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{{New SAT test disclaimer}}
'''SAT Exam Prep'''
'''SAT Exam Prep'''
* [[category:SAT Exam Prep]]
* Index of SAT Prep pages:[[:category:SAT exam prep]]
* [[category:SAT Verbal]]
* Index of SAT Verbal prep pages: [[:category:SAT verbal]]
* [[category:SAT Reading]]
* Links to Verbal section pages:
* [[category:SAT Writing]]
** [[SAT Reading section techniques, strategies & approaches]]
* [[category:SAT Math]]
** [[SAT Reading section historical timeline & themes]]
** [[SAT Writing section techniques, strategies & approaches]]
** [[SAT Verbal sections terms & vocabulary|SAT Verbal section vocabulary]]
*** contains useful words to know for textual comprehension, questions, and possible answers
 
[[category:SAT exam prep]]
[[category:SAT verbal]]
[[category:SAT Reading]]
[[category:SAT Writing]]
[[category:SAT Math]]
 
 
== SAT exam overview ==
 
* The SAT exam is owned by the College Board (CB)
** we will use "CB" here, although the College Board does not refer to itself by the abbreviation)
* SAT
** it is no longer an abbreviation (i.e., "S.A.T.")
*** it originally stood for "Scholastic Assessment Test"
*** in 1993 the CB re-branded the test to "SAT" unto itself and not as an abbreviation (i.e., dropping "Scholastic Assessment Test")
*** since the word "aptitude" means "innate ability", College Board was accused of racism, given different SAT score averages by race
* SAT tests are developed and administered by Educational Testing Service (ETS) under contract from CB
** SAT accounts for 25% of ETS's functions
** ETS creates also develops and administers TOEFL ("Test of English as a Foreign Language"), GRE (graduate school admissions), and Praxis (for teachers)
* note that CB and ETS are non-profits but both engage in aggressive business practices
 
== SAT & standardized college aptitude tests history ==
* achievement or admissions tests were used by 1870
* "College Entrance Examination Board," was formed in in 1899 by various colleges/ universities
* First "Scholastic Aptitude Test" exam administered in 1926
* the purpose of the SAT was to create a merit-based college admissions metric independent of student grades, school, and demographic
* originally called the "Scholastic Aptitude Test"
* subject tests were added in 1937 called "Scholarship Test"
* in 1993, the names for the tests were changed:
** "Scholastic Aptitude Test" now the "SAT I: Reasoning Test"
** "Scholarship Test" now the "SAT II: Subject Test"
** the entire suite of tests was not called "Scholastic Assessment Tests"
** the "SAT" was declared to stand for nothing (not an abbreviation)
* "SAT I" was dropped in 2004
* the "Reasoning Test" was dropped in 2016
* SAT digital test will launch
** International SAT: Spring 2023
** U.S. PSAT: Fall 2023
** U.S. SAT: Spring 2024
** see https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/digital/s
* sources:
**https://www.erikthered.com/tutor/sat-act-history.html
** [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/03/27/sat-changes-name-but-it-wont-score-1600-with-critics/c8bf8809-2c0f-4582-9911-9e5f74ed4c6d/ SAT Changes Name But It Won't Score 1600 With Critics (Washington Post)]
== SAT exam format changes ==
 
=== 2016 format changes ===
* in 2014, College Board announced fundamental changes in the SAT test
** CB claimed it was because the test had "become disconnected from the work of our high schools.”
** it was also in response rising popularity of the ACT test CB changed core test format
*** ACT = "American College Testing" (title since dropped, refers to itself solely as "ACT")
*** in 2012, more students took the ACT than the SAT for the first time (see [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACT_(test)ACT test (wiki)]]
*** the SAT test was changed to follow a similar format as the ACT
**** source [https://web.archive.org/web/20140514233331/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/education/major-changes-in-sat-announced-by-college-board.html?_r=1 A New SAT Aims to Realign With Schoolwork(NY Times)]]
* starting 2016, the SAT changes included:
** total score returned to 1600
** 4 instead of 5 possible answers
** dropped the 1/4-point penalty for wrong answers
*** the penalty was designed to encourage skipping and penalize random guessing
** math narrowed to focus on linear equations, equations or functions, rations, percentages and proportional reasoning
** "critical reading" section changed to "evidence-based" (passage-based) reading excerpts (like the ACT)
** grammar section changed to "evidence-based" (passage-based) reading excerpts (like the ACT)
** verbal section vocabulary changed to evidence-based selection and use of more common words
** essay now optional (thus the total score of 1600 instead of the previous 2400)
 
** CB partnered with Khan Academy in order to offer free preparation instruction and practice
 
=== 2021 change: essay & subject tests dropped ===
* the College Board dropped the essay (after the June, 2021 test, although it will be offered in some states as per state rules
* also dropped Subject Tests
** the official reason for these changes was because of changes in college admissions requirements due to the COVID crisis
** anecdotally, we can assume it was due to severe drop in revenue as result of the crisis
 
