SAT Preparation
SAT
The Scholastic Aptitude
Test, also known as the SAT, is taken by high school juniors and seniors
applying to colleges and universities. This exam can be taken internationally
six times during the year. Find out when to take it, how to take it, and why as
we discuss the SAT in more detail.
The Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT, is a global recognized test admitting students into colleges and universities all over the United States.
About the
SAT
The SAT test is taken by
high school students to demonstrate to colleges what the prospective student
knows and how well they can apply their knowledge. There are three aspects of
the test: reading, writing, and math. SAT scores are sent out to your desired
colleges and universities as part of the admissions package.
Colleges and universities
look at the combination of high school grades and SAT scores. This combination
serves as a prediction of a student’s future academic success. A student’s
scores on the reading, math, and writing sections will project the student’s
ability to handle college courses in critical reading, mathematics, and
writing. The content of these courses is more complex in college than it is in
high school, but the skills and their practical application are the same.
The skills assessed on the
SAT are skills that you have been learning since you started grade school. The
skills that will be assessed are critical reading, grammar and usage,
identifying errors in a written passage, arithmetic operations, algebra,
geometry, statistics, and probability. You will show your knowledge of these
skills through the process of answering multiple choice questions. There will
also be a written essay portion of the exam. The SAT is meant to show your
scholastic ability. Logic and abstract thinking are not tested during the
taking of the SAT.
Format
The SAT is the more
reliable and validated standardized test in the United States and around the
world. The three sections are all assessed during the same day. The SAT is a
timed test. The test, if a student uses all the time available to them, takes
three hours and 45 minutes. Within these three skill sets—reading, mathematics,
and writing—there are 10 separately timed sections. Three sections of the test
focus on reading, three on mathematics, and three on writing.
The tenth section is a
variable section that could be any one of the three subjects. This last section
is not scored. Possible SAT questions are being tested on students every year.
This final section is made up of questions that a board of educators has
already approved for the SAT question bank, but need to be tested on current
high school students. SAT questions are constantly being changed and updated.
Questions are tested on current high school students to determine whether they are
learning these topics in school or not. The SAT is a test that assesses the
reading, writing, and mathematical skills that students have been taught from
grades K-12 (with perhaps the exception of English if that is your second
language).
How To
Prepare
In order to prepare for the
SAT, you must know what type of questions to study for. Questions on the SAT
are multiple choice, student-produced responses (in the math section) and there
is an essay format as well.
The critical
reading section of the SAT includes reading passages and sentence
completions. Passages are provided and students will be asked to answer
questions about the passages. Students will also be given a sentence, and asked
to choose the word that best completes the sentence. Students preparing for the
SAT should prepare for these questions by studying common vocabulary words.
The multiple choice
questions and student produced questions in the math sections are
divided into three sections and focus on arithmetic operations, algebra,
geometry, statistics, and probability. By the time this test is taken, junior
or senior year in high school, a student should have taken courses covering all
of these mathematical topics. A test taker is allowed to bring an approved
calculator, and a reference sheet of conversions will be provided.
The writing section has
multiple choice questions as well as a hand written essay portion. The multiple
choice questions ask students to identify errors in sentences and passages and
improve grammar and usage. The short essay is an opinion piece. A prompt is
given to the test takers on the day of the test. After being given the prompt,
the student has a set amount of time to write a complete short essay with a
beginning, middle, and end.
Once you know the type of
questions and format for each skill set assessed, you can then start to review
the content. There is a SAT prep soft cover book that can be purchased at a
nationally known bookstore or borrowed from your public library. This SAT prep
book will give you sample tests with SAT questions used in the past. It is not
the exact test that you will be taking, but a simulation of the number of
questions and types of questions to expect, and will give you an accurate score
of how well you did on the sample test.
SAT
Registration
Registration for the SAT
exam can be done online. The cost is typically $51 USD for the standard SAT
exam and can be paid for at the time of registration. The SAT exam is offered
seven times a year in the US and six times a year internationally. The months
in which the test is offered are October, November, December, January, March
(U.S.A only), May, and June. The registration deadline for the SAT exam is a
month prior to the date in which you plan to take it. For most, the SAT exam
needs to be taken two times. In order to figure out when you need to take the
test, determine the application deadlines of all the schools to which you plan
to apply.
Night
Before the SAT
The night before the SAT
exam is crucial for student’s success. It’s never a good idea to try to cram a
last-minute study session the night before the exam. You need to make sure that
you can get a good night’s sleep—at least eight hours.
Preparing
for Test Day
On the day of your SAT
exam, there are some things you will need and some things that should be left
at home. First of all, you will need a form of identification and your SAT
admission ticket that you received when you registered for the SAT exam. Remember
to take water and a snack for break times. You will not be allowed to leave the
room if you finish a section early. With this being said, bring a book to read.
Keep an eye on the time so you know how much time you can spend on a particular
section. Bring a couple (at least two) sharpened number 2 pencils with good
erasers.
For the math section, you
are allowed to bring a calculator. There are strict policies regarding
calculators. You are allowed to bring a graphing calculator, scientific
calculator, or a four-function calculator, although the last one is not
recommended. You are not permitted to bring a laptop, iPad, cell phone
calculator, calculator that is a TI-92 plus or Voyage 200, or calculators that
use an electrical outlet or have a paper tape.
Bringing certain items into
the exam room could result in you being kicked out of the exam. Leave cell
phones at home or in your car. You are also going to want to leave any music
device at home, such as MP3 players or iPods.
SAT
Scoring
What is the SAT scoring
system? Each of the three subjects tested on the SAT is scored separately,
giving you three separate scores for the SAT exam. The scores are combined to
form the overall SAT score. Colleges and universities look at each skill’s
score separately as well as the overall SAT score.
The SAT exam gives the test
taker points for getting the answer correct. One point is awarded for each
question answered correctly. For wrong multiple choice answers, ¼ of a point is
subtracted. For wrong student produced answers, zero points are given or
subtracted. For omitted questions, a test taker does not get positive points or
subtracted points, just zero points for each of the omitted questions. This
being the case, students should not guess on the SAT, but rather skip questions
they do not know how to answer.
Your raw score which could
be between 20-80 points per each math and reading section is then converted to
a scaled score (reported on a 200-800 scale) by a statistical process called
equating. The writing essay portion is based on a 0-6 scale, 6 being the
highest score. This score is equated to the 200-800 scale as well. Equating
allows comparisons among test takers who take different editions of the test.
Although the SAT is the
commonly used formative assessment and is accepted by virtually all colleges
and universities in the United States and around the world, there are other
reasons a student should take the SAT. The SAT shows how you apply the
thinking, writing and study skills required for college course work, and
provides an opportunity for scholarship money. Colleges and universities grant
scholarships to high academic students coming into the freshman class. SAT
scores play a role in who is awarded these scholarships.
When a colleges look at
your admission’s package, they look at a wide range of areas to get to better
know you. Colleges and universities look at extracurricular activities,
personal recommendations, high school courses taken, high school grades as well
as a formative assessment, like the SAT.
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