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SAT: Getting the lowest score possible

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Re: SAT: Getting the lowest score possible

#81

Post by Evbn »

grecy wrote: post #67
dbaupp wrote: post #66

Mostly off topic, but do USA schoolschildren get taught to use things like "number of degrees of arc", "measures in degrees" and "inverse logarithm" instead of just "degrees" and "exponentiation"/"exponential" (and the use of the last one is the geometric mean, which is a much pithier explanation and concept). And, a correlation of .52 isn't the same as a coin toss: that would be a correlation of 0.

Yes, they do. After 35 years teaching in Australia, my parents are now in NYC running seminars for teachers there. They are constantly shocked at the amount of time spent in classes memorizing lexicon, dates, etc. without actually learning to apply any of it. The students can very confidently regurgitate what the "number of degrees of arc" means, but they have no idea how to apply that to anything. They'll also spit…

I have never seen a teacher or student like you describe. The ones who don't know the (purported) reason for the Civil War don't know when it started either.

Re: SAT: Getting the lowest score possible

#82

Post by Evbn »

ohashi wrote: post #68
Serplat wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That depends on the section of the test. Critical reading you can get several wrong, writing depends on your essay score, and math you typically can't get any wrong.

I made 1 mistake and math and ended up with 790. I was quite annoyed with myself when I walked out knowing exactly which question I messed up too.

Did it hurt your future prospects?

Re: SAT: Getting the lowest score possible

#83

Post by Evbn »

archangel_one wrote: post #58
narsil wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are still used frequently in high schools across the world. For example, Indian high schools following the CBSE system do not allow calculators, but log tables are permitted for some courses.

Yep, at my high school in New Zealand we were required to learn how to use log tables, even though we all had calculators. I don't know if it was a compulsory part of the curriculum though, and I wouldn't be surprised if they don't do it any longer.

Sad. Learning to use of tables helps you learn the concept of logarithm. Way better than a calculator.

Re: SAT: Getting the lowest score possible

#84

Post by Evbn »

ghshephard wrote: post #29
biscarch wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"(believe me, it takes MONTHS (or even years) of dedication to actually ace the PSAT or SAT)" I'm disinclined to believe this statement. Would you mind taking the time to prove this for me? Also, what is considered an "ace" score? In my experience the PSAT and SAT were tests that measured how well you can take tests and I do not consider my personal test scores to be the result of years of hard work and dedication.

With the exception of the truly brilliant, (the 0.01%) the other 99.99% of us do have to put in the better part of a year to nail 2400 on the SAT. If you were able to do that without a lot of hard work and dedication, than I commend you on your inherent brilliance - life is going to be a lot easier for you than the rest of us.

People who coast through high school effortlessly have a lot of trouble when life throws them problems that lack of textbook answers, and they have no skills for solving those sorts of problems.

Re: SAT: Getting the lowest score possible

#85

Post by Evbn »

seacond wrote: post #71
hkmurakami wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The SAT is good for measuring how good one is at taking the SAT, which in turn is an indicator of how much the test taker took preparing for the exam seriously, which is an indirect indicator of the person's work ethic and attitude towards putting in effort for a means to an end (yes, despite the pointlessness of this exam). It does do a decent job at finding such people who strive to excel within the limits of a (fl…

Well said. Except I'd make the following corrections: s/[(]yes.*exam.//; s/.flawed.//; $d I'd add that sometimes the "end" may be pointless, though you might not see it as such while working toward it; years later, in hindsight you might realise it was the "means", i.e., the process of working toward it, i.e. the "hard work", that was the point. Interestingly, there's no "hard work" in taking a test you do not prepar…

Everyone I know with a high IQ did plenty of IQ test practice.

Re: SAT: Getting the lowest score possible

#86

Post by Evbn »

ekm2 wrote: post #35

Isnt amazing that at the time you apply to Harvard,Yale and other top schools,admission officials brag at just how many perfect SAT scorers they have turned down,yet a few years down the line turn back and claim to have sifted out the best and the brightest and gladly hint at scores as the measure of brilliance.I even remember reading an article about Harvard adcoms pointing out how they do not want to turn their sch…

Can you praphrase? I couldn't follow all your pronoun referents.

Re: SAT: Getting the lowest score possible

#87

Post by mehulkar »

bagosm wrote: post #57
mehulkar wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Knowing an absolutely incorrect answer to every question is difficult to ensure. It leaves things up to chance since you cannot prepare for the exact questions you get. On the other hand, knowing all the correct answers is perfectly doable.

This is not true. For example you know that the result of 5.123.443 x 9.999.999 can't be 42. But you dont immediately know the correct answer, which is harder.

Making the answer hard to deduce/calculate is only one side of the difficulty. The other side is making the question hard to decipher. I don't think the SAT has any questions that are as straightforward as your example, but I could be wrong.

Re: SAT: Getting the lowest score possible

#88

Post by Evbn »

ekm2 wrote: post #26

>Scores on the SAT correlate very highly with scores on standardized tests of intelligence, and like IQ scores, are stable across time and not easily increased through training, coaching or practice. That is interesting.How would you account for the fact that i increased my score by 130 points upon a retake without the help of a tutor(Too bad my new score was useless since i already had a fullride)?These tests can be…

Flynn effect compared genereations, not individual's changes.

Re: SAT: Getting the lowest score possible

#89

Post by dripton »

ComputerGuru wrote: post #41
biscarch wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"(believe me, it takes MONTHS (or even years) of dedication to actually ace the PSAT or SAT)" I'm disinclined to believe this statement. Would you mind taking the time to prove this for me? Also, what is considered an "ace" score? In my experience the PSAT and SAT were tests that measured how well you can take tests and I do not consider my personal test scores to be the result of years of hard work and dedication.

The PSAT is (in my anecdotal opinion) much harder to "ace" than the SAT. NMSQT qualification was around ~215/240 for last year, that would definitely count as flying colors. I'd say anything over 205ish would be "acing" the PSAT. I've met many highly-talented individuals who did really great on PSAT/ACT/etc, but none of whom could have achieved a 200+ on the PSAT without studying (for) the test extensively beforehand…

Counterexample: I got a National Merit scholarship. I didn't study for the PSAT at all.

Re: SAT: Getting the lowest score possible

#90

Post by biscarch »

Evbn wrote: post #84
ghshephard wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With the exception of the truly brilliant, (the 0.01%) the other 99.99% of us do have to put in the better part of a year to nail 2400 on the SAT. If you were able to do that without a lot of hard work and dedication, than I commend you on your inherent brilliance - life is going to be a lot easier for you than the rest of us.

People who coast through high school effortlessly have a lot of trouble when life throws them problems that lack of textbook answers, and they have no skills for solving those sorts of problems.

I would disagree.

I contend that those that put tremendous importance on high school assignments (ex: the overachievers) come out needing textbook style answers because a huge portion of the time, high school assignments and tests are of the "This is what it says in the textbook. The textbook is always right. Go find the sentence and repeat it here." type.

Furthermore, I doubt you can judge someone's ability to find solutions to non-textbook style problems via their performance in high school due to the fact that those sorts of problems are rarely brought up in a high school context.

Case in point: Multiple choice tests and essay questions based on your ability to cross reference the textbook.

Anecdotal evidence: I coasted through high school and have no trouble arriving at potential solutions (and gauging chances of success) when I meet problems with no discernible textbook-style solution.

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