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About
the New SAT Reasoning Test™
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Over
the last several years there has been
a growing amount of criticism about the
old SAT I test. This is not surprising,
for the SAT® has been revised numerous
times in its 77-year old history. As a
result of criticism and significant pressure
from some of the test maker's top customers,
beginning in May 2005 in Singapore, a
new version of the SAT® test will be administered.
Scoring
and Format:
The new SAT I will now have 3 sections:
1.
Writing
2. Critical
Reading, and
3. Mathematics.
Each
section will continue to be scored using
the familiar 200 to 800 range, but, with
the new section, the "perfect score"
will now be 2400 instead of 1600. Also,
the overall time of the test will expand
to 3.5 hours from the current 3-hour format. |
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Writing |
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The new Writing section is nearly a carbon-copy
of the old SAT II: Writing test. The section
is 60 minutes long and consists of two multiple
choice subsections and an essay. The multiple
choice section has questions covering spotting
grammatical errors in sentences, improving
sentence construction and grammar as well
as improving the writing in short passages.
The essay portion is 25 minutes long and
asks students to comment on an idea or concept.
The essay is also able to be viewed by university
admissions officers, thus addressing the
popular concern that often the essay on
the prospective students' application itself
isn’t entirely the applicants’
own work. |
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Critical
Reading |
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This entirely multiple choice section has
three subsections, two of 25 minutes and
the third 20 minutes, for a total of 70
minutes. The old Analogy questions have
been scrapped in favor of more critical
reading passages – in particular,
more shorter passages to complement the
existing longer ones. Sentence Completion
sections are retained, so vocabulary will
continue to be important, though just not
as important as the old SAT I. |
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Mathematics |
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The Math section is also 70 minutes in
total, consisting of three subsections.
Quantitative Comparison questions have
been eliminated and the overall level
of questions incorporates more advanced
concepts normally learned in the third
year of US high school math (Algebra II).
Added concepts include exponential growth,
absolute value and properties of tangent
lines. Use of calculators will continue
to be allowed.
Even
if you have already taken the old SAT
I, the majority of school are requiring
the new SAT Reasoning Test™. |
About
the SAT Subject Tests™
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(Former
SAT II: Subject Tests)
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The
SAT Subject Tests™ are used in conjunction
with the SAT Reasoning Test™ in assessing
the qualifications of Secondary, International
or Post-Secondary students applying to
highly-competitive American universities.
In fact, these American institutions weigh
the SAT Subject Test™ scores just as heavily
as the SAT Reasoning Test™ scores in making
their admissions decisions.
Unlike
the rather general SAT Reasoning Test™, the
SAT Subject Tests™ cover specific subject areas
that are studied during your secondary
education.
The
SAT II covers the following subject areas:
1.
English Literature,
2. History (US, World),
3. Mathematics (Level I or II with calculator),
4. Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics),
and
5. Modern Languages.
Some
schools require three Subject Tests, some
require two and some none at all. Check
on the school websites to find out. Students
can take up to three of the one hour Subject
Tests on a given test date but cannot
take Subject Tests and the Reasoning Test
on the same day. |
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The
Graduate Record Examination (GRE® Test) is a
multiple choice test that is required
for admission to most liberal arts and
science masters degree programs in the
United States and around the world.
The
GRE® most commonly taken is the General
Test that is relatively broad in scope
and tests a wide area of knowledge.
The
General Test is divided into four separate
sections:
1.
Quantitative,
2. Verbal,
3. Analytical Writing, and
4. Experimental.
The
Experimental section can be either Quantitative,
Verbal or Analytical Writing and has no
bearing on your score. The problem is
that except on rare occasions, you have
no way of knowing which section is experimental
when you take the test.
Certain programs will also require a GRE
Subject Test. The tests cover a specific
subject (Chemistry, Computer Science,
Literature, etc.).
The
GRE® is now a Computer Based Test (CBT)
and cannot be taken with pencil and paper. |
"SAT", SAT Reasoning Test" and "SAT Subject Tests" are registered trademarks of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this website and our services.
"PSAT/NMSQT" is a registered trademark of the College Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
"GRE" is a registered trademark of Educational Testing Service (ETS).
"GMAT" is a registered trademark of Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®).
LSAT® & LSAC® are registered by Law School Admission Council, Inc. |
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