Bell Curves Blog

For the SAT Writing test (and grammar in general), there are few topics that warm the heart of grammarians as much as the enforcement of rules pertaining to creating logical comparisons.  On every SAT, on every grammar blog, and in every college paper, psychometricians, editors, and English professors break out the brightest red ink and go to town on the violations of “apples to apples, oranges to oranges.” In order to get ready for the SAT (and college, the GMAT, or the workplace), you have to make sure you look for any comparisons that are created and always apply the rule. 

Today’s post, inspired by the SAT Question of the Day for 3/11/12 offers us another opportunity to remind you of one of the few remaining truly magical test-taking techniques: Plugging In!

One of the first things you need to do when prepping for a test is learn the lingo. SAT Math is prone to using vocabulary that you’ve probably not seen in a while – words like integer, factor, and multiple probably haven’t come up since you were in 7th grade. And even when you saw them in 7th grade,  it probably wasn’t in the same context as how they are used on the SAT. So one of the best starting points for the SAT is to learn vocab, both the words common to Sentence Completion questions but also the words common to Math questions. The College Board QOTD on President’s day stumped 60% of the people who tried it and the only things tested are the understanding of a few math terms. Hopefully by the end of this post you’ll head over to the College Board site and be one of the 40%.

On February 10, the College Board posted a Sentence Completion question that bamboozled 219,021 of the 331,851 people that attempted to answer the question. This question once again got us thinking about SAT vocabulary, the way the SAT tests vocabulary, and why so many people got this question wrong. And as usual whenever SAT questions get “stuck in our craw,” we have to blog about it to help you conquer this test.

In the world of test preparation, December brings not only presents from Santa but it also brings many gifts from the College Board and colleges. Today’s College Board gift is a copy of the October 2012 SAT, which we get because one of our staff took the test and ordered the Question and Answer Service (for an additional $18, unless you have a fee waiver which will also waive the fee for the QAS if you choose to order it.) The QAS is available for the June, October and Jan SAT administrations each year and whenever its available we get it so we can peruse the test for trends,  patterns,  and any fun new words the College Board has decided to throw at college-bound students.

If you’re planning to take the SAT soon you should make sure you learn all the words on the list below, which were taken from the October 2012 SAT.

• plodding
• soothed
• novella
• modest
• incredulity
• recrimination
• commensurate
• indifferent
• acclamation
• disproportionate
• autonomous
• expedient
• communal
• munificent
• narcissistic
• egalitarian
• reciprocal
• aroused
• perspicacious
• phlegmatic
• estimable
• overbearing
• resolute
• philistine
• polymath
• charlatan
• ideologue
• cultivated

• benevolent
• pedantic
• morose
• gregarious
• cosmopolitan
• cavalier
• urbane
• erudite
• mordant
• unequivocal
• consensus
• pervasive
• archetypal
• lumbering
• behemoths
• Belittle
• cynical
• ambivalent
• nostalgic
• contempt
• embroiled
• degraded
• underscore
• exploit
• unravel
• foretell
• scant
• ambitious

• timid
• vaingloriously
• unflagging
• indefatigable
• complacent
• ineffectual
• circumspect
• baffle
• enmity
• defy
• elucidate
• duplicity
• collusion
• superfluous
• pragmatic
• onerous
• subversive
• fraudulent
• obliged
• supplant
• skew
• profound
• mollify
• soporific
• insidious
• bewildering
• indiscernible

If you’d like a  few other lists to keep your studying going click here to see the others  we posted.

Good luck and remember if you need help preparing for the SAT or ACT visit us at sat.bellcurves.com!

Thanksgiving marks not only the start of the Christmas season but also the beginning of the college process in earnest for many Juniors. Before December brings Santa down your chimney, it will bring PSAT results back to your high schools. The College Board will be sending your score reports back to your schools in the first couple weeks of December, which means you should have your scores in your hand just in time to put them under the Christmas tree. In this post, we’ll break down what the PSAT tells you about the SAT and if it impacts your future SAT score. (You should also check out “What Is The PSAT?” to learn more about what the test is and how it’s used. )

Check out this great word cloud using words from the October 2012 PSAT. If you click a word it will take you to the definition. Give it a moment or two to load!

Enjoy

To make sure we can keep you informed about the impact of the security changes and test day experiences we send our teachers in periodically to take the actual SAT. This report was filed by Bell Curves’ own Aimee Slater, resident Jeopardy champ (in our hearts), office redhead, and SAT teacher.

Background – In a few years you won’t remember and no one will care

I took the SAT several years ago (20 still counts as “several,” right?).  I was trying to remember my test day experience and my clearest memory about the test is “My high school made me take it 3 times.”  (Editor’s note: Aimee attended Haverford College on a  generous scholarship and doesn’t remember her SAT scores, but says they were just a bit better than average). I asked some high school friends what they remember, and that was their strongest memory too.  My other memory is of the word “nadir.”  I didn’t know what it meant,  I wrote it on the label of my shirt so that I could look up the definition later (Editor’s note: these days, writing on your clothes might get you kicked out… don’t do it!).

So armed with fuzzy memories and the teaching experience I have obtained through Bell Curves, I sat down to take a modern day SAT on October 6^th.  I joined a few dozen area teens very early on a Saturday morning to take the test in Brooklyn.