=== 2023-24 change: shortened digital exam ===


* College Board announced in February of 2022
** the SAT and related exams will be administered digitally starting with the International SAT test in 2023
** the test will still be administered at a school or testing site
** test will be taken on a laptop provided by CB at testing site
* Format changes
** 2 hour exam (approx)
** Reading section passages to be shortened and with a single question per each
*** likely a short paragraph as was in prior SAT formats
** Calculators will be allowed on all math questions
** the test will still score on 1600 point scale
* CB stated purpose
** CB says scores and college reports will be quicker
* Likely purpose: cost savings
** the digital format will save money for CB
** the shorter exam will be easer
** attempt to maintain relevancy for SAT
*** especially while many colleges (such as Univ. California system) are not requiring or even considering SAT scores
** to complete with ACT
** CB still struggles with racial deviations in average scores
* Rollout:
** Spring 2023 the International SAT will be administered by computer
** Fall 2023 the PSAT will be administered by computer
** Spring 2024 the US SAT will be administered by computer
* see
** https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/digital
=== Preparation & Practice Options ===
* the College Board published the "Official SAT Practice Book"
** 2018 edition
*** includes Practice tests 1-8
** 2021 edition
*** includes Practice tests 1, 3, 4-10
* Princeton Review
** started in 1981, now owned by ST Unitas, a Korean Ed-tech company
== SAT exam college application requirements ==
* the University of California system stopped considering SAT and ACT tests for admissions
* many other colleges and universities also dropped the requirement but continue to consider it
* in March 2022, MIT announced that it would continue to require SAT/ ACT for admissions
** [https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/we-are-reinstating-our-sat-act-requirement-for-future-admissions-cycles/ We are reinstating our SAT/ACT requirement for future admissions cycles | MIT Admissions]
== SAT exam prep strategies ==
* "practice" = replication of performance or game-day sitution
** therefore, "SAT practice" is NOT online
** online "practice" is "enrichment" not "practice"
=== SAT enrichment ===
* enrichment means enhancement, getting better
* there are many enrichment sites and manuals
** treat them as enrichment and not practice
* daily problems, vocabulary, etc. is excellent enrichment
** but it is not practice
* above all, ON-LINE "practice" is not practice
** the test is not on-line: it is sit-down, on-paper
** therefore, SAT prep that is not sit-down, online, with official practice or released actual tests, using pencil, clock, and bubble sheet IS NOT PRACTICE
=== SAT practice ===
* practice is mimicking test-day situation
** research shows that replication via practice of actual exam situation yields higher actual exam results
* SAT practice looks like:
** desk and chair
** Official SAT practice test in booklet form
*** not one-sided sheets, not online: booklet
** using pencil and bubble sheet
** analog clock (could be a computer app)
** no distractions
** full-length practice tests
*** can be divided by section, but not less than a section
=== Benefits of SAT practice ===
* familiarity with the types of passages and questions
* developing elimination strategies
* de-coding the way the test-makers build correct and, more importantly, incorrect answers
* tome awareness
* review of responses and understanding why answers are right or wrong
* identify Easy-Medium-Hard questions and passages
* increasing accuracy and efficiency with each practice exam
* bubble sheets use and strategies
* maintaining focus across full-length practice
** building resistance to length and getting past boring
** getting used to test-day situation
** sitting upright & no distractions
** use of juice, fruit-bar, or other natural source of glucose (natural sugar) for refreshment between sections as you would on test day
** practicing breathing, stretching, fidgeting and other refocusing strategies


== SAT Exam overview ==
== SAT Verbal ==
== SAT Verbal ==


=== [[SAT Reading]] ===
=== [[SAT Reading]] ===


* SAT Reading Section Test Directions
* SAT Reading Section Test Directions:
** Students are to answer questions based upon:
** Students are to answer questions based upon:
*** what is stated" in the text or graphs (explicit meanings, textual and direct comprehension)
*** what is stated" in the text or graphs (explicit meanings, textual and direct comprehension)
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*** = average 13:00 min per reading passage
*** = average 13:00 min per reading passage
*** note: two readings contain 11 questions so may take longer
*** note: two readings contain 11 questions so may take longer
Go to [[SAT Reading|SAT Reading]] for more


=== [[SAT Writing]] ===
=== [[SAT Writing]] ===
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** test has four readings passages with 11 questions each
** test has four readings passages with 11 questions each
*** = average of 8:45 min per passage
*** = average of 8:45 min per passage
Go to [[SAT Writing|SAT Writing]] for more


=== [[SAT Essay]] ===
=== [[SAT Essay]] ===
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