Bye bye SAT? September 30, 2008
Posted by admin in : College related , add a commentThere’s a buzz in the air about tossing the SAT through the window. Harvard’s dean of admissions, Mr. William Fitzsimmons points out the test is “incredibly imprecise” at predicting success in college. He recently shared his thoughts at the annual gathering for The National Association for College Admission Counseling held in Seattle.
In the Dean’s opinion, “Educational quality has nothing to do, or very little to do, with actual average SAT scores.” Mr. Fitzsimmons pointed out that ultimately, it’s up to each educational institution to assess the role of the SAT in their admissions process. He says they need to do research to determine how well the SAT and other standardized tests predict success at their institutions.
Although this conference stirred up a lot of discontent with the SAT, it’s nothing new. Former UC California President Richard C. Atkinson recommended they pitch the test from their admissions requirements in 2001, to become an SAT-optional school. Although that hasn’t happened yet, the College Board changed the test four years later to appease their largest client.
So if you’re reading this thinking students may not have to take the SAT to get into college you just may be right if:
- They’re only considering one of the 775 (and growing) SAT-optional schools. See FairTest for the full list.
- They’re considering going to a community college first.
- They’re currently in elementary school. These changes take time and most admissions officers at the conference expressed the same sentiment: The test is not perfect, but it’s still useful.
THE BOTTOM LINE: If you’re currently in high school, want to go directly to a four-year college and are interested more than the limited number of SAT-optional schools, you’ve got to take the SAT.
What do YOU think?
Should the SAT be used in the college admissions process? If so, why should it be kept? If not, how SHOULD admissions offices differentiate candidates? Add a comment (name, email, and url fields optional).
NOTE: your post may not appear live because, unfortunately, due to spammers I have to approve your first message.
22 ways to succeed in college August 25, 2008
Posted by admin in : College related , 1 comment so farThis article is written by my one-of-a-kind college advisor colleague, Gary Canter. Gary is currently accepting seniors and juniors (classes of ‘09 and ‘10) to help with the college admissions process.
TWENTY – TWO WAYS TO SUCCEED IN COLLEGE
Researchers have identified certain things students can do to ensure success in college. Ironically students are often unaware of what these “persistence factors” – or keys to success – are and how much they really matter. Here are 22 basic things you can do to thrive in college.
1. Find and get to know one adult on campus who knows who you are and who cares about your survival. One person is all it takes. It might be the leader of your freshman seminar class or some other professor, an academic advisor, or someone at the career or counseling center.
2. Learn what helping resources your campus offers and where they are located. Most campuses have career planning offices, personal counseling centers, and academic skills centers, as well as many other resources.
3. Understand why you are in college. Your college experience will be much more productive if you can identify specific goals you wish to accomplish.
4. Set up a daily schedule and stick to it. When no one is around to tell you when to study or when to sleep, you need to do this for yourself. If you can’t do it alone, find someone on campus who can help - perhaps someone in your academic skills or counseling center.
5. If you are attending classes full time (12 - 15 hours per semester) don’t work more than 15 hours a week. Most people begin a downhill slide in the quality of learning beyond 15 hours. Don’t be one of them. If you need more money borrow it from a reliable source or talk to a financial aid officer. Try to work on campus. Students who work on campus tend to do better in classes and are more likely to stay enrolled than those working off campus.
6. Treat your academics as your job. Follow this rule of thumb: for every hour you spend in class or lecture, plan to spend 2.5 hours in outside study. Thus twelve hours of weekly class time will require 30 hours of additional study.
7. Assess and improve your study habits. In integral part of your success in college involves assessing your own learning style, taking better notes in class, reading more efficiently, and doing better on tests. If your campus has an academic skills center (most do), visit it.
8. Choose professors who involve you in the learning process. Attend classes in which you can actively participate. You will probably learn more, more easily and more enjoyably.
9. Know how to use the campus library. The library isn’t as formidable as it might seem, and it offers a wealth of information and resources.
10. Improve your writing. Your writing skills will serve you well throughout your life if you take some pains now to improve and secure them. Write something every day - the more you write, the better you’ll write. Remember writing is for life, not only for Eng. 101.
11. Develop critical thinking skills. Challenge. Ask why. Look for unusual problems. There are few absolutely right and wrong answers in life, but some answers come closer to being more “truthful” than others.
12. Find a great academic advisor and fight to keep him or her. The right advisor can be an invaluable source of support, guidance, and insight throughout your college years. It’s common to switch your advisor, from the one you were initially assigned to one of your own choosing, after a semester or two or three, once you’ve gotten more familiar with your college’s departments and faculty members.
13. Visit the career center early – don’t wait till your senior year. Even if you think you have chosen your academic major, the career center may offer valuable information about careers and about yourself.
14. Make one or two close friends among your peers. College represents a chance to form new and lasting ties. It also offers great diversity in terms of the people on your campus. Choose your friends for their own self-worth, and not for what they can do for you. Remember in college, as in life, you become like those with whom you associate.
15. Learn how to be assertive. Standing up for yourself is an invaluable skill. You can learn how to respect the rights of others and have others learn to respect your rights.
