<p>My son is planning to take the SAT in October to try and qualify for the SET program through John Hopkins. I bought the Blue Book for him and he took the first two tests without being timed. The first test score was 690 and the second was 760 so his accuracy is great but we started running the timer on the third set of tests and he needs to speed up. He has taken two of the math tests for the third test and has not missed an answer yet - he finished the first section in time but the second took an extra five minutes so he would have missed four if it was the actual test.</p>
<p>I read some of the posts which indicate he should review all answers after each section and he is doing that although he does not think it will help him get faster. It would be great if someone could point me in the right direction to help him. </p>
<p>Yes, your son should review all of the answers after each section. Why would he not?</p>
<p>Here are a few tips for the SAT Math section:
[ul]
[<em>]He should develop an intuitive feel for when backsolving (working backwards from the answer choices) or substitution (picking a representative number for variables) can help him solve a problem.
[</em>]He should make sure that his algebra is “clean.”
[<em>]He needs to take steps to ensure that he reads every question correctly (eliminates misreads).
[</em>]He should know how most students might miss a given problem (cultivate awareness of “trap” answer choices).
[li]He should learn different ways of arriving at the solution…and pick the most efficient method to solve each problem. If he does this successfully, he’ll build a “time cushion” that he can use to solve the most difficult math questions at the end of a given section. Strong math students can often finish all but 1 or 2 questions on an SAT Math section with 10+ minutes left. That time cushion can then be used to solve the most difficult questions. It’s those last couple of questions at the end of every math section that make the difference between a 700 and an 800. He should also have some time left to double-check his answers.[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>FWIW, I’ve never been a proponent of young students (middle school age?) putting forth a significant amount of effort to score high enough on the SAT to qualify for JHU’s SET or CTY programs. Let the kid be a kid. Truly exceptional students can perform well on the test with very little prep. If your son doesn’t post a qualifying score, it’s not a big deal at all. There’s plenty of time to pursue math and math-related topics in high school, college, grad school, and beyond.</p>
<p>Just found this and thought I should add that the stress level @ JHU is getting higher by year. JHU now outranks Cal tech for schools with most stressed student.
This should be something to consider, and hopefully if your son gets in, he will find a happy place to cope and ease that campus stress.
Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>@ccco2018:
The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) program [for middle school and high school age students] is very different from Johns Hopkins University [for undergraduate college kids].</p>
<p>CTY offers summer camps (focusing on academic enrichment), online classes, and career exploration activities. Most kids have a great time at the summer camps, which take place on several different college campuses. It’s not any more stressful than any other summer camp.</p>
<p>My advice for the SAT math section is set a stopwatch and have your son do all the problems in a section as quickly as possible without checking work. See how long this takes, and see how accuracy is affected. Then, have him redo the incorrect questions in the section (untimed) to ensure that he’s not lacking conceptually. Keep repeating this routine, and see if it helps. Just getting conditioned to the types of problems on the SAT math section will help your son become more confident with the problems he does, and improve both his speed and accuracy. Haha I actually wish I had known about this program when I was in 7th grade because I took the SAT through Duke TIP and scored high enough for consideration. </p>
<p>And for those of you who discourage high school standardized tests at such a young age, I personally do not regret taking these tests in middle school. It’s a great time to see where you are, and receiving a high score in any section provides a confidence boost that students at that age often lack. While some may say that a low score could discourage students, I have to disagree. Taking the test with no weight on your shoulders is a great experience and it allows you to laugh at yourself when you receive the score. Plus, it’s good preparation as far as stamina goes because if a middle school student has the ability to sit through a 4-hour test, it is a commendable fact. I know the OP didn’t ask for any input on the merits of taking the SAT at a young age, but I’m just giving my two cents as a rising senior in high school. </p>
<p>Thanks very much for all replies. My son is going into 6th grade this year. He has been taking one of the "sub-tests’ about every third day, so I do not think he is working too hard. It has actually been a good review for him to take the tests. He is quite good at math and works hard and I believe making a good score on it will help get some recognition.</p>
<p>The SET program has a great reputation and one of the services they provide as I read is that they can help ensure the student is getting a challenging program and in some circumstances assist in advocating on his behalf with his school. I have had many discussions in the past and it would have been useful to have been able to consult with SET.</p>
<p>Oh wow - so if he’s going into 6th grade, he is certainly quite advanced beyond his years! I’m thinking as long as you don’t push him too much (and it looks like you’re not), this is a healthy challenge for him. Plus, it looks like he would have quite a few chances to qualify for the SET program, even if he doesn’t get the desired score this year. </p>
<p>In addition, since your son seems to be very good at math and is going into 6th grade, have you looked into the MATHCOUNTS Competition and the AMC 8? These types of competition math problems offer a different kind of challenge for the student who is excellent at math in school, but the MATHCOUNTS program does require affiliation through the school. There is some information about MATHCOUNTS at <a href=“http://mathcounts.org/”>http://mathcounts.org/</a>. Also, for math competitions in general for middle school and high school students, <a href=“http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/”>http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/</a> is the go-to hub. It has excellent resources (books, games, forums, etc.) and is certainly worth checking out if you haven’t already. Feel free to message me if you have questions about these competitions/resources! :)</p>