We want to wish all our ePrep students best of luck on this Saturday’s SAT test. You should feel very confident based on the effort and practice you’ve put in over these past several months. Following the ePrep method of practice, grade and review (under simulated, test day conditions!) you are well prepared to take on the SAT.
You might consider reviewing our ePrep strategy session videos this week as a final preparation going into the test. Summarized below are links to many key video lessons focused on test taking strategies.
SAT Test Day: The Night Before and Morning Of
Real SAT Stories: Second Guessing on the SAT
SAT Directions: Optimize Your Time on Test Day
When to Guess on the SAT Writing Section
When to Guess on the SAT Critical Reading Section
When to Guess on the SAT Math Section
SAT Sentence Completion Questions: When to Guess?
Don’t Blame the Chicken Pox for SAT Math Mistakes
Approach to SAT Math Problems
Habeus Answer, or Show Yourself the Answer!
Mastering Your SAT Test Weaknesses
SAT Questions…Easiest to Hardest
Autopilot – Don’t Set a Course for a Lower SAT Score
A Lesson from a Course in Wills, Trusts and Estates
Bubbling: Avoid Mistakes in Your Answer Key
Please Put Down Your Pencil!
The Dreaded SAT Experimental Section
Additionally, we’ve included a link to our presentation (in PDF format) on “what to do the night before and the morning of the SAT test” right here: Webinar Presentation – Night Before the SAT
Best of luck on Saturday!
January 29th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Hi Karl!
My sons took the SAT on Jan. 24.
They were ready but naturally anxious about it. They have been
using the eprep program to prepare. Upon picking them up after the test,
they were upset that the proctor would call “five minutes” before the end of the test when it actually more like 10-15 minutes until time was up! Needless to say, this rattled them as well as
the students in the room. This happened at least 3 times. My sons also complained that during the test, someone would come in and out of the room and talk to the proctor further distracting the
the test takers. My question to you is, what can be done in a situation like this? It seems to me that since the emphasis on SAT scores is great, shouldn’t the test sites employ people that can actually tell time and have at least the ability to sit quietly while the students take a 25 minute test?
Just so you know, I did go back into the building and found the test coordinator and explained the situation. She apologized for the experience but then admonished my sons for not having said anything to the proctor right then and there. She said that they might have corrected any problem by giving them a little more time (?). She did say that she would let ETS know and that we really couldn’t do anything until we get there scores to see how they did (?).
My guys didn’t want me to address this whole thing, but I was MAD! Because of the requirement of the test scores for admission to college, the cost involved in preparing for the test, and also the cost of taking the test itself, I was not going to let this go without letting someone know about this.
Sorry about the rant! Just want your take and opinion. I am sure this can’t be the first time you’ve heard this complaint!
Monica
January 29th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Monica,
I completely understand how you feel. When I took the SAT back in 1985, workers were tarring the roof right above my assigned testing room. When I took the GRE in 1990, the person administering the test cut us five minutes short on one of the verbal sections. Finally, when I took the LSAT in 1996, the proctor from my testing room went into the hallway and had a never-ending conversation with a friend . . . with the classroom door wide open! I could tell you a million stories from other people too.
I imagine it’s worse when it is happening to your children.
Send me an email, either directly or through customer care, if you want me to reset Adam and Peter’s accounts.
In the meantime, I would call or send a letter to the College Board. While it may not make a difference for your boys, it may help change things for students going forward.
Please let me know how it went, when you get the scores.
February 10th, 2009 at 3:20 am
Dear Karl,
Hello there! I just wanted to know the usual scaling for each
section, as in how many points ETS most often increases from the
base scaled mark. Also, are there any possibilities of my scores
being released a day or 2 prior to the pre-determined date? Since
I’m down in New Zealand, 18 hours earlier than the US East Coast,
I would hate to receive my scores on a Black Friday (Yes, I’m
slightly superstitious)! Sorry for all the questions, its just
that this is my first time taking the SAT and I’m feeling
extremely nervous right now as I’m only 2 days(according to US
time) away from receiving my scores. Thanks a lot for your help!
Yours sincerely,
Daniel
February 10th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Daniel,
The term “recentering” was popular years ago when ETS changed its scoring practices. The term in not used much today. When you get your scores on February 12th in the U.S. (Yes, you will have to wait it out, unfortunately.) you will receive a raw score, a scaled score (200-800), and a percentile rank in each of the three subject areas. The scaled scores and the percentiles are the important statistics because they indicate how you did compared to your global peers.
I hope my thoughts help. Please let me know how it went. Good luck.
March 17th, 2009 at 5:59 am
Hello,
I just felt helpless on reading through the contents but
but I hope by now the young ones have been solved with their
problems. All these happen but nothing can be done at times.
March 17th, 2009 at 7:03 am
Sairam,
I followed up with Monica. The scores of her boys were canceled and they were given the opportunity to take the test again at no cost. I guess that is about the best result they could have gotten. I agree with your comment that “nothing can be done at times.”
March 18th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Hi Karl!
I was a student at a small private school in New Jersey where
you taught for a number of years. I remember many evenings
where you dedicated extra time outside of class to give my
former roommate extra help with his Algebra assignments. This
happened over 13 years ago and it is inspiring to see that your
passion for teaching and helping others remains strong.
Please keep up the good work. And let me know if you have any
interest in offering similar services for the GMAT. I often ask
my friends who are preparing for the GMAT to take a look at the
quant sections on your site before spending dollar amounts
within the five figure range for other GMAT prep services.
Eugene
March 19th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Eugene,
Great to hear from you, buddy. We definitely have to touch base soon. I will send you an email tomorrow when I have time. Thanks for the nice comment, by the way. Do you want to be ePrep’s GMAT expert? (I know you are well qualified.) Who knows, maybe we can do it together!
Talk to you soon.
April 24th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
My daughter took the High School SAT’s as a Jr. Before the math portion, the students were reminded to bring a calculator for the Math portion. As the students were beginning this portion, the Dean of students, came to the classroom and announced even if it indicates to use a calculator,tthese student could not use one. It caused a great distress for the students.
Will this skew the test or make it invalid?
April 26th, 2009 at 7:11 am
Toni,
I definitely think the scores will be skewed. I am not sure, however, whether the dean’s alleged instructions will render the results invalid. You should have your daughter take the SAT at a different school next time. I have honestly never heard of such a thing.
All that being said, remember that Score Choice will allow your daughter to keep those scores from every being sent to colleges.
I hope this helps. Good luck.
March 8th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Hi I’m practicing for the SAT’s and I have the January 2009 exam, but I was wondering if I could have the multiple choice answers for all the sections.
March 9th, 2010 at 8:06 am
Jon,
I do not have an answer key for the January 2009 exam. Sorry.