The New SAT

[+ FreshFluff]

ETS is making changes to both the verbal and math parts of the SAT. Try out these sample questions. #2 is probably the most difficult of the bunch, as it requires an understanding of the problem rather than just a calculation. If they plan to put in a lot of questions like that, then "cracking" the SAT with test prep will get tougher.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/07/us/new-sat-quiz.html

[Zman]

I got a 100% http://www.ourgtn.org/public/style_emoticons/default/angel.png

[BaronArtz]

I like the idea that cracking the SAT with test prep will be harder. The offspring of people who can afford extensive tutoring and test prep should not have an unfair advantage. I know that's wishful thinking ...

[+ FreshFluff]

I like the idea that cracking the SAT with test prep will be harder. The offspring of people who can afford extensive tutoring and test prep should not have an unfair advantage. I know that's wishful thinking ...

 

It's not hard to lift average performers up 200 points; as you can see from the examples, it's pretty simple to teach a step-by-step method for approaching the easy to medium questions. It's far tougher to teach a student who scores 2100 how to score a 2300. The difficult questions,both on math and verbal, are becoming harder and more resistant to a paint by numbers approach.

 

Private tutoring is far more effective than classes in getting kids to those top scores.That's where the rich really have an advantage.

 

I kind of like standardized tests. The LSAT logic puzzles are very satisfying to solve.

[stop]

ETS is making changes to both the verbal and math parts of the SAT. Try out these sample questions. #2 is probably the most difficult of the bunch, as it requires an understanding of the problem rather than just a calculation. If they plan to put in a lot of questions like that, then "cracking" the SAT with test prep will get tougher.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/07/us/new-sat-quiz.html

 

this is a dumb question I'm sure but how do you "crack" the SAT? mind you it has been years and years since I took the test but the only prep stuff we had access to were practice tests.

[Zman]

I taught a class once for the GMAT through a well known tutoring company. The skills were useful. Even if you couldn't eliminate all answers they could help you make educated guesses. But honestly I though most of the value you could get from the class you could get from a book. I didn't teach more than once because it seemed like kind of a ripoff to me.

[stop]

I taught a class once for the GMAT through a well known tutoring company. The skills were useful. Even if you couldn't eliminate all answers they could help you make educated guesses. But honestly I though most of the value you could get from the class you could get from a book. I didn't teach more than once because it seemed like kind of a ripoff to me.

 

is this considered cracking the test. I had a teacher in highschool that taught a lot of that stuff to us. the funny thing was after he told us how to eliminate answers and how to scan the tests to answer a bunch of questions quickly he switched to only essay questions.

[+ WmClarke]

I used to teach SAT prep many decades ago. In older versions, you could certainly 'crack' the test. Changes made over the years have gradually made that more and more difficult.

 

I think standardized tests are a racket, so mad props to anyone who can game the system.

 

The sample questions were easy for me, but only because I love math word problems. If they were "reading comprehension" I would have dozed off and missed most of them!

[+ honcho]

I got a 100% http://www.ourgtn.org/public/style_emoticons/default/angel.png

 

Congratuations!

 

(I also got 100%. It was encouraging to find out that I hadn't forgotten my 9th grade algebra

in doing the sandwiches and salads problem ... s + d = 209 ; 6.5 + 2d = 836.5 ... )

 

(but, have to disclose I did go to graduate school in math and worked as a programmer for 37.5 years).

[LADoug1]

I taught a class once for the GMAT through a well known tutoring company. The skills were useful. Even if you couldn't eliminate all answers they could help you make educated guesses. But honestly I though most of the value you could get from the class you could get from a book. I didn't teach more than once because it seemed like kind of a ripoff to me.

I took a GMAT prep class and it was VERY helpful. I guess I like to be guided through by an expert rather than just relying on a book of practice tests which I also completed. I aced the exam.

[+ FreshFluff]

Yeah, I got 100%. But like I said, I'm good at those tests. Or at least I was when I took them.

 

Zman, I used a book for all my standardized tests, but I prefer to study on my own. The main purpose of the class is to give students structure and have someone there to answer questions.

 

Jeepo, POE is one of the most effective test "cracking" strategies for standardized tests.

[Zman]

I should probably add that one of the things I discovered while teaching the class is that I don't like teaching. This was useful information at the time as I was seriously considering becoming a math teacher. That career choice would have required going to graduate school. But I avoided that and just stayed in programming. I suppose this may have colored my opinion of the test prep company. But I still hold that if you have good autodidact skills you could learn most of what they taught on your own.