Registration: Longer and More Annoying than You Think

Before I talk about test day, let me say a word about registration.  Registering for the exam is at least a 25 minute process wherein you pretty much lay bare anything and everything you have been, currently are and will ever be.  I had to upload a picture for my test ticket, which I had to carry with me on test day (even to the loo). The system, it turns out, is really picky about the photos it’ll accept, in fact, I had two perfectly lovely photos rejected before it accepted one I had a colleague take.  The photo is not currently a requirement, but will be required starting with the Jan 2013 test.  I also had to answer questions about my ethnicity, GPA, class ranking, parents’ level of education, indicate my college preferences (size, location single-sex, programs).  It was 3+ pages of questions, many of which are optional, but they are mixed in with the required ones so it’s not immediately obvious which are which.   It’s worth noting that “I don’t wish to respond” is one of the choices for all required questions, but still that’s a lot of work on my part without much in return.  College Board will then sell my information to schools or publish it in studies.  You’re welcome, College Board.  You should send me a piece of that financial pie.

Test Day

I dutifully showed up by 7:45am, number 2 lead pencils in hand and calculator (TI-86 was my calculator of choice) at the ready.  I was assigned a seat in a classroom with the 19 or so other kids who have R-Z last names.

Here’s some stuff I noticed:

• No one cared that I was old and taking the test.   I didn’t even get a double take.
• Three, 5-minutes breaks are not nearly enough.  Powering through that last 1 hour and 4 minutes (sections 7-10) is rough .
• Kids were eating candy and drinking Red Bull early in the AM and at breaks.  This lead to a lot of crashing in the middle or toward the end.
• A girl fell asleep, twice (probably due to a Red Bull crash).  The proctor was nice enough to wake her up, but I think that was above and beyond what’s listed as duties in the proctor guidelines, and some proctors would have just let her sleep through the test.
• I am still not a fan of coordinate plane geometry but as usual there were about 5 questions.
• No section asks 40 questions, and yet each section on the answer sheet has 40 bubbles.  I find this vexing.
• I miss analogies.  The College Board removed them in 2005, and in doing so, took away the fun portion of the test (if there is such a thing).
• I did not have to write an essay the first time around, and was excited to do it this time around.  I went in knowing that I was going to use The League of Nations and Game of Thrones.  As we tell our students – the question hardly matters.  Pick a position, have some examples at the ready, and write!

I know some old timers have gone back and taken the test in recent times and had negative experiences.  I’m less negative about having to take a test, than about what it’s actually testing.  Sitting through long exams is something I had to do in college (3 hour finals!) so I don’t think taking a test is too much to ask of students who want to go to college.  The content of the test?  Well, let’s just say that I have some disagreement with what and how things are asked.  But that’s for a different blog post.  For now, this is the system we have, and if our kids want to go to college, we need to work within this system to ensure as many of them as possible are prepared for the test, the admissions process, and college success.

I admit that my stakes are relatively low; I don’t have my admissions decisions or financial aid riding on my 2012 performance, although the College Board will be sending my scores to my high school guidance counselor so that person, whomever it is now, can go over them with me (I didn’t have an option to opt-out).  I’m looking forward to that phone call.   It was a long day, but most students seemed to sail through (aside from Red Bull Crash Girl.  Airheads candy is not the breakfast of champions, chica!), and I think that anyone preparing for the November or December administrations should remember to

• review the content – get comfortable with how questions are asked and what information they are looking for
• take practice tests under real-test conditions (timed, with only the breaks given on the real test)

For test day:

• for Math, strategies like plugging in were still awesome and time-saving and helped me avoid mistakes on at least 7 problems
• for the Critical Reading, remember to answer the questions (all the questions) in your own words first (Click here to read up on how to Avoid Looking at the Elephant)
• bring brain-food snacks like trail mix, carrots, peanut butter crackers etc.  Avoid caffeine highs which can lead to crashes, and go for hydration – water, seltzer water etc.
• UPDATE: check out this list of vocab words from the October 2012 SAT

Good luck!

Selecting a tutor is not unlike the process of choosing someone to date.  It seems like there are thousands of options out there, but finding the right one be both difficult and overwhelming – not to mention a serious cash investment!  We want to try to alleviate the stress a bit by providing you with a basic list of questions to ask of a tutor before making the final (and hopefully great) decision: 

 1.       What is your experience with this particular test?

With experience comes an increasing amount of knowledge about not only how to do each question but more importantly how to effectively teach the test to students of different skill levels, backgrounds, and learning styles. Generally, the more experienced the tutor, the more likely you are to get a carefully crafted study plan that will allow you to reach your goals.  Tutoring college-level Calculus for years does not automatically qualify someone as to be a stellar SAT or ACT tutor.  These tests, particularly the SAT, are filled with similar “tricks” year in and year out that experienced test prep teachers will be familiar with and have the ability to explain to students.

Part V of our six part series examines the words of Frederick Douglass.  Written by Akil Bello, co-founder of Bell Curves, this entry was originally posted by Riise on 2/13/12.

In keeping with the theme of Independence Day, this week’s speech was delivered by Fredrick Douglass on that date in 1852. This speech is not only a great oration it also provides an interesting insight into the time and place of its delivery. Douglass had been invited to speak as part of an Independence Day celebration by the leading citizens of Rochester, NY. The line highlighted below shows not only the depth of his language mastery but also his opinion of the state of American “independence” and the arrogance of inviting him to participate in the Independence Day events, given that he was an escaped slave who had been freed, and was still fighting for freedom for all other slaves.

Fellow citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions, whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are today rendered more intolerable by the jubilant shouts that reach them. If I do forget, if I do not remember those bleeding children of sorrow this day, “may my right hand forget her cunning, and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth!”