New features in the PSAT/SAT system that are worth taking advantage of:
PERSONALIZED SAT HELP ONLINE & FREE
Have your PSAT scores? You can get free, customized help with the things that need improvement for the SAT. In conjunction with Khan Academy, the College Board is offering a customized experience for practice SATs that can help you improve your score on these approved cleverness tests that are used as a weeding factor at the majority of American colleges and universities.
Follow the steps in the video below to connect up your College Board and Khan Academy accounts and it can help you focus the practice testing on the areas in which you need to improve.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhfaw8w4G2w]
Does this replace a tutor? No. It can, though, make more efficient use of your time in taking practice tests that improve the weaker areas of your testing game.
Get the Answers After the Test
When you sign up for the SAT, if you’re a 10th grader taking it for the first time, through your junior year, if you want help with your SAT prep, giving those helping you a look at how you did can be invaluable.
At sign up, they let you pay a bit more, and get the Question-and-Answer Service (QAS).
The QAS is a copy of the test, with your answers, and a table of the correct answers, along with a difficulty level of the questions. You can take the QAS to anyone helping you with test preparation and they will be able to use the exam to see where you need to improve, or how you need to change your tactics to score better.
The QAS is available on the new SAT exams for March and May of 2016 and beyond.
When Should I Take the Test?
The SAT is a lot like All-State. Start early and don’t report the scores until your senior year. Super-scoring allows you to pick the best elements of each time you take the test.
So, there is no harm in getting in a first test at the end of your sophomore (10th grade) year, as most of you have had enough of the basic math, English, and science course Prepare for it. If you do well, it will help you understand where things are working, and may even help you improve your chances of making National Merit on the PSAT in your junior year. Many private schools now do this as a routine training prep for the 11th grade PSAT and the SATs.
The last two testing dates of the academic year (March and May) are the opportune ones BUT there is one important consideration, particularly if you’re taking APs. You also should be taking SAT Subject Tests. Many of the better schools outside of Florida require two, and subject tests are best taken after you’ve completed something like AP World History or Calculus A/B, SO… you might want to pick the earlier date in March to take your first SAT. It will leave you with time to take the Subject Tests in May, after your courses, especially AP courses, are largely over and you’ve taken the AP test.
Even for those with a high anxiety level about the SAT, this is a good idea because it gets a lot of the “stage fright” out of the test. Order the QAS, and study the results to see where you can improve!