lockn

I found one of them:
http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_dow...on_booklet.pdf
The actual test starts on page 46.

ihs76

I've signed my son up for one of those $4000+ courses this summer. He's a math/physics geek and I have concerns about how he will do on the writing portion of the SAT. If it was just math/english, we could do it at home with books, but the writing... I'm not sure on that. In addition, the program also focuses on college app essay writing, another thing I'm a bit concerned about. There's college counseling as part of this program. He attends a so-so public school in a small town in podunk state. His counselor knows next to nothing, she doesn't understand why we weren't thrilled with his 203 on PSAT. So for us, it's more than the SAT prep. Sure I could spend the 4K elsewhere, but if I can improve his chances of getting into his dream school even 10-20% with it, it's OK by me. I'll keep my car an extra year or two.

Greg516

Yeah, I saw this article in the Wall Street Journal this morning. My school works with one of these prep courses (Revolution?) and mailed out advertisements to all the students for their summer program. I wasn't going to take it in the first place since I learn better when I'm studying by myself, not to mention the cost... this article reinforced that fact.

thinker88

@ihs76

I wouldn't say that the course is all bad because it seems to offer a lot more in areas outside of SAT prep, but I would note that a lot of colleges still do not put much trust in the Writing section due to the section's heavy reliance on a hastily written essay.

In fact, to prove such over-reliance, an MIT professor sent a handful of students to take the test an instructed them to write an essay that was boring and would generally be accepted as a poor example of writing in the real world. But the professor also instructed the students to write a very structured, five paragraph essay and include a few "five-dollar" words. The result - they all received perfect essay scores and an 800 on the writing section.

So well I think that in your situation the course seems to be merited, I wouldn't worry as much over the Writing section. Writing is more important in the application essay (which you alluded to).

dontworrybehappy

My 11th grade daughters scores increased 250 points after she studied with Summit Prep. While some kids can definitely do it on their own, a one-on-one tutor can work well for others. I am sure that colleges reviewing her application will assume that she had prep given that we are in a part of the country where most kids do receive some sort of prep. It saddens me overall how significant testing is in the college decision making process.

treemaven

This article provides more substance for my soapbox: The push for multiple test-taking, re-taking, and repetitive test prep courses are simply a scam dreamed up by the test providers. What started out as an 'objective' test that provided colleges with a means to compare/contrast students from various school districts has become a booming profit center for the test companies themselves, fueled by the ridiculous competitiveness of college admissions.

Theoretically, aren't these tests suppose to reflect what the student's capabilities coming out of high school are? And isn't that suppose to be a reflection of their innate abilities to reason and apply information as well as to reflect what they actually learned through their courses in high school. If they haven't learned the material, 'cramming' for these tests was suppose to be futile. None of these courses can substitute for the actual learning the kid has accomplished. The only thing that is beneficial is the opportunity to get a feel for the format and length of the test. However, if every kid walked into the test cold (like we all did back in the dark ages when I took the test--once), that field would be level. No, not all kids would have the same degree of comfort, but isn't that really part and parcel of what the test is suppose to reflect?

The best preparation was suppose to be 'get a good night's sleep', relax, and trust that you learned what you were suppose to----assuming you went to class, stayed awake, and did your homework.

However, it has morphed into this race to beat the system by taking multiple test prep courses, 'studying'/cramming information, taking, and re-taking the tests. To the extent that all of that does alter the test scores of the students, doesn't that really just serve to negate the premise that (barring some unfortunate incident, like real illness or trauma on or immediately before the big test day) the test reflect a student's college readiness and inherent reasoning abilities? Isn't this skewing of the test performance what has led to the colleges now requiring additional test results, such as multiple SAT IIs/subject tests? What IS the deal with subject tests?????? Isn't that what the kid's high school course grades are for?? Isn't that what the AP test scores could answer??? What is the point of all these extra tests?????? Why bother with the kid's high school transcript at all if he/she has to take a whole battery of additional tests to 'tell' the college what the kid did or didn't learn? Let's just forget daily high school course work, give the kid a few AP prep books, score that test; give them a couple SAT II prep books, score that test; pay for a few SAT prep courses, score that test, take it 2-3 times, superscore it and call it a day. Why should the kids bother going to high school day and day out???

Okay, rant over. I'll put the soapbox away . . . .

thinker88

@treemaven

I think that your worries about higher education are unfounded. Colleges require so much information because each piece of information does say different things. Grades show work ethic, whereas SAT IIs and APs show knowledge retention in a particular subject. SATs show a students innate ability to learn and some of the basic overall skills necessary for success in college and in life.

