, there come from a multitude of sources. As far as the test one should use, the conclusion is, however, different as I recommend to use the released ETS/TCB tests above all other synthetic tests. </p>
<p>If you disagree with my recommendation, so be it. I simply share what I THINK is the best.</p>
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<p>Again, I am not following your point. Obviously, anyone can start threads in this forum and discuss anything he or she thinks is important. On the other hand, there is no need to introduce strawmen arguments.</p>