Standardized Tests
We remember too vividly the last-minute anxiety that accompanies an early-Saturday-morning standardized
exam; somehow, the whole event reminds of a trip to the emergency room, in that your entire life seems to
hang in the balance. Except you're the operating doctor!
If your entire post-college life is flashing before your adolescent eyes, you've come to the right place.
And we do hope that you will find consolation and a calming influence from our words.
Despite colleges' attempts to the contrary, the general public continues to believe widely that a student's standardized test
scores are by and large the only distinguishing characteristic of their application materials. This claim, frankly, is false, as poor test-takers
would be forever punished and many sneaky, yet lazy students would breeze into Ivy League schools. The SAT, ACT, SAT II subject tests, and Advanced Placement (AP)
exams are indeed important, but they are certainly not the only distinguishing mark of a competitive applicant.
As we discuss in this and other portions of the site, college admissions officers are trained to assess not only the
academic credentials of their applicants, but also their personal (extracurricular) qualifications. They would love to build a well-rounded college environment,
even in a highly technical environment such as MIT or CalTech! Just think about: Even if you are a computer-loving physicist, you wouldn't grow too much if you were
surrounded completely by other computer-loving physicists, would you?
The SAT I
We recommend spending some quality time familiarizing yourself with the collegeboard.com
site, if only for its overview of the College Board's services. This behemoth company has a great monopoly on the standardized testing income
that will come from college-bound high school juniors and seniors, so please pat yourself on the back for supporting this company's success!
Seriously, however, the site offers some great preparatory information and explanations of how to report your scores to the schools to
which you intend to apply; see this page for
more details. The colleges and universities to which you apply should include a checklist of to-dos, which will inevitably include reporting
your SAT scores. Please refer to the College Board's site for the proper procedure.
The best preparation for the exam is to familiarize yourself with the types of questions
that will appear on the exam. Many test preparation books detail the subsets of questions that you will likely find
within the broad categories of questions – analogies, sentence completions, and critical reading questions in the verbal
sections and five-selection multiple-choice questions, quantitative comparison questions, and free-response questions in the math sections.
After studying several sample tests, you will find that many multiple-choice math questions are looking for you to identify an angle's size based on the knowledge you
have concerning the other angles in a given triangle. Many of the critical reading questions will ask you to identify the main ideas of the author's passage, for example.
After taking a practice exam, you may find it helpful to categorize the questions contained within in order to feel more comfortable when you
see similar kinds of questions on a real exam.
Another huge secret of champion test-takers lies in their approach to the problems at hand. Many frustrated individuals become easily flustered when stumbling
upon a problem that troubles them. Even the best students will almost certainly see some questions that seem quite difficult; the SAT I is not supposed to be a complete
walk in the park. The rub, however, is in how you handle this situation. Do you become angry with yourself for not having studied every Friday night for the past four years?
Or do you realize that you can feasibly answer a great number of the questions and focus on the positive? Great test-takers remember that they can nail the "easy" questions,
and they humbly accept the reality that they can't hammer all the questions presented to them. Yet, they confidently answer those "easy" questions first and become encouraged
that there seemed to be so many of them! What approach will you take?
Another important detail lies in the scoring of the exam. The College Board rewards you with one point for each correct answer, and a fraction of a point is deducted from your
"raw" score for each incorrect response. The lesson here is that random guessing is to your disadvantage. As most test preparation books explain, however, if you can eliminate at least
two of the choices, it is to your advantage to guess. If none of the choices look like "dead-wrong" answers, however, it behooves you to consider not guessing on the question.
One telling qualifier from the collegeboard.com Web site should bring a smile to your face, if
nothing else: "The SAT I does not measure motivation, creativity, or special talents (even though these qualities will contribute to your success in college and throughout life)."
But, if they could test them, they would!
A guest columnist for The Weekly Standard recently argued that the SAT I
had improved because of the changes implemented in June 2002. John W. Harper wrote:
"[University of California President Richard] Atkinson also asserted that analysis of three decades of undergraduate data at the University of California had shown that the SAT II subject tests,
in conjunction with high school grades, were actually a slightly better predictor of success in college than the SAT, and that adding the SAT to the mix improved the predictive power by only a trivial increment.
(Interestingly, the same data also seem to show that the SAT II writing test is the best single predictor overall.)" The College Board has thus been working to re-solidify the SAT I's place in
predicting the test-takers' college success.
Raising your scores
The College Board provides an interesting section about "Coaching" and students' success on the SAT I on their Web site.
They reveal that:
- "Short-term programs (about 20 hours) improve scores an average of about 10 points on verbal and about 15 points on math."
- "Longer-term programs (about 40 hours) improve scores an average of 15 to 20 points on verbal and 20 to 30 points on math."
- "Courses that teach math content rather than test-taking tips tend to result in greater score gains."
- "Longer programs produce somewhat larger score gains, but beyond the first 20 or 30 hours of coaching, typical score gains are minor."
The moral of this story is clear: Test preparation programs are helpful, but only to a degree. Suggestions that you can improve your score by
hundreds of points are speculative at best. This, by no means, demonstrates that you should not enroll in a test preparation course in order to
improve your test scores. Yet, we recommend prudence upon entering such a course. Imagine a sprinter arriving at the Olympics after only 20 hours of practice;
it would be miraculous if he slashed his personal-best time by several seconds! True improvement on standardized tests comes through
determined effort (akin to practice for the sprinter) and sheer knowledge accumulation (perhaps like weight-lifting for the runner).