This ability doesn't change test by test and most of these hundred to two hundred point score gains occur in those originally receiving 500s or 600s, where simply test taking strategies can improve scores. For the students that are applying to better schools, these score increases rarely happen (i.e. an increase from 500 to 600 is realistic where an increase from 700 to 800 is not). I think that this takes out the "taking the test cold" element that you referred to.

The only problem I have with the SAT is the essay, which represents a students ability to write a sub-par paper on short notice (a worthless skill imo), and the fact that the Verbal section is based largely on vocabulary, which has nothing to do with intelligence.

taxguy

I have both taught the SATs and known kids to take some extensive tutoring for the SATs and ACTs. Here is why I have found in my experience:

1s SATs: Generally a general tutoring course will pull a kid up from 20-50 points. However, a kid with discipline, can have achieved the same results going through the SAT prep books. However, this does take a LOT of discipline and time management. HOWEVER, the typical course is 4-8 weeks in duration. I have known kids here in our high school have go to a tutor on a group basis weekly, plus do SAT assignments for over one- year! The results from this limited sample were spectacular increases from what they did on the SAT. I think the key is to have a long term form of intensive tutoring. This does seem to make a huge difference. I would bet that the College Board didn't evaluate these novel types of approaches. In addition, if they did, they surely aren't going to publish a report saying that long term tutoring will "outfox" the SAT.

2. For ACT: Interestingly, ACTs are more subject oriented. I would also say that long term tutoring for the ACT would make a major impact on the score while short term tutoring might improve the score by one point.

bluebayou

Sorry, treemaven, but I disagree with most of your assumptions.

Pehaps.

If the latter was true, colleges would only use Subject Test scores.

Disagree. The SAT math for example is nothing more than Algebra I and Geometry (+ a few Alg II problems). To make their curve, CB add logic to the math problems, requiring instant visualation of the problem to solve. Not all kids are naturally logical (or visual), but a course or self-prep can teach a kid to think like CB asks their questions. How many math classrooms ever do an average rate problem (A train leaves Chicago at the same time as one leaves NY...)? Knowing the formula to solve makes it easy. Not knowing the formula makes it impossible in the time allowed.

An impossible dream since some schools conduct prep during class time. And, of course, this eliminates those that have test anxiety.

[quote]No, not all kids would have the same degree of comfort, but isn't that really part and parcel of what the test is suppose to reflect?[/qupte]

Why would we care about a kid's "comfort"?

nemom

I suspect the scaling of the practice tests too - I think the one you take in the front of the book is easier than those in the back. And , yes, parents need to remember that most kids will improve over a few months even without any prep because they are , in fact, learning. Reading anything decent lifts reading skills. Doing math lifts math skills. Writing lifts writing skills. (And I think reading lifts writing skills because reading good stuff makes it easier to 'see' bad writing.)

mqt1279

My son just learned he scored only 1870 on the SAT. He got a 510 on Math, a real killer. He's a B math student, an A student in English and History (All AP classes). Any suggestions for helping him? Should he go to an intensive boot-camp followed by self-study or would a more sustained daily/weekly summer program be a better option? We are in Riverside County, CA, but can be in the SAn Diego area in August. Your thoughts?

thinker88

I'm not sure if it is the same in CA, but where I live my school offered a program for SAT prep en masse where students went on one night of the week for prolonged periods of time. I am not sure if it was cheaper though and I would still recommend self-study (about an hour a day for a month) from the CB book as a key to success.

I find it odd that his grade in math does not correlate to his math score. Did he answer all of the questions? Maybe some test taking tips (which can be found online for free via a google search) could help. Other than that I would recommend going over geometry and algebra problems to build greater proficiency and agility in those areas. For the CR section I would suggest studying SAT vocabulary from some of the many lists/flashcards out there (there might be some in the CB book). Good luck!

mqt1279

Thank you for the prompt response and the suggestions, I'll follow up on it right now. Regarding his math grades, he has a huge gap in his middle school math which keeps cropping up again, a poor foundation in Algebra, change in schools and curriculum....factoring was a nightmare, but when he got to geometry he had solid B's and an A- here and there. Strong in reading, a 9 on the essay which I'm told is pretty good?
I saw a suggestion for "Gruber's" on another thread for help with math. Anyone familiar with it? Thanks again, you are all so wonderfully helpful negotiating this maze!

MOMH20

ihs76: Your thinking was also mine when I signed up my daughter. Going from 2100 to 2300 completely changed the college application process. Everyone has to make their individual decision based on what they know about their child. Yes, some kids do have big improvements even though they start at a good place. My daughter was one of those children and I'd plunk down the money again for her. She was very reluctant to go in that direction. It was only after her own studying efforts didn't pay off that we turned to the tutoring. Good luck.

mqt1279

MOM20: I'm so ready to pay the $$, just not sure what the best options are in southern Cal, particularly the San Diego area. Anyone out there familiar with SD courses?