1. Test Taking Strategies to Improve Your SAT Score
Westminster High School
October 4, 2010

2. Average GPA and SAT for Admission in 2009-10
Colleges
GPA
SAT (Math and CR only)
Frostburg State Univ.
3.1
1010
Johns Hopkins Univ.
3.7
1400
McDaniel College
3.41
1120
Morgan State University
3.0
1000
Penn State University
3.55
1200
West Virginia University
3.3
1050
Salisbury University
3.6
Towson University
3.5
1100
University of Delaware
University of Maryland
3.93
1295
Stevenson University
3.47

3. What does the test look like?
Section
Content
Number of Questions
Critical Reading
70 minutes
Two 25-minute sections
One 20-minute section
Extended Reasoning
Literal Comprehension
Vocabulary in Context
Sentence Completions
Total
36-40
4-6 19 67
Mathematics
Number & Operations
Algebra & Functions
Geometry & Measurement
Data Analysis, Statistics & Probability
11-14
19-22
14-16
5-8 54
Writing
60 minutes
One 25-minute essay
One 25-minute multiple choice
One 10-minute multiple choice
Essay
Improving Sentences
Identifying Sentence Errors
Improving Paragraphs 1 25 18 6 50
Most test also contain a 10th unscored, 25-minute subsection – the “equating” or variable subsection – that maybe critical reading, math, or multiple choice writing subsection
Both the placement and the content of this section varies on different versions of the test
Students will have different versions of the test as far as the order of the content and what is included in this section

4. How difficult is the SAT?
On average, students answer 50 or 60 percent of questions correctly
80 percent finish nearly the entire test
Almost all students complete at least 75 percent of the questions

5. Timing is Everything!
Test is 3 hours and 45 minutes of testing time, plus three 5-minute breaks, for a total of 4 hours to complete the entire test.
Don’t spend too much time on any one question.
Spend seconds on the easiest questions
Hesitate to spend more than 1-2 minutes even on the hardest questions
Remember the SAT consists of a series of small, timed, mini-tests.
Keep track of the time allotted for each one and how much time remains.
Wear a watch to the testing center.

6. Understand the Scoring!
You get a point for a right answer.
You lose one-quarter point for a wrong answer.
There is no deduction for omitted answers, or for wrong answers in the math section’s student-produced response questions.
Each of the 3 sections is on a 200 to 800 point scale.

7. Overall Test Tactics Learn the section directions now.
Answer easy questions first.
Mark skipped questions so you can quickly locate them.
Guess….. IF you can eliminate at least one answer choice.
Skip any question if you don’t have the faintest idea about the answer. You DON’T lose points!
If there are 8 sections and you save 1 minute on each section by already knowing what the direction say that is 8 additional minutes you could have worked problems on the test.

8. Overall Test Tactics Easy questions usually precede hard ones.
Don’t change an answer unless you’re sure you made an error.
Read the words of the question carefully. Be sure to answer the question asked and not the question you recall from a practice test.

9. Recording Your Answers
You MAY and SHOULD write in the test booklet.
Cross out wrong answers.
Do scratch work.
Take care when filling in the answer grid for the student-produced response questions.
Avoid stray marks on the answer sheet.
Make sure you are using a No. 2 pencil.
Mark only one answer per question.
Keep checking that you are placing your answer in the correct section and number on the answer sheet.

10. Retaking the SAT
55% of juniors taking the test improved their scores as seniors
35% had score drops
10% had no change in score
On average, juniors repeating the SAT as seniors improved their combined critical reading, mathematics, and writing scores by approximately 40 points

11. Using SAT Skills Insight
Shows which academic skills students can concentrate on to improve their scores

12. Using the College Board site to prepare for the SAT
Sample questions for each area of the test as well as a full length practice test
Allows you to create a personalized plan to prepare for the test based on the number of times you’ve previously taken it and your testing date

13. Using the College Board site to prepare for the SAT
Helps provide suggestions for how to handle tough SAT questions
Sign up for a daily ed question of the day
Answers will include explanation of the correct answer

14. Calculator Policy Calculators are highly recommended.
You may NOT share calculators.
Calculators permitted during testing are:
Graphing calculators
Scientific calculators
Four-function calculators (not recommended)
Unacceptable calculators
Models with typewriter keypad, pen-input stylus, or touch-screen capability
Models that use paper tape, “talk” or make unusual noises
Modes that can access the Internet, have cell phone capability, or have a digital audio/video player or a camera

15. Critical Reading Section
What does it test?
How well you understand what you read
What do the questions look like?
Sentence completion (19 questions)
Passage-based reading (48 questions)

16. Sentence Completions Measure Knowledge of the meanings of words
Ability to understand how the different parts of a sentence fit together logically

17. Sentence Completions
Work on these first. They take less time to answer than the passage-based reading questions.
The difficulty of sentence completion questions increase as you move through the section.