 

BTW, do you know what the word "prate" means? This was a word I didn't know when I took the SAT back in high school. So I memorized the word to look up later. I still remember it. I wonder what that means ? The permanence of test anxiety?

[+ FreshFluff]

I used to teach SAT prep many decades ago. In older versions, you could certainly 'crack' the test. Changes made over the years have gradually made that more and more difficult.

 

The Princeton Review taught students to look for and eliminate the Joe Bloggs answer, "too easy to be right" response the average test taker would choose. As WmClarke wrote, though ETS got smarter over time.

[+ WmClarke]

The Princeton Review taught students to look for and eliminate the Joe Bloggs answer, "too easy to be right" response the average test taker would choose. As WmClarke wrote, though ETS got smarter over time.

Either Princeton Review or Kaplan knew that ETS had a woman in charge of test content named Pam; that company told/trained students not to look for the 'right answer' but to look for 'Pam's answer.' I always liked that rhetoric.

[+ Charlie]

I used to grade the GMAT section in which the test-taker was given a business proposal that was full of logical flaws, and had to write an analysis of the proposal. I was amazed how many of the students didn't see anything wrong with it, or could find only a few trivial problems. I thought that was a far more useful test of the student's potential than any standardized test.

[+ Funguy]

Hell! I had to take Remedial Algebra in college to qualify so that I could take physics!

[+ Charlie]

I only got 60%.

Andrew Hacker had an interesting article in the Sunday Times in which he argued that very few people ever need to be able to do algebra or calculus once they leave college math classes, so requiring that they pass them is of questionable value. Basic math, on the other hand, is extremely important to master for everyday life.

[+ Truereview]

Excuse the interruption. Love the new look, @FreshFluff . That new avatar is hot! Purrrrrrrrrr

[+ FreshFluff]

I only got 60%.

Andrew Hacker had an interesting article in the Sunday Times in which he argued that very few people ever need to be able to do algebra or calculus once they leave college math classes, so requiring that they pass them is of questionable value. Basic math, on the other hand, is extremely important to master for everyday life.

 

Very few public schools require calculus; it's usually a course for students in the highest honors track.

 

Basic algebra can be useful. If your employer gives you $700 total to spend on phone-related expenses this year, algebra would teach you that spending another $60 on your phone means you can afford $5 less on your monthly mobile plan.

[+ FreshFluff]

Excuse the interruption. Love the new look, @FreshFluff . That new avatar is hot! Purrrrrrrrrr

 

Aw, thanks TR. I saw lil' Fluffy on FooPets and fell in love.

[Zman]

If you are in the mood for another test, click here for a science quiz.

Warning: long! 50 questions.

 

I got an A.

[+ honcho]

I guess I got a B- (80%).

[+ FreshFluff]

If you are in the mood for another test, click here for a science quiz.

Warning: long! 50 questions.

 

I got an A.

 

I'm just a fluffhead, so one test is all I can handle in a week.

[LADoug1]

BTW, do you know what the word "prate" means? This was a word I didn't know when I took the SAT back in high school. So I memorized the word to look up later. I still remember it. I wonder what that means ? The permanence of test anxiety?

 

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/prate

 

And hopefully not too many posters do it on this forum.

[gallahadesquire]

The thing I hated about the SAT was the number of definitions and comparisons.

 

"zygote is to uterus as ovum is to" kind of thing, but much harder. I was embarassed by

my verbal score.

 

On the other hand, the ACT, which has supplanted the SAT (much to my surprise) had

usage of English scored separately from vocabulary. Much more intelligent.

 

My anesthesia written boards were a hoot. They did a lot of "K-type" questions (Multiple multiple choice).

The first example I found was this:

 

Which of the following are muscle relaxants:

1. Atracurium

2. Vecuronium

3. Mivacurium

4. Valium

A. Choices 1,2 and 3 are correct.

B. Choices 1 and 3 are correct.

C. Choices 2 and 4 are correct.

D. Only choice 4 is correct.

E. All choices are correct.

Systematically, these are easier than they look.

If 4 is true, the only answers are C,D, and E.

If 4 is true and 1 is true, E is the answer

If 4 is true and 1 is false, C and D are the answers

If 4 is false, the answers are A and B

If 1 is true, the answers are A or B

If 2 is true, it is answer A

If 2 is false, it is answer B.

The answer to 3 is almost always moot. It can help if the answer to 1 is unknown.

Well, as I said: Much easier than they look.

 

[P.S. the answer is D.]