This student achieved a 1600 on the SAT – he shares what worked for him. https://insights.collegeconfidential.com/perfect-sat-score
Nothing “worked for him”–he was a smart kid and always has been. What is fascinating here, and largely ignored, is the difference in score between ACT and SAT. But, what really needs to happen is the end of the business of Study Prep and standardized testing. We’ve all given far too much to this industry and it’s to the detriment of the students.
Just some curious thoughts: Someday in the future, it would really be amazing if we were able to incorporate a system that is a better predicament of success in college. While I was studying for the SAT, I would constantly see ads on Youtube that began with this sentence: “The SAT only tests your abilities on mastering the SAT.” Why then, would we place so much value into a test that shifts the tide a little in favor of some individuals over another? Why would we base admissions into a school on a test with concepts that don’t truly measure student aptitude? It’s a really sad reality that this is what the U.S. has continued to maintain in practice (and I have good faith that more and more schools will switch over to test-optional eventually!) Given the ridiculously high salary that the people at the top of Collegeboard get, I wonder if perhaps someday the system will fall apart.
I’m a test prep tutor. Much of what I do is just about watching what a student does when we do practice drills.
Does a student spend too much time reading a passage? That’s a waste of time, because he has to go back and read a lot of the passage again anyway when he’s answering questions. Set a steady reading pace, using your pencil to force your eyes along, and aim to read a passage in about three minutes.
Does the student spend too much time on one question? I nudge him to move on. You’re missing chances to answer several easier questions when you get stuck on one hard question.
Does the student go back and check the answer when he’s already circled an answer? That’s a waste of time. I pause the timer to make them aware of that. The goal is to keep moving. Tough questions can be marked to review later, if there’s time.
Does a student NOTICE exactly what the question is asking for? I can tell when they aren’t focusing on what the question is asking. I pause the timer and ask him to tell me what the most relevant words are in the question. That helps him pinpoint an answer more quickly.
Does the student simply put the pencil down when they fill in the scantron, and fail to review questions, or simply never mark any to review in the first place?
Yes, elimination is important. Having a guessing letter is a good strategy too. Definitely sleep well, eat breakfast, and bring nutritious snacks. I tell my students to bring protein bars, sandwiches and bananas.
Being aware of all these simple things can lead to a higher score and doesn’t rely on innate intelligence.
^^ In reality, success in college depends on many things, and it also differs from one area of concentration to another. It may depend on a level of quantitative ability, ability to read quickly and with a high level of comprehension, the ability to write well (perhaps under time constraints but often not), research capabilities, musical or artistic ability, self-discipline, time management, networking ability and people skills, to name a few.
At some level, this is what admissions officers are looking for as they make their decisions. Standardized tests are a reflection of some part of this that may be more or less relevant to an applicant’s expected field of study. Conservatories and MT programs admit primarily through auditions, engineering schools need top scores in math and science and need an objective measure of achievement in those areas to ensure a student will be successful in their program the way they teach it, humanities and social sciences require a different skill set. Standardized tests DO measure one’s ability to perform a specific kind of task under time pressure. Many college students in many areas of study will in fact need that ability to handle the workload and keep up in class. But it’s not the single determinant of success and in some instances, a less important one. In my mind, it’s like testing a soccer player’s running speed. It’s hard to excel in most positions without having a certain amount of speed and quickness but without a whole lot of other skills, being fast is meaningless. But then there’s the goalkeeper who needs a whole different set of skills. And you could be a good athlete but not a good soccer player…
Personally, I lament the emphasis on testing and particularly for tests for which one can prep and significantly improve one’s score. It is also difficult for colleges when educational and grading standards vary so widely from school to school to truly compare applicants. Long gone are the days when each college could require its own entrance exam (which highly favored boys coming out of feeder prep schools.) This seems to be part of the price we’ve paid for democratization of higher ed. Maybe we’ll get it better over time.
To do well on these tests requires a lot of practice especially if you’re lacking in an area. I would get books made by the test makers themselves to get the closest to the exam format as possible.
If it measures intelligence, that’s good because smarter kids should get more college opportunities. If it measures preparation, that’s good because if you put in the grim determination to succeed in SAT you likely will work hard as a student. If it measures good family background (good reading skills and vocabulaty, etc.), then it will encourage all families to read more and push for better schools.
I stumbled across this thread, and couldn’t help reviving it to throw in my two cents. @sorghum I agree with your point in the benefits of measuring preparation, but that doesn’t mean everyone is able to prepare. A low-income student may only be able to check out books for the local library, while a high-income student will received a few thousand dollars worth of personal studying. My main peeve is that, if we’re not going to diminish the reliance on these tests, why not expand free resources so that more students are able to better prepare for it?
The free SAT prep with Khan Academy was a good start, for instance, though I feel like they could be doing more. Not to go off on a tangent, but that’s the issue I had with College Board’s short lived “adversity score”: it focused on accounting for educational inequality rather than trying to fix it by expanding more free SAT prep partnerships.