THE SAT TEST

There are 60 questions that count on the math SAT and you only need to get about 30 of them correct to get a 500 which is considered average.

You may have more questions than 60 but you don’t know which ones count nor does the proctor so you must take them all seriously—they are field testing the others.

UNLIKE the PSSA DO NOT answer every question. Answer only those that you know or for which can reduce the number of choices before guessing. There is a built in penalty of .25 for each wrong answer

# correct – .25 #wrong = score there is no penalty for skipped questions, they just don’t add to your score.

No points are deducted for gridded questions which are wrong so try all the gridded problems.

Each multiple choice question counts the same as any other so don’t spend too much time on any one question—if you don’t get it skip it, and come back if time remains

The questions in each part are supposedly set up from easiest to hardest—based on the number of correct responses in the past. But everyone is different and remembers different things so don’t panic.

Remember drawings are not to scale unless stated.

There are formulas at the beginning of each section.

Things to look for:

The use of Pythagorean triples 3, 4, 5 6, 8, 10 5, 12, 13 are the most common

Remember The special right triangles 30 60 90 and 45 45 90

The smallest side(s) are always one and there is always a “2” on the hypotenuse

these are now included as diagrams on the test

60 45

1 2 1

30

45 1

1 is not a prime number—primes can be divided by 1 and themselvesThe following are perfect squares 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100, 121, 144

2

3

Raw Score

Scaled Score

Raw Score

Scaled Score

Raw Score

Scaled Score

Raw Score

Scaled Score

60 800 44 610 28 500 12 380

59 790 43 600 27 480 11 370

58 770 42 600 26 480 10 370

57 750 41 590 25 480 9 360

56 730 40 580 24 470 8 350

55 720 39 570 23 460 7 340

54 700 38 570 22 460 6 320

53 690 37 560 21 450 5 310

52 680 36 550 20 440 4 300

51 670 35 540 19 440 3 280

50 660 34 540 18 430 2 270

49 650 33 530 17 420 1 250

48 640 32 520 16 410 0 230

47 640 31 520 15 410 -1 210

46 630 30 510 14 400 -2 200

45 620 29 500 13 390

The test is a standardized test If the score for the math and reading parts of the test, the average µ= 1026 and the standard deviation σ= 110

Click on the graph for chart of past averages

Then 68.2 % of all students should score between 916 and 1136 and should get into most colleges. 13.6% will score from 1136 to 1246 and be able to go to most universities. 2.15% will score above 1246 and will be able to apply to the ivy league schools.

In the opposite direction, 13.6% will score from 806 to 916 and be able to get into most colleges but may need to take summer/remedial courses prior to attending full time. And the 2.15% that score under an 806 will need to retake the test if they intend to get into college.

Colleges look at more than SAT scores, they look at GPAs, activities, etc. but this gives you an idea of what you need to shoot for

SAT TOPICS• Arithmetic work problems

• Percent

• Prime numbers

• Ratio and proportion

• Logical reasoning

• Sets (union, intersection, elements)

• Properties of integers (even, odd, etc)

• Divisibility

• Counting technique

• Sequence and series

(including exponential growth)

• Elementary number theory

• Properties of exponents

• Algebraic work problems

• Substitution

• Absolute value (NEW)

• Rational and radical equations (NEW)

• Equations of lines (NEW)

• Direct and inverse variation (NEW)

• Basic concepts of algebraic functions (NEW)

•“new operations” based on common operations ie 3*&5 means (3 x 5 )/ (3 +5)•solutions to linear equations•quadratic equations•simplifying algebraic expressions•area and perimeter of a polygon•area and perimeter of a circle•Volume of a box, cube, cylinder•Pythagorean theorem and special properties of isosceles triangle, equilateral triangles, and right triangles•Properties of parallel and perpendicular lines•Coordinate geometry•Geometric visualization•Slope (NEW)•Similarity (NEW)•Data interpretation •Statistics (mean, median (NEW) •mode (NEW)•probability

SAT INFO

• The new SAT will take 3 hrs 45 min a writing section is included .

• The SAT is not an IQ test, it tests college readiness.

PSAT INFO

• The new PSAT will take 2 hrs 10 min same as the old—the writing will not be included as it takes too long to grade.

PSAT INFO

• web site www.collegeboard.com

full length test on site, also the question of the day can be sent to you

SOURCES OF PRACTICE

• web site www.collegeboard.com

full length test on site, also the question of the day can be sent to you

• Sat prep book—given when you sign up—has one full length test

• SAT study Guide new prep book has 8 full length practice tests, practice questions and essay prompts, plus approaches to take the test

Practice test #1

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