HOSTED BY

JUSTIN VAN WELY & KEVIN ROOT

WELCOME BACK TO TEST TAKING WITH PROWESS:

THE SAT COURSE

Day 2

Check = you did it!

Minus sign = you did it after it was due.

Zero = you didn’t do it YET. Note that this will be changed to a (-) once/if you do complete it.

First thing’s first – Homework Review

WHAT MAKES A GOOD TEST TAKER?

CONFIDENTORGANIZEDMETHODICALPACES WELLLEARNS FROM MISTAKESEFFICIENTTHINKS LIKE A TEST MAKERENGAGED AND FOCUSED

WHAT MAKES A GOOD TEST TAKER?

11 Weeks- several each of Math, Critical Reading, and

Writing

ETQs and ECQs- to see what you know and what you’ve learned

3 Full-length Practice SATs- real College-Board approved tests

Homework- exercises to reinforce the day’s lesson

How the Course will be Structured:

Course Workbooks & Handouts

Course Text- The Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd Edition

Online Materials- prowesstestprep.com/materials- password: prowess-sat- reference guides, flash cards, homework,

addt’l tests, and more

BRING WORKBOOK, TEXT, AND CALCULATOR TO EVERY CLASS!

Materials:

SAT Course Intro and BTS

The Tools For The Course:

In addition to your Test-Taking with Prowess: SAT Course Book, you will have access to a variety of tools that will help you prepare for Exam Day.

Prowess’s “Unparalleled” Score Reports

These comprehensive score reports detail how you took Prowess’s SAT practice tests, emphasizing the concepts you understood well and the concepts you struggled on. You will use these reports to assess and reformulate the goals you set throughout the training experience. Each report features graphs and charts to

help you visualize your performance and give you comparisons to past performances. You will be e-mailed a PDF of each of these reports.

P row ess’ s SAT Diagnostic Exam A&E

You can use this booklet to see what type of questions you got wrong on the SAT Diagnostic, why you got those questions wrong, and what strategic approach you might have employed to get the question right. For

every question, the correct answer is carefully explained, clues to getting the question right are highlighted,

and the level of difficulty is provided. You will be e-mailed a PDF of this document.

The Official SAT Study Guide 2 nd edition (College Board)

This top-selling prep guide made by the test makers offers key insights into how the exam is designed, the types of questions asked, and teaches basic concepts in the main content areas. You will also find information about how to sign up for future exams along with some essential strategies. There are 10 official SAT practice test in the back of this book, each with answers and difficulty level.

Gruber’s Com plete SAT Guide 20 14 (included in select packages only)

You will use this 1,000-page plus SAT study guide to review math formulas, improve vocab, take vocab quizzes, and hone skills learned in class. There are 5 additional SAT practice tests located in the back of this book complete with answers and explanations for each question.

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P row ess’s SAT Universe In A Nut Shell Laminated Reference Guides (for quick review)

Our signature reference companions to The Official SAT Study Guide 2nd edition blue book. These laminated SAT review sheets—one each for SAT Math, SAT Writing ,and SAT Critical Reading—are the perfect summary of everything you will have learned in the SAT course. You will refer to these many times on your own while doing homework, during open notes practice test sections, and for last-minute review before Exam Day.

P row ess’s Building Your Vocab with Prowess Power Vocab List

The best way to improve your vocab is by reading often and looking up words you don’t recognize. However, we’ve created a list of commonly-tested vocab words to help you improve word recognition. Use this list to create flash cards and study them in groups 3 – 4 times a day up until the exam.

P row ess’s SAT Flash Cards

These will help you memorize all the methods, strategies, and concepts we will discuss throughout the course. Each flash card features a frequently-tested idea on the front and several key facts or comments about that idea on the back. You will be able to use these cards for open-note assignments and to review less familiar formulae. Be sure to cut them out right away and plan to use them often!

GETTING TO KNOW THE SAT 

The test is offered __7__ times a year in Oct, Nov, Dec, January, March/April, May, June.

To register go to www.___collegeboard.org__.There are __3__ main areas tested on the SAT: the

__math__ , the __critical reading___ , and the ____writing____ .

The best you can do is __2400__. That’s __800__ for each of the 3 areas.

The worst you can do is __600__. That’s __200__for each of the 3 areas.

Your raw score = the total number of questions you got right – _1/4_of questions you got wrong.

For Reading, the best raw score is _67_.For Math, the best raw score is __54__.For Writing, the best raw score is _49_.On the test, you will have 3 Math sections, 3 Reading

sections, 2 Writing multiple-choice sections, the SAT __essay__, and an __experimental __ section for a grand total of __10__ sections.

You always start with the Writing (the Essay) and finish with the __writing__ (a 10-minute multiple-choice section).

In general, you will have __3__ 5-minute breaks during the test, one every __2__ sections.

