Unholy Sigma

T-89 calculators don't confer any advantage. Those that don't understand the English language fully certainly are at a disadvantage; it's an English language test. This doesn't mean ESL students are dumb, it means they shouldn't be taking the SAT. They should instead take an equivalent test in their native languages.

1253729

You must be joking right? I have an 89 and it sure saves me a LOT of time.

Example:
2s+9p=19
3p=2s-10

What is p+s?

That could take the regular student a minute, if not more, to do. For me, I type into my 89: solve(2s+9p=19 and 3p=2s-10,s) and it will give me the answer in about .5 seconds. The 89 makes the math portion a heck of a lot easier. In fact, I know for a fact that I would not be able to solve 1-2 problems per test if I did not have my 89.

Harvard1009

^^ whoa dude that really works?

(what did you get on your math section?)

1253729

Yep. It actually works. And thats why I think they should not allow calculators like the 89. I mean its just unfair to everyone who doesen't have one. I consistently get 770-800 on the practice tests I have taken for the Math section. I'm taking the SAT for real in October.

gbesq

The ACT does a very good job of measuring what you have learned. The SAT does a very poor job of measuring how intelligent you are. An adcom's review of your high school transcript and grades, together with a profile of your high school class and an understanding of the academic offerings that were available to you, is a much better indicator of whether you will succeed in college than both the ACT and the SAT.

Unholy Sigma

Oh, I had no idea they could do that, I use an old 82 or some other obsolete model...

I said that based on what my friends with 89's have told me.

1253729

Yep. I tend to keep the capabilities of my calc to my self too at school. I don't want it banned in class because all the other kids who dont have one would freak out if they found out what it could do.

Unholy Sigma

In response to gbesq:

SAT Validity: SAT Studies Show Test’s Strength in Predicting College Success

gbesq

^Um, you did note that this press release praising the usefulness of the SAT comes from the College Board, right? What a shock. The ACT has a news release that says the same thing about their test. Ask any adcom what they place the most weight on and they'll all tell you the same thing -- the applicant's high school transcript and difficulty of curriculum. The ACT and the SAT do one thing well -- they give adcoms a standardized means to compare applicants who come from different high schools with different ways of weighting gpas, curriculums, etc. That's it.

Unholy Sigma

Of course I did, but similar studies have been done by independant researchers. I'm not asking whether the SAT has more weight than gpa's, which it doesn't, but whether it measures intelligence. If it didn't measure intelligence colleges simply wouldn't use it...

cjgone

^Your statement doesn't even make sense. If colleges only cared about your IQ they would use an IQ test for admissions.

Have you ever heard of something called actually working hard, getting over your ass, and studying? O_o That's 6 times more important than IQ.

Yakyu Spirits

TI-89 is banned on the ACT. If they allowed it there would be 36s all over the place on the Math.

cjgone

I don't see how a Ti-89 would significantly help on the ACT. I don't remember any problems that an 89 would really help over an 84.

Oh wooh, typo in my last post made it sound fairly rude. lol.

Unholy Sigma

Cj don't be naive the reason they don't use an iq test is because if they did it would be considered politically incorrect.

112358

You need both. Hard work isn't going to get you very far if you have an IQ of 2. That's why GPA (hard work) and SAT/ACT (intelligence) are both considered.