

Here are some of the subtle differences we noticed: Math These changes can only be seen in Practice Tests 5-8, which are past exams that were administered only after The College Board had obtained the necessary data. Since Practice Tests 1-4 were created without the necessary student data, they do not reflect the changes The College Board later made to the exam. It's a constant process of revising the questions and adjusting the overall difficulty. Why is that important? Because creating a standardized test is not easy-student data is necessary for fine-tuning and curving each exam. They were devised well before new testing had even started. Whereas Practice Tests 5-8 were past exams administered to students on actual test dates, Practice Tests 1-4 were never administered to students and were simply created as test prep material for test-takers in 2016. Since then, The College Board has released Practice Tests 5-8 on Khan Academy.īecause the Khan Academy tests are actually released by The College Board, they are generally regarded as official and accurate material.īased on our analysis, Practice Tests 1-4 aren't completely accurate. When the current form of the SAT was first introduced in 2015, Khan Academy entered into a partnership with The College Board, the makers of the SAT, with the mission of providing more affordable test prep to everyone.īefore the first administration of the test on March 5th, 2016, The College Board released Practice Tests 1 through 4 on Khan Academy so that the first test takers would have some idea of what to expect.Īt that time, those 4 practice tests were the only real source of guidance. Let's take a look:īelow are some common questions about the SAT Math section and the best methods of prepping for it.Khan Academy has 8 SAT practice tests available at the time of this post.

Fortunately, there is a shortcut method that works every single time for these problems, and we recommend that you use it. Let's take a look:Įquivalencies are frequently tested, and they can range from very easy problems to very hard problems. We typically factor them in order to solve them, and you should be very comfortable with them in both equation and graph form. Trinomials are a special form of polynomial that is frequently tested and will form parabolas on a graph. This is the single most important skill for SAT Heart of Algebra questions, and it might just be the most important skill on the entire SAT Math section. This means they make straight lines on graphs. Linear equations are equations that don't feature any exponents (at least no exponents other than "1"). Just make sure that you're also doing plenty of practice out of official SAT practice tests. In fact, for most students, the best way to get a higher SAT math score is to get better at math content. That doesn't mean that actual math skills aren't important - they are. The difference between easy SAT math problems and hard SAT math problems is often a matter of reasoning, not actual math content. In addition, you are going to be presented with novel scenarios that force you to be creative with the information you are given in an effort to get where you need to go. Unlike high school math, SAT math doesn't lend itself well to memorizing steps. To score better, you need to get better at two things: math content and math reasoning. In addition to having a silly name, this section is known for algebra with exponents, so you'll see trinomials, graphing parabolas and functions.