16. Get involved in a least one campus activity outside of the classroom. Work for the campus newspaper or radio station. Play intramural sports. Join a club. Most campus organizations are looking for new students. Check them out during orientation / new student registration periods.
17. Take your health seriously. How much sleep you get, what you eat, whether you exercise, and the kinds of decisions you make about alcohol, drugs and sex all contribute to how well or unwell you feel. Get in to the habit of being good to yourself and you will be both a happier person and a more successful student.
18. If you can’t avoid stress, learn how to live with it. While stress is an inevitable part of modern life, there are many ways of dealing with it. Your counseling center can introduce you to techniques that will help you worry less and study more.
19. Show up for class. Professors tend to test on what they discuss in class, as well as grade in part on the basis of class attendance (and participation). Take your new freedom seriously and responsibly.
20. Remember that you are not alone. Thousands of other first year students are facing the same uncertainties as you are facing. There is strength in numbers, Find a support network and use it.
21. Learn to appreciate yourself more, and to forgive yourself for mistakes you will make. Hey, you got this far, you can do the rest.
22. Try to have realistic expectations. At first you may not make the same grades you made in high school. Or if you were a star athlete in high school, you might not be anything special in college. You can still expect the best from yourself and learn how to deliver it.
–
Gary L. Canter
College Placement Services
210 St. John Street
Portland, Maine 04102
(207) 772-9711
College Placement Services provides high school students and their families
assistance with all aspects of the college search, selection, application
and financial aid process.
Make visual example 4 solution June 11, 2008
Posted by admin in : Video lessons , add a commentThis solution is to example 4 in my #1 SAT math strategy post.
Click the right upper corner of the video to make it FULL SCREEN. Be sure your computer volume is on.
Make visual example 3 solution
Posted by admin in : Video lessons , add a commentThis solution is to example 3 in my #1 SAT math strategy post.
Click the right upper corner of the video to make it FULL SCREEN. Be sure your computer volume is on.
Make visual example 2 solution
Posted by admin in : Video lessons , add a commentThis solution is to example 2 in my #1 SAT math strategy post.
Click the right upper corner of the video to make it FULL SCREEN. Be sure your computer volume is on.
Make visual example 1 solution
Posted by admin in : Video lessons , 1 comment so farThis solution is to example 1 in my #1 SAT math strategy post.
Click the right upper corner of the video to make it FULL SCREEN. Be sure your computer volume is on.
Rate pie lesson
Posted by admin in : Video lessons , add a commentAverage pie lesson
Posted by admin in : Video lessons , add a commentThis lesson covers how to use average pies on SAT questions.
SAT math pacing plan examples June 2, 2008
Posted by admin in : SAT tips , add a commentIf you haven’t already taken an SAT practice test, take one before reading this section. Use the score from your practice test or from an official SAT as a baseline. Add 50 points to this score in each section — this is your target score. This target score should be realistic and attainable.
As you may already know (if not, be sure to take my free five-day e-course), you should not answer all the questions if you want to maximize your math score. You’ll only have to answer nearly all of the questions if you’re realistically shooting for 750-800. If that’s the case, you’re pacing is great; go study some time-saving math strategies!
So, how long should you spend on each problem? Long enough so that you get 75 to 90 percent of the ones you spend time on correct. At what point should you circle a question in your booklet and move on? The actual time cap per problem depends on your target score. Let’s do a couple examples:
Pacing Plan Example 1:
Jimmy Dean took the SAT and scored 410 in math. His target score for the next practice test should be 460 (410 + 50). How many questions should Jimmy omit in the 20-question section? On average, how long should he spend on each problem? What should his time cap be per problem?
Let’s start with a few relevant rows pulled from the pacing table in Day 1 of the five-day e-course:
| Target Score (800 possible) |
Attempt this many questions (54 possible) |
Accuracy on attempted questions | Omit this fraction of section |
| 400 | 17 | 75 % | 2/3 |
| 450 | 28 | 75 % | 3/5 |
| 500 | 29 | 90 % | 1/2 |
How many questions should Jimmy omit in the 20-question section? From the middle row above, Jimmy should omit 3/5 of problems in each section. For the 20-question section he should omit 12 questions (3/5 of 20) and focus on 8. Notice he would NOT omit three questions, do two, omit three, do two, etc. It would be better for him to omit 12 trickier and time-consuming questions. In other words, he should pick his eight problems to focus on from the first half or two-thirds of the test.
On average, how long should he spend on each problem? There are 70 minutes to complete 28 problems. This gives an average of 2.5 minutes per problem (70 ÷ 28).
What should his time cap be per problem? Jimmy doesn’t have to limit himself to the average time on every problem. Many problems will take less than half the average, so it’s ok if several problems take 1.5 times the average, or about 3.5 minutes in Jimmy’s case.
Pacing Plan Example 2:
Jimmy’s sister Jane took the PSAT and scored 59 in math (projected to 590 for the SAT). Her target score for the next practice test should be 640 (590 + 50). How many questions should Jane omit in the 16-question section? On average, how long should she spend on each problem? What should her time cap be per problem?
