Smart Preparation for the SAT Test
The SAT Test has raised its standards. It now includes a written essay, more reading passages, tougher math concepts than ever before, and questions about grammar and usage. It is, more than ever, an academic reasoning test, requiring creativity, insight, knowledge, logic, and genuine academic skills. Real success on the SAT Test requires smart training, not test-taking tricks.
The “crack the test” approach to preparing for the SAT Test is even less effective now. For real improvement on the SAT Test, you must strengthen your problem-solving skills. Students who ace the SAT Test don’t do it by memorizing test-taking tricks. Ask them. They do it by becoming good problem solvers.
Smart Preparation for the SAT Test is not about memorizing the “best way” to solve each “type” of SAT Test question. There are no such “magic bullets,” and trying to memorize each possible “type” is silly, not to mention virtually impossible. This would be like training a baseball player to simply “memorize” every possible scenario in a baseball game, and respond to each one in a pre-programmed way. Ridiculous. Of
course, fundamental skills are important to a good player, but even more important are the systems he or
she uses to respond—flexibly and creatively—to the infinite possibilities that may arise in any game. A good player is one who thinks well. Similarly, to do well on the SAT Test, you must improve your general problem-solving skills, so that you are ready for any crazy problem that might come your way. This process requires being open to new information and discoveries as they come, continually looking for new relationships and patterns in that information, evaluating and reevaluating your progress as you work through problems, and so on.
This is mindful practice, not mindless habit or“quick and easy” tricks. Here are some important questions to think about:
• As you read, are you in control of how your eyes move through the page? Do you always know what to look for in a passage? Is your mind actively seeking to answer questions as you read and to “construct” a representation of what you read in your mind? Do you consolidate information as you read? Do you notice the structure of the passage as you read? If not, you are not reading mindfully.These skills are crucial to ace the Sat Critical Reading section.
• As you write, do you stay mindful of the central purpose of your essay? Do you think about different ways of phrasing and arranging your thoughts? Do you address the objections a reader might have to your points? Are you continually checking that your writing is clear and forceful to your reader? If not, you are not writing mindfully. These skills are crucial to ace the Sat Test Essay.
• When solving a math problem, do you always represent the problem information in a way you can use? Do you look for patterns or repetition in the problem so that you can simplify it? Do you consider the different approaches you could take to solving the problem? Do you have good strategies for checking your work? These skills are crucial to ace the SAT Test Mathematics sections.