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The SAT Test Format and Content

The SAT Test Format and Content. 3 Sections: Critical Reading, Math, & Writing. SAT Bell Curve. So what is that  curve ? You probably know that each section of the SAT is graded on a scale of 200 to 800, with 800 being a perfect score. But that scale is a curved scale, like this :.

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The SAT Test Format and Content

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  1. The SAT Test Format and Content 3 Sections: Critical Reading, Math, & Writing

  2. SAT Bell Curve So what is that curve? You probably know that each section of the SAT is graded on a scale of 200 to 800, with 800 being a perfect score. But that scale is a curved scale, like this:

  3. They designed the test based on the bell curve principle - a few people should fail, a few people should ace it, and everyone else will fall somewhere in the middle. This means that the scores are slightly weighted. So the difference between 8 questions wrong and 9 questions wrong on one section might be the difference between your getting a 580 and a 590; but the difference between only getting one wrong and only getting two wrong on the whole test could be the difference between a 750 and a 720.

  4. How Many Points is each Question Worth? Every question is worth one point; every wrong answer is worth ¼ a point, which means for every question you get wrong, you get a fourth of a point subtracted from your raw score. Your raw score is the number they use to determine what score on the scale of 200 to 800 you will get. Skipped questions give you no points, and subtract no points.

  5. What is a Good SAT Score? The problem with answering that question is that it varies so much from student to student depending on what school they are applying for and what area of study they are pursuing. In general for most competitive universities, anything above a 550 is considered on the good side of average, anything above a 600 or 650 is considered an acceptably high score, and anything above 700 is considered excellent. However, your grades, extracurricular activities, application essay and recommendations can all change those requirements for your personal application.

  6. SAT Questions are Arranged in Order of Difficulty Multiple choice questions go in order from easiest to hardest, so on the 25-minute multiple choice, numbers 1 through 6 or 8 will be easy, the middle ones will be a little harder, and numbers 15ish through 20 will be the hardest. The grid-ins are different, so on that section, 1-3 are easy, 4-6 are medium, 7-8 are hard, and then number 9 (the first grid-in) will be easy again, and so on through the end of the section.

  7. Intro to SAT Math – General Information and Overall Strategies Week 1: Day 1

  8. SAT Math - The Facts What to expect from the Math Section

  9. How Many Math Questions are on the SAT? There will be a total of 54 graded math questions on the test, broken up into three sections : • one 25 minute section that is only multiple-choice • one 25-minute section that consists of multiple choice and ten grid-ins (in which you write your own answer) • one 20-minute section of multiple choice.

  10. What Math Concepts are Tested on the SAT? The concepts tested are typically 7th to 9th grade math. It will consist of: • arithmetic (dealing with numbers) • algebra (working with variables) • basicgeometry (shapes and graphing) • a little bit of statistics (reading chartsanddata) • a few odds and ends like logic questions and sequences. There is nothing more advanced than early Algebra II concepts -  NO trigonometry, no advanced geometry like proofs or the like, and no calculus.

  11. The math concepts tested are basically 7th through 9th grade math. That's it. If you are a particularly poor math student, some of this might encroach on 10th grade territory, but you've seen all of it before. If the questions appear tricky, it's not because the math is hard, it's because the test makers are trying to trick you. That's right. They're not here to make you feel loved and help your self-esteem. The people that make up the questions and answers for this test have jobs they need to keep, and to keep their jobs they need students to fit the expected curve.

  12. SAT Math – Rules & Tips What to look out for

  13. Some rules and tips to help you prevent those careless mistakes, and help you answer judiciously • Read carefully. You must. A single word can change the whole point of the question. • Do NOT simply play around with the numbers to see if you get something interesting. If you know how you SHOULD solve it (for instance, you see two fractions separated by an equals sign, and you know you should cross-multiply) but the numbers are really ugly and are making you freak out, take a deep breath and jump in – it will generally work itself out. However, if you have NO IDEA what the heck you’re doing, or supposed to do, or what the question the asking, SKIP IT. You have a four out of five chance of getting it wrong if you just mess around.

