Preparing Your Child for the SAT

8/11/2019 Preparing Your Child for the SAT

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Preparing Your

Child for the SAT


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Priority #1 - Timing All juniors who are college-bound or considering college

should take the SAT as a junior January Test

For students completing Algebra II or higher level math class Semester 1of their junior year

June Test For students completing Algebra II or higher level math class Semester 2

of their junior year

Most students take the test at least twice June of Junior Year

Mainly for students who are weak in English and have junior EnglishSemester 2

October of Senior Year Students should complete SAT study plan during summer between junior

and senior years to best prepare for this retesting date


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Retaking the SAT

Seniors taking the test a second time55% Improved their scores

35% Had lower scores

10% Had no change in score

On average, juniors repeating the SAT as

seniors improved their combined criticalreading, mathematics, and writing scoresby approximately 40 points


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Priority #2 - Preparation

The best preparation for the SAT is arigorous high school schedule comprised

of Honors and AP courses


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College/CareerReady

College/CareerReady

PSAT

SAT

AP Tests

Honors/APCourses

College/Career Ready

The Path to College/Career Readiness


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Priority #3 Use the PSAT

Take the PSAT in Grades 9, 10 and 11

Why the PSAT?

Best preparation for the SAT Uses similar questions and same directions

Qualify for scholarships

Compare scores with other college-bound students across thecountry

Forecast SAT scores Get personalized feedback on skill strengths and weaknesses

Identify your childs potential for AP courses in high school


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Priority #4 Test Prep Sessions

Test Preparation Sessions @ NCHS

Sessions Occur During SET

2 Test Confidence Sessions 4 English Sessions

4 Math Sessions

SAT BlastOccurs day prior to the SAT

Students take two 80 minute sessions 80 minutes on English

80 minutes on Math


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Priority #5 Preparation at Home

Use online resources to prepare a study plansat.collegeboard.com/practice/sat-skills-insight

Complete practice tests including at least one

full-length practice test Can be found online

Can be purchased in SAT study guides

Take mock SAT in March @ NCHS

Carefully evaluate test taking strategies to figureout what works best www.sparknotes.com/testprep
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Other Suggested Ways to Prepare

Take SAT Prep class at NCHS This year there was only one section Quarter 1 Considering offering two credit options

SAT PrepEnglish

SAP PrepMathematics All courses run based upon student request

College Board offers an online prep course Cost $69.95

CCPS is exploring companies who are interested inoffering SAT Prep services such as Kaplan, etc. Unclear at this time if this will be available and if there will be a cost

to the student


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Proven Keys to Success Practice makes perfect!

READ, READ, READ! Turn off the electronics (unless its an eReader) and

pick up a book.

Students consistently tell us the mostchallenging part is the vocabularyGet top 100 SAT words Consider purchasing a SAT words book

Suggestion: Hot Words for the SAT published by Barrons atcost of $9.99


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The SAT

Things You

Might Not Know


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Myth Reality

The SAT is a logic test. The SAT does not test logic abilitiesor IQ. It tests a students skills in

reading, writing and mathematics.

Tips and shortcuts can help youace the SAT.

The SAT isnt designed to trick test

takers. It measures what theyalready know and how they can apply

that knowledge.Short-term prep is the best way fora test taker to boost his/her score.

Quick prep courses cant replace

years of solid schoolwork. Studentswho take rigorous, challengingcourses in high school will be the

best prepared for the test.


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What does the test look like?Section Content Number of

Questions

Critical Reading70 minutes

Two 25-minute sections

One 20-minute section

Extended ReasoningLiteral Comprehension

Vocabulary in Context

Sentence Completions

Total

36-404-6

4-6

19

67

Mathematics70 minutes

Two 25-minute sections

One 20-minute section

Number & OperationsAlgebra & Functions

Geometry & Measurement

Data Analysis, Statistics & Probability

Total

11-1419-22

14-16

5-8

54

Writing60 minutes

One 25-minute essay

One 25-minute multiple choice

One 10-minute multiple choice

Essay

Improving Sentences

Identifying Sentence Errors

Improving Paragraphs

Total

1

25

18

6

50


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How difficult is the SAT?

On average, students answer 50 or 60percent of questions correctly

80 percent finish nearly the entire test

Almost all students complete at least 75percent of the questions


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Timing is Everything! Test is 3 hours and 45 minutes of testing time, plus three

5-minute breaks, for a total of 4 hours to complete theentire test.

Cant spend too much time on any one question. Spend seconds on the easiest questions Hesitate to spend more than 1-2 minutes even on the

hardest questions

The SAT consists of a series of small, timed, mini-tests. Students must keep track of the time allotted for each

one and how much time remains.

Test takers should wear a watch to the testing center.


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Understanding the Scoring!

Test takers get a point for a right answer.

Test takers lose one-quarter point for a wrong

answer. There is no deduction for omitted answers, or for

wrong answers in the math sections student-produced response questions.

Each of the 3 sections is on a 200 to 800 pointscale.

Documents

Preparing Your Child for the SAT