The College Board goes on to explain that "real academic growth" will improve your scores: "Generally, you can expect an annual growth of about 15 to 20 points on verbal scores and about 15 to 20 points on math scores during your high school years. This is because you continue to develop your skills throughout high school."
By supplementing your in-school work with out-of-school test practice and deep and broad reading (explained below), you can expedite that real academic growth to the advantage of your test scores.
Remember also that your best scores on the Math and Verbal sections are considered in the application procedure, so poor performances on one section
of the exam might encourage you to re-take the SAT I.
Verbal improvement
Despite stereotypes to the contrary, having a vocabulary rife with 20-letter words will not make you into
a test-taking star on the verbal sections of standardized tests. Rather, we recommend reading broadly and deeply
to improve your vocabulary and your verbal-logical reasoning. Great writers breed great thinkers, but only if
you take the time to sit at their feet. One great means of blasting through vocabulary is to take note of newly encountered
words and commit them to your memory; if you find an unknown word in a novel and later see it on a SAT, wouldn't you be excited
to have committed to your vocabulary? What a blessing that would be!
One great means of accomplishing a verbal deepening: reading a weekly newsmagazine. They are usually intended for
a bright, well-read audience and will not insult your intelligence. And they will keep you fresh on world events! An INTOTHEBEST, Inc.
winning suggestion: Time.com. Time bills itself as the "world's most
interesting magazine"; what do you think? Are you willing to try them out? Your vocabulary and logic will love you for it!
Another great magazine is The New Yorker. Please check out its strong features
writing and its essays.
Mathematical mastery
Unlike expanding your verbal horizons, becoming a master of standardized
tests' math sections will not take you to exotic places or even outside
your own room. In fact, those who do well on the math sections of standardized
tests are either 1) extremely intelligent and mathematically inclined
or 2) well-practiced in the arts of finding quick answers to question
prototypes that commonly appear on these sections. A sure-fire combination
would bring 1) and 2) together, but we are confident that even so-so mathematics
students can excel on math sections on standardized exams. Why? Simply
because the question archetypes repeat themselves so frequently!
When you have a couple hours, peruse a test preparation book and look for its breakdown of the commonly encountered
mathematics question types. Learn these types; follow the reasoning that led to the answers. Read through the logic until it
makes sense. If not, ask friends or your parents to explain the logic. We are confident, however, that anyone with basic computational skills
and a knowledge of the logic that leads to the answers can shine on the math sections of standardized tests.
The ACT
The ACT has never reached the level of importance given to the SAT, but success on it can prove helpful when applying to top colleges. You can
request information about the exam from your guidance counselor or on the Web at the ACT home.
In many states, the ACT is not offered as frequently as the SAT I, so, if you are planning to take the exam, you may need to do some more advance planning that
you might have done for the SAT I. The effort may prove incredibly worthwhile.
Like the SAT I, it is vital to know the set up of the exam. Check on the ACT site's description to enter the test center prepared. Your preparation for the SAT I
should leave you confident about answering the questions that might be presented on the ACT, but please note the major disparity on the ACT vis-à-vis the SAT I: there is no
penalty for guessing. That means that you should guess away, regardless of your comfort level and security in your choices.
Please note that the ACT sub-divides what comprises the Verbal section of the SAT I into English and Reading sections. Also, the addition of the Science section
allows the exam to present a broader portrait of your strength as a college applicant.
Should I take the SAT or the ACT? Both?
We recommend that you check with colleges to which you would like to apply and investigate their SAT I-vs.-ACT policies. If they accept both scores, it
can be to your great advantage to take the ACT. A strong showing on the ACT will only bolster your record. Please keep in mind, however, that a good number of
top schools require a combination of the SAT I and SAT II subject tests, so your ACT scores will likely be only supplemental materials for your application.
The SAT II subject tests
The SAT II subject tests can be integral to your application at a top college. While success on the SAT I demonstrates logical clarity and intellectual maturity,
the SAT II subject tests show that you've learned and retained a great deal from your high school coursework. Admissions officers at top colleges will almost
certainly look at the SAT II subject tests with close scrutiny. The key is to choose the tests you take wisely.
Most top schools recommend that you take three subject tests, and many require that you take the Writing subject test. If you are applying to an engineering or science program,
the college or university may require you to take one of the Mathematics subject tests and/or one or several science subject tests. It behooves you to
spend some time reviewing the admissions requirements for the schools that interest you in the middle of your junior year. Especially for the science subject tests, it makes sense
to take the ones you will likely take at the end of your junior year, when the course material is still fresh in your mind. Trying to cram junior year's course information during the
week preceding the subject test in the fall of your senior year would stink. If you're taking physics junior year and need to take a subject test in a science, reason dictates that you
should take the Physics subject test at the end of your junior year, unless you are a closet genius in another science and could best your potential score on the Physics test.
Since the tests are each an hour in length, it might seem that you could
take all three in a single testing day. We recommend not doing this, simply
because of freshness. You will be dragging by the third exam! If you can,
try to take two exams -- perhaps a science exam and the writing exam --
during the spring of your junior year. Then, take a Mathematics subject
test and either the Writing exam again or another exam on which you might
excel.
Also, do not hesitate to take four exams; high scores on multiple SAT II subject tests will demonstrate your strength as a student and will improve your chances at impressing college
admissions officers.
Our recommendations for test preparation materials