  14. -Trick to Watch Out For: Overly Obvious Answers. The testmakers love to put in answer choices that are way too easy to get to in the hopes you’ll jump to a quick conclusion and get it wrong. Take, for example, this question: • 17. Susan goes to work at an average speed of 60 mph. Assuming she takes the same route and makes no stops, if she averages 40 mph on the way home, what is her average speed in mph for the entire trip? (A) 40(B) 48(C) 50(D) 52(E) 60 So what's NOT the answer? (C). It's just too obvious. On a Number 17 question (one of the hardest on the test), they're not going to give you a simple average that you can do in your head. (FYI: The answer is (B) 48. This is a weighted average, which we will learn later.) Ten-Second Rule: If you solve a hard question in ten seconds or less, you got it wrong. Easy questions should be easy, so they might go fast. Hard questions should be hard. If it's not hard, you're doing it wrong.

  15. Always re-read the question part of the answer before answering. The testmakers like to give you a bunch of steps to do, and then ask you something a little different than what you'd expect. For instance, they'll give you something like a(a - 14) = 29 + 28/2a and you'll do a bunch of work to get an answer for a, and then the question will actually be asking for a/2. But of course, whatever you got for just plain a will be an option in the answer choices. So if you speed through, work hard, and then just answer without double-checking, you could get it wrong

  16. Use numbers wherever you can. Make them up. We'll get to a more specific version of this later, but in general, if they give you something vague, pick a number to put in instead. In the weighted average question above, if you pick a number for Susan's distance, the question is much easier. It can be 12 or it can be 120. It doesn't have to be incredibly realistic, it just has to fit the bounds of the question. Make the questions concrete. Vague is confusing. • Use your calculator. It's a gift. Don't do math in your head, and if you can't help yourself because you're just that fast, check your work on the calculator.

  17. Write down all your work on paper. People don't want to do this, but do it anyway. It's an insurance policy. If you go through all that work like in the question above, and then you look down at the answer choices and what you got isn't there, you're going to get frustrated and want to give up. But if you have all your work written down, you simply look to the answer choices, don't see your answer, and calmly think to yourself, "Hm. Let's see what happened." You look at what you did and realize you accidentally added when you should have subtracted. A quick fix, and you confidently move on to the next question.

  18. SAT Math: Vocabulary Review Know What These Words Mean and Know the Difference between concepts that are similar!

  19. Whole Numbers Your basic counting numbers: 0, 1, 2, 100, etc.   Whole numbers are: • zero and above up to positive infinity • positive (zero being the exception) • no fractions • no decimals

  20. Integers Just like whole numbers, but also includes negatives.  Some examples are -4, -3, -416, and also 0, 1, 2, etc.  Integers are: • positive or negative up to infinity • "counting numbers" only • no fractions • no decimals If the question is asking for an integer, you should NEVER choose an answer containing a fraction or decimal!

  21. Consecutive Numbers Consecutive means 'in a row.' A question might say "Three consecutive numbers" where the answer could be 3, 4, 5.  A question could also say "Three consecutive even numbers" where the answer could be 6, 8, 10.  Consecutive numbers can be negative, and they can also cross the 'zero' line - that is, "three consecutive numbers" could be -1, 0, 1, so don't rule out any possibilities except fractions and decimals.  Consecutive numbers will be integers. -Trick to Watch Out For: Keep in mind that while "consecutive numbers" will be integers, it IS possible that the question will put those integers somewhere weird which would make the real numbers you're dealing with fractions

  22. Real Numbers All numbers except imaginary numbers.  Yeah, this one's pretty obvious, but people get thrown by the term sometimes because it seems SO obvious that they worry it must mean something else.  It doesn't.  Examples of imaginary numbers: • √-1 (the square root of an negative) is not a Real Number, it can’t be done. • infinity

  23. Rational Numbers any number that can be written as a fraction whereboth numerator & denominator are integers and denominator ≠ 0.

