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11th Graders:

High School juniors will be taking their 11th grade PSAT in October. It is best to take either the November or December SAT if they have never taken the exam. This sets a baseline and provides a good measure of their current score level. This also gives students enough remaining test dates to improve on their scores.

 

12th Graders:

High School seniors should target the August test date. This test date was added only a few years ago and really allows seniors to focus on test prep during the summer prior to their senior year. 

The latest SAT test date for early decision applications is typically October. The very latest test date for college applications is December.  

 

 

The SAT Math Test is categorized into the following four types of questions. Listed below are the percentages of questions for each type.

Heart of Algebra 35-40%

Passport to Advanced Mathematics 25-30%

Problem Solving and Data Analysis 20-25%

Additional Topics in Mathematics 10-15%

The majority of the test measure students’ knowledge acquired during Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II. Therefore, students in Pre-Calculus and Calculus are actually 2-3 years removed from much of the material covered on the test.

My strategy is not to have students learn years worth of Algebra and Geometry again. Instead, I focus on studying for the test by pinpointing students to the exact formulas and concepts most often seen on the exam therefore maximizing test prep efficiency.

A lot of students want to see their SAT results including actual answers from their tests. Remember SAT offers QAS (Question-and-Answer Service) which includes all the answers in the scoring report but this service is offered only for the March, May, and October exam dates.

QAS must be ordered either during test registration or up to 5 months after the test date.