The sections and the time get __shorter__ as you go (1 – 7 = 25 min, 8-9 = 20 min, 10 = 10 min), but you will have less questions so the pacing __stays the same__.

The SAT Essay and the 2 20-minute sections (sections 8 & 9) are what separate the SAT from the __PSAT__.

Most colleges use __superscoring__: this means they will accept the best 3 sections no matter how many times you take the test.

Your __raw__ score is a 2-digit number that relates to the number of questions in each section

Your __scaled__ score is a 3-digit number that is a function of the number of questions and the difficulty level

Your __percentile__ is a 2-digit number that tells you how well you did compared to others from 0 – 99%

The __mean__ score is just under __500__ per section, or just under 1500 composite. We call this the __50__th percentile.

To translate from your PSAT scores to an SAT equivalent, we just add a _0_ to each PSAT number.

Inside the SAT (cont.)

SAT Course Intro and BTSProwess’s Path to 2400:

Focus on Form, not Score

In the beginning, you will mostly be getting comfortable with new ways of thinking about and taking standardized tests. Don’t worry too much over how many questions you are answering right during your first few homework assignments or on the first practice test; instead, concentrate on finding strategy in your process, using the Prowess methods, and developing a test-taking routine. Higher scores will come inevitably as a result of this.

Keep Track of Your Progress

Every new assignment and every test section you complete on your own will provide you with an opportunity for assessment. Use a notebook to record what types of problems are consistently giving you difficulty. Keep track of how many minutes it takes you to read a passage, and then see how many minutes it takes to answer each question on that passage. The more information you can obtain about how you are taking the test, the better you will be able to find ways to improve what you’re doing.

Don’t Give Up

The nature of a test like the SAT is to challenge you, so you can expect to find moments of frustration, irritation, and even hostility. It is important that you don’t let these frustrations lead to overall despair about the test. Instead, fight through the difficulty. If you are having trouble answering a question the usual way, try a new approach. Leave the question and come back to it a few minutes later after you’ve cooled off. The last thing you want to do, however, is leave that question unanswered. The same type of question that you can’t get now will be the same type of question you don’t get on Test Day—unless, of course, you do something about it.

Use the Resources

Prowess provides copious resources to help you achieve your max score on the SAT. When you are just starting out learning a new approach or even a whole new system, plan to have the reference guides out next to you. Let these resources guide you along like training wheels until you are ready to take them off and tackle the mean streets of the SAT alone. The beginning is all about learning. Once you start to memorize some of the techniques and strategies, then it will be time to focus on time management and application without using your notes. If you are worried about time now, keep in mind that almost every student who struggles with time is really struggling with how to answer questions. Time management problems are just the end result of a lack of familiarity with the content of the test.

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SAT Course Intro and BTS

Find Multiple Ways to a Solution

While you always want to find a system that works and then stick with that system for as long as it continues to work, it is critical to have a backup plan if and when that system suddenly fails. It is a common practice among great test takers to have not just one way to find an answer to a given problem, but several possible paths. For example, you may know what the formula is used to solve a highly difficult geometry problem, but what happens when the dimensions you need to solve it are not given? You’ll want to have a Plan (B) MAKE A PICTURE? or even perhaps a Plan (C) CHOOSE YOUR OWN NUMBERS FOR THE MISSING DIMENSIONS and solve the question that way? Just knowing that there is always more than one way to solve a tough problem is the hallmark of an expert test taker and can be just the ticket to get you out of a jam on Test Day.

Think like a test maker, not a test taker

It’s not just a coincidence that this happens to be our slogan at Prowess. We know that the best test takers think of the SAT as a chess match between them and the test makers. The better they understand their opponent, the better their chances will be of winning the game. All test makers have structural preferences, discernible patterns, which can be uncovered by looking very closely at a large enough sample set of their tests. For example, you might have a teacher who only includes NONE OF THE ABOVE as an answer choice when that answer is correct. Similarly, ETS—the makers of the SAT—use consistent techniques to create trap answers, to hide subtle clues, and to make sure their tests are unique but fair. As you get to know the concepts that are tested, spend a little time getting to know the people who are making the test, as well. You will start to find the “tells,” as in a game of Poker, that gives their hand away and makes them seem a much less formidable opponent than you previously thought.

Take a lot of tests

From our years in the test prep business and as expert test takers ourselves, we can tell you there is no substitute for taking a lot of tests. A common saying is “The best geologist is the guy who has seen the most rocks.” Well, the best test takers are the guys who have seen the most test questions. It’s actually quite simple—the more tests you take, the more you will become familiar with the ins and outs of the SAT, and the better the chances that you will become an expert test taker too.

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HOMEWORK (due next meeting):

Please…remove your SAT flashcards from the back of the workbook and cut them to index card size.

…get plenty of rest and come prepared for the test tomorrow or Sunday

…notice: the answer key for the first assignment is now available on the website. Log in if you haven’t already!

A Copy Of This Powerpoint Can Be Found On Your Materials Page!