What do YOU know about the SAT?

What do the letters SAT stand for? A. Scholastic Aptitude Test B. Scholastic Achievement Test C. Scholastic Advancement Test D. Nothing Correct Answer: D.

Who writes the SAT? A. High school teachers B. College teachers C. Elves D. A and B only Correct answer: D

How many multiple choice sections are there? A. Four B. Six C. Eight D. Too many Correct answer: C

How long do I have to take the test? A. Two hours and 45 minutes B. Three hours C. Three hours and 15 minutes D. Three hours and 45 minutes Correct answer: D

How is the SAT scored? A. Each correct answer is worth one point. B. Everyone starts with a score of 1600, from which one point is deducted for each wrong answer. C. You receive one point for each question answered correctly. For each question that you attempt but answer incorrectly, ¼ point is subtracted from the total number of correct answers. No points are added or subtracted for unanswered questions. If the final score includes a fraction, the score is rounded to the nearest whole number. A statistical process called equating scales your scores from 200 to 800. Your mileage may vary. D. No one knows.

What is a good score on the SAT? A. 800 B C. Trevor McGuire’s score D. It depends. Correct answer: D (although C is pretty good)

What if I don’t do very well on the SAT? A. You should probably move to a tiny island where you can live on fish and native plants. B. You can try taking the ACT. Some students do better on one test than the other. C. You can work on your weak areas and retake it. D. You can check on colleges that don’t emphasize standardized tests.

Are you ready for some more fun facts about the SAT?

Changes to the SAT 2005: – Added student – written essay – Eliminated analogies – Shorter reading passages added – New content from college preparatory math – Quantitative Comparisons eliminated

2008: Students can select which scores they send to colleges by sitting (“Score Choice”) Scores from an entire SAT test will be sent. Scores from individual sections from different sittings cannot be selected independently. Students should follow the score reporting requirements of each college to which they apply.

A note about “Super Scoring” Some colleges will look at a student’s best score on each portion of the test when considering a student for admissions and/or scholarships. UT-Austin and Texas A&M-College Station do not superscore, however.

More about the Essay A 2005 MIT study found a high correlation between essay length and essay score. Longer essays consistently produced higher scores, even when full of factual errors (the College Board does not claim to grade for factual accuracy).

Also, the NCTE criticized the essay section for “damaging standards of teaching writing in the classroom.” They claim that writing teachers who are training their students for the SAT will not focus on revision, depth, and accuracy, but on producing long, wordy pieces.

High Stakes The average SAT and ACT scores of the incoming fall freshman class were 1210 V+M and 26 ACT composite (TAMU) The average SAT and ACT scores for UT-Austin for Fall 2009 were 1815 and 27, respectively SAT and ACT scores are used for college admissions decisions, for entry into certain majors and programs, for remedial class placement, and even for extracurriculars such as leadership groups and social fraternities and sororities

Admissions TAMU applicants qualify for automatic academic admission if they are ranked in the top 25% of their graduating class AND Have at least 1300 (V+M) with at least a 600 in each component, OR Have a composite ACT score of at least 30 with at least a 27 in Math and English. They must take the writing component.

Scholarships At Baylor, a student in the top 25% is offered $3000/yr with a 1050 V+M. For each 50 points the offer increases by $1000/yr up to $17,000 per year.

So…how do we help our kids?

What Kids Can Do Take challenging classes and work hard. Read, read, read! They need to read material that is challenging for them. The subject doesn’t matter. Work on vocabulary in an intentional way – play games online, study flashcards. Take practice tests using published materials and/or online. Enroll in a prep class.

What We Can Do Use SAT Word of the Day or Question of the Day as bellringers/warmups Assign timed writing with SAT-type prompts Teach Latin and Greek roots in a more systematic way Show them the free resources that are available online and in our library Encourage them to start thinking NOW about whether they will attend college and what it will take to get there