18. Sentence Completion Strategies
Answer a sentence completion question with two blanks by focusing first on one of the two blanks.
If one of the words in answer choice is logically wrong, then you can eliminate the entire choice from consideration.

19. Sentence Completion Example
Hoping to the dispute, negotiators proposed a compromise that they felt would be to both labor and management.
(A) enforce. .useful
(B) end. . divisive
(C) overcome. . unattractive
(D) extend. . satisfactory
(E) resolve. . acceptable

20. Passage-Based Questions
Measure your ability to read and think critically about several different passage ranging in length from about 100 to 800 words.
Passages are taken from a variety of fields including the humanities, social studies, natural sciences, and literary fiction.
They vary in style and can include narrative, argumentative, and expository elements.
Some selections consist of a pair of related passages on a shared issue or theme; in some questions, you are asked to compare and contrast these passages.

21. Types of Questions about the Passage
Vocabulary in context
Ask you to determine the meaning of words from
their context in the reading
Literal comprehension
Assess your understanding of significant information directly stated in the passage
Extended reasoning
Measure your ability to synthesize and analyze information as well as to evaluate the assumptions made and the techniques used by the author
Most of the reading questions fall into this category
You may be asked to identify cause and effect, make inferences, recognize a main idea or an author’s tone, or follow the logic of an analogy or an argument.

22. Passage-Based Reading Questions
Do not increase in difficulty from easy to hard. Instead, they follow the logic of the passage.
Information you need to answer each reading question is ALWAYS in the passage(s).
Don’t be misled by an answer that looks correct but is not supported by the actual txt of the passage(s).
Reading questions often include line numbers to help direct you to relevant part(s) of the passage.
Do not jump from passage to passage. Stay with a passage until you have answered as many questions as you can before you proceed to the next passage.
Random guessing is a waste of time.
If you cannot eliminate 2 answers, leave it blank.
Never pick an answer based upon the letter choice. “C” is not always the best answer.
Hard questions often contain attractive “trap door” answers. Just because it sounds more difficult does NOT mean that it is the correct answer.

23. The Writing Section Writing section includes:
Multiple choice questions
Improving sentences (25 questions)
Identifying sentence errors (18 questions)
Improving paragraphs (6 questions)
Writing an essay
Essay counts 30% of your total score in the writing section

24. The Essay Need to show effectively you can develop and express ideas
Take care to develop your point of view, present your ideas logically and clearly, and use language precisely
Must be written on the lines provided in the answer book
Avoid wide margins and keep your handwriting to a reasonable size
Write or print so that the writing is legible to scorers
Must use a pencil – if written in ink it will receive no score
An off-topic essay will receive a score of zero
If your essay does not reflect your original and individual work, your test scores may be canceled

25. Sample Essay Prompt
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.
Many persons believe that to move up the ladder of success and achievement, they must forget the past, repress it, and relinquish it. But others have just the opposite view. They see old memories as a chance to reckon with the past and integrate past and present.
Adapted from Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot,
I’ve Known Rivers: Lives of Loss and Liberation
Assignment: Do memories hind or help people in their effort to learn from the past and succeed in the present? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience or observations.

26. Tackling the Essay
Decide if you agree or disagree with the essay prompt and write your thesis.
Take 5 minutes to outline your essay response.
Essay should consist of 4-5 paragraphs
An introduction
One paragraph each detailing 2 or 3 different examples that support your thesis
A conclusion
Try to use one example from literature/history/current events and your own personal experience
Make sure you allow time for proofreading

27. Final Preparations SLEEP Eat breakfast
Use a reliable alarm clock and have a back up
Be aware of traffic and other potential delays
Things to take with you to the test
Admission ticket, acceptable photo ID, number 2 pencils with a good eraser, calculator with fresh batteries
Snacks (to eat during braeks), a watch (without an audible alarm), a backpack or bag (to be kept under the seat), and extra batteries
DO NOT BRING
Any electronic device, scratch paper, notes, books, a dictionary, compass, protractor, or ruler. NO CELL PHONES!!
Highlighter or colored pencils
Portable listening device or recording device
Camera
Arrive early to select a seat you are comfortable sitting in for the test
If you are easily distracted don’t sit near the door or test administrator