SAT Math Strategies - Part II
Posted: Monday, May 02, 2011
by Joe Pagano
Math by Joe
In the first part of this article we discussed the three core elements of a basic SAT score boosting strategy, specifically time pacing, omission, and answering. A solid knowledge of these three methods will afford the prospective college-bound high school junior or senior an effective way of boosting the SAT math score by at least 50-100 points. Here we go into the details of these strategies and the best ways in which to implement them.
The time pacing strategy involves building up a "time bank" in which the student accumulates time for the later problems or for checking over completed problems to insure accuracy. Since students are allotted approximately a minute and fifteen seconds per question, they will make deposits into their time bank every time they do a question in less than this time. Since the first 10-15 questions on the two multiple choice sections, and the first 5 and 7, respectively, on the multiple/grid section are relatively easy, and can be done quite quickly with sufficient practice, the student can make substantial deposits into the time bank for withdrawals later on, which will aid in doing the more difficult questions and checking completed problems; the result of this strategy is an overall boost to the score.
For the stronger students, this time bank strategy helps them to get high ranking scores. In order to get a score in the 700's and better, a student must answer 48 (51 for a 740) questions correct without having more than two wrong answers. Each wrong answer counts as a negative 1/4 point, thus reducing the overall raw score which is used to calculate the final score, which ranges from 200-800. Students need to be aware that they must blow through the early part of the test in order to tackle the harder problems at the end. The questions go in order of difficulty, from easiest to hardest, so this strategy permits an entree into the realms of the top scorers. Consequently, the time bank strategy permits one to enter this realm and also to permit the checking of questions for accuracy, since wrong answers are a detraction from the overall score.
Next we have the omission strategy, which is my favorite of the three. Students of mine have boosted their scores over 30-50 points just with the knowledge of this one technique. The premise is simple: every time a wrong answer is selected, 1/4 point is subtracted from the raw score. Thus I counsel my students: Do not guess. If you don't know the answer, leave it blank. Omission equals a higher score. To see how this works, consider the following: You answer all 54 questions. You only knew how to do 24, and you guessed on the other 30. Let's assume the ones you guessed on were all multiple choice since you don't lose points for wrong answers on the grid-ins. (Thus you should always guess on the grid-ins even though the likelihood of getting one of these questions right in this manner is extremely small.) Since the probability of getting a question right from purely guessing is 1/5, you would be expected to get 6 correct of those 30. Thus you would have 24 + 6 or 30 correct (assuming those 24 you knew how to do were done flawlessly, which is often not the case); however, you would lose 24*(1/4) or 6 points from your raw score from guessing. Now of the 24 you knew how to do, you might have made some sloppy mistakes and thus got some of those wrong. Rather than wasting time on the problems you don't know in order to guess, which as you saw in the example didn't change your raw score for the better, at the best, you should invest your time only on those problems you know and make sure you get them correct. This also takes time pressure off of you because you know you are only going to invest your time in those problems you stand a high probability of getting correct. This strategy works very nicely in practice.
The answer strategy refers to the approach in which a student answers a question using the answers provided. Many questions on the math SAT can be answered by either filling in the answers given into the question, as for example when a specific function or equation is given, and then seeing which answer makes sense. My experience has shown that about 99% of the time the test makers will place the correct answer in choice D or E. It is not hard to see why. If the student goes in order to arrive at the answer, he or she will waste time by substituting the answers provided in choices A, B, and C. Thus the optimal strategy is to try D first, then E, and then to go backwards from C. You save time and you often get the right answer immediately. Be sure to do this on your test.
To summarize, the above strategies implemented competently should significantly boost one's SAT score and yield at least a 50-100 point pop to the over all math score. This is noteworthy since the maximum score is 800. This 50-100 point pop then equates to a 6-12% bonus to one's score. Not bad for some simple strategies! Be sure to review the strategies outlined here and to use them on your next SAT practice test. Once learned, you can then confidently apply them on the real test to boost your score significantly.
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