Again, we’ll start with a few relevant rows pulled from the pacing table:
| Target Score (800 possible) |
Attempt this many questions (54 possible) |
Accuracy on attempted questions | Omit this fraction of section |
| 600 | 43 | 90 % | 1/5 |
| 650 | 48 | 92 % | 1/10 |
| 700 | 51 | 95 % | 1/20 |
How many questions should Jane omit in the 16-question section? From the middle row above, Jane should omit 1/10 of problems in each section. For a 16-question section she would omit one or two questions (1/10 of 16 = 1.6). It would be better for her to omit the trickier and time-consuming questions. In other words, she should skip one or two of the questions towards the end of the section.
On average, how long should she spend on each problem? There are 70 minutes to complete 48 problems. This gives an average of 1.5 minutes per problem (70 ÷ 48).
What should her time cap be per problem? Jane doesn’t have to limit herself to the average time on every problem. Many problems will take less than half the average, so it’s ok if several problems take 1.5 times the average, or a little more than 2 minutes (1.5 × 1.5 = 2.25).
Summary
The number of problems you attempt as well as the time you allow for each problem depends on your target score. From the above examples, Jane needs to omit 1/10 problems while Jimmy needs to omit 6/10! Jane can’t afford to spend 2.5 minutes on any problem, while Jimmy should spend 2.5 minutes on most problems he attempts or else he’ll bomb them!
Some Common Pacing Questions
So, will I actually have time on the test to do the above calculations?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! You need to develop your pacing plan now on practice tests so it’s second nature when you take the “real deal.”
While I’m taking my test should I glance at my watch before every problem so I know when it’s been 2 minutes?
For your next practice test, the answer is yes. But after that, you’ll have a sense of when it’s time to circle a question and move on without looking at your watch for each problem.
Why only add 50 points to my most recent score? If Jimmy’s last test score was 410, why shouldn’t he shoot for 600?
It’s not realistic for him to score 600 by pacing alone. This entire pacing topic is based on how to increase your score without even learning any new math concepts or strategies! Once Jimmy maximizes his score through pacing (the easiest, quickest way to improve his score), then he can review some essential SAT math skills and learn some SAT math strategies to increase his score even further. It’s possible for Jimmy to improve to 600, but only by learning new strategies, skills and adjusting his pacing as his score improves.
Don’t stop now
Now that you know how to figure out your optimal pacing plan, take a few minutes to answer the following questions for your next math practice SAT exam:
What is YOUR target math score? (add 50 points to your last math score)
How many questions should you omit in the 8-question, 10-question, 16-question, and 20-question sections? Reminder: the 8 and 10-question sections are the multiple-choice and grid-in subsections of the 18-question section. Each has it’s own order of difficulty even though the numbering doesn’t start over!
On average, how long should you spend on each problem?
What should your time cap be per problem?
If you figure out the answers the above four questions, and more importantly, follow that pacing plan, you’re sure to score higher than your last test.
SAT math strategy prerequisite
Posted by admin in : SAT tips , add a commentThink with your pencil!
No matter how rusty students’ math skills are, they could benefit first from learning SAT math strategies to increase their score. When I tutor students for the SAT, they often start our tutoring session with “I had NO idea how to do lots of those problems.” I can often tell which problems they couldn’t get right before they even ask me a question.
I simply look at their test booklet and over 80% of the time, if a problem has no writing near it, they didn’t get it. I don’t ask them which of the six essential strategies they tried because I know they didn’t. Why didn’t they? They were like a deer in headlights.
Whether you know the essential six math strategies or not, you need to know where to begin when you’re stuck. The saying in whitewater kayaking is, “When in doubt, move your paddle.” This helps someone struck with fear and not sure which way to go.
Heading in any direction is better than not moving at all, even if it’s the wrong direction! Simply recognizing you’re moving in the wrong direction is enough to tell you to change course! Physical movement keeps the brain involved and doesn’t allow you to “freeze up.”
The SAT question writers have an amazing ability to write questions that lead you to think, “I have no idea what to do here.” The saying that applies to the SAT is, “When in doubt, move your pencil.” If you’re stumped on a geometry problem with a diagram, create a crude protractor or ruler and start measuring! Sketch your own diagram if it doesn’t have one! If a problem is “wordy” or confusing, display the information differently. Make a table or a chart. Draw a tree diagram or a simple picture.
If you’re stuck on a problem with variables, make up numbers or plug in answer choices; and more importantly – write them down and work them through (think with your pencil)! Do anything that gets your pencil moving! If your pencil is moving, your brain is engaged. If your brain is engaged, you are one step closer to a solution; even if that solution is, “I’ll come back to this problem later if I have time.”
The most important fact you need to experiment with is it takes little to no more time to write stuff down than it does to do it in your head. The points you gain by avoiding errors and sparking ideas when stumped, by far, outweigh the time it takes to move your pencil. If you review your practice test and find yourself saying, “I should have got that right,” or “that was a stupid mistake,” you need to write more stuff down and let your pencil do the thinking.
Don’t let the limited blank space intimidate you – use scratch paper. Ask for it before the test begins.