  24. Digits Digits consist of the numbers 0 through 9 regardless of place value.  Think of digits like a telephone keypad (hence the phrase, "getting someone's digits").  A question might say "When a three-digit number is added to a two-digit number the result is always..." Your job will be to try various numbers 0 through 9 in each of the separate place values to determine the answer. 

  25. Distinct 'different' or 'separate.' The word 'distinct' most often shows up as a way to limit the possible numbers you should try.  For example, "In a fraction in which x and y are distinct integers, what is the result when...?" This means, for you, don't try the number 3 or both x and y; pick separate numbers for each.  • Hint: If the word 'distinct' does NOT appear in a question when it would make a difference in your answer (like in the brief example above), then you should definitely see what happens if you choose the same number for both variables.

  26. Divisible able to be evenly divided by.  Ex: "24 is divisible by 8" Divisor The number that is going into the other number.  In the equation "32 ÷ 4" the divisor is the number 4.  Also known as the number "outside the bridge" if you're doing long division.  Thedividend is the number being divided, "under the bridge."

  27. Prime Numbers is a real number greater than 1 that has no positive divisors other than 1 and itself

  28. Sum/Difference/Product/Quotient These are the answers when you do math: Sum is addition Difference is subtraction Product is multiplication Quotient is division. Know these.  The question WON'T usually say "If you multiply 4 and x + 2  the answer will be..." It will usually say "The product of 4 and x + 2  will be..." If you don't know what these four words mean, you won't know what to do.  Likewise, the word 'and' doesn't usually mean to add on the SAT test, it means "do the mathematical operation here."

  29. Special Rules for Zero • Zero is NEITHER positive nor negative • Zero is even • Zero is real, rational, an integer, a whole number, and a digit • Zero is a multiple of every number • Anything times zero equals zero

  30. Please Excuse My Dear AuntSallyPEMDAS • Order of operations will be tested directly, and also is important to know in order to solve most other problems correctly.  The correct order of operations is: Parentheses Exponents Multiply/Divide Add/Subtract Keep in mind that Multiplication and Division are the same "level," as are addition and subtraction.  That means you don't do multiplication before division when you get to that step, you simply go left to right. 

  31. Using a Calculator • Your calculator has PEMDAS programmed, so if you simply enter a numerical problem into it, it will do it correctly…sort of.  Your calculator will follow the rules very strictly, which means if you enter -2 squared as +22your calculator will first do the exponent, then multiply the result by -1, giving you -4 as an answer.  • -Calculator Rule #1: ALWAYS use parentheses around fractions and negatives when typing them into your calculator.  Even if you don't think you need them, it is far better to be in the habit of having them then to get something wrong for a silly reason. 

  32. Practice time Get out a piece of paper to write your answers on

  33. How many prime numbers does Set S (below) have? S = { 1, 3, 9, 11, 13, 17, 19, 21, 23 } a.  5 b.  6 c. 7 d. 8 e. 9

  34. What is the next consecutive number in the sequence? 18, 16, 14, …. a. 20 b. 12 c. -10 d. 13 e. 8

  35. Which of the following is not a rational number? A. 7 B.1/4 C. .1 D.8/0 E.-14

  36. Which of the following is a not a whole number? A. 0 B.25 C.-5 D.72

  37. How many digits are in the number 4,582? A. 1 B.1/4 C.4,000 D.4 E.0

  38. What is the product of 10 and 5? A.15 B. 5 C. 2 D.50 E.100,000

  39. Which of the following is not an integer? A.15 B.-5 C.1/2 D.-100 E.2/1

  40. Which is not a real number? A.1.5 B.5/2 C.200 D.√-5 E.-7

  41. If x & y are distinct and x + y = 100, what is not a possible answer? A.x= 80, y= 20 B.x= 10, y= 90 C.x= 100, y= 0 D.x= 50, y= 50 E.x= 30, y= 70

  42. What is the divisor of the equation 200 ÷ 10? A.20 B. 10/200 C. 10 D.200/10 E.200

  43. BonusQuestion What is correct order of operations? (you can use the acronym)

  44. THE END

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