A Few 800’s on the SAT: Diagnostics

Adam, the founder of Tutor Delphia, provides an update on his quest to achieve three 800s on the SAT and to be able to run three 8:00 miles.

Before beginning any training plan, it is important to understand where you excel and where you need improvement. It’s also cool to see where you stand before training so you can monitor your improvement and be proud of your results.

Since I’ve gone over the questions in the big blue book countless times as a tutor, I needed a new reliable source of tests. I strongly feel that the College Board’s practice tests are by far the most accurate. I’ve therefore decided to use the College Board’s free online practice test and their paid online coursefor my experiment. Stay tuned for a review of the online course…

And now, let’s check out the results from my first practice test:

• Math: 720
• Critical Reading: 800
• Writing: 540 to 720 (depending on the essay’s grade)

I was pretty thrown by the time limit on the Math section. I’m used to taking my sweet time and really pondering each problem, then verifying that I got the correct solution. With less than a minute and a half per question, I’m going to have to pick up my pace and leave more time for the hardest questions.

Luckily, I found only one math concept I needed to review. Otherwise, it was just a matter of being careful and keeping an eye out for tricks. Since I was working faster than usual, I fell prey to a few old, familiar tricks. I misread a graph, I forgot to answer the question asked, and I was tricked by a unlabeled value on a geometry question.

My take-aways from Round One are:

• If shooting for perfection, leave time for the hardest questions.
• Don’t get tricked into rushing through the test–just like training to run faster, you can train to do math faster.
• The SAT loves angles and polygons.

On the running side of things, the results of my pre-assessment were less impressive (okay, downright terrible) with a 46:51 total for three miles. Just a few months ago, my time was 10 minutes less. Sheesh. I’ll have to nearly halve my time to achieve my goal of running three miles in 24:00.

While making my way ‘round the track I started thinking about math.  How much of a difference does the lane you run in make? What’s the diameter of the track? Is my GPS’s data accurate?  The exciting answers to these and other burning questions will be revealed in future posts.

My next step is to create a plan to help myself achieve my goals. Wish me luck and help me get the support and encouragement I need by liking and sharing this post!