Straight A's Mean NOTHING In Front of the SAT

NOTE: Meme isn't relevant to post.

Let's say you're a great soccer player (if you really are, that's awesome). Since you are brilliant at soccer, you compete in state level competitions and become state champ. Now, I ask you: can you do just as well at basketball? If the answer is yes, then great for you, but the answer is likely no. Not that you can't be good at two sports, however, it's not easy to transfer to one sport from another.

Shout out to my school's State Champion Soccer Players (picture is NOT any of them).

High school math and SAT Math are sort of like that. You (should) know trigonometry, so you know how to do some fancy math. Guess what? You don't need ANY trig on the SAT. (If you are taking the SAT in 2016, then you DO need to know trig.) When I took the SAT for the first time, I scored a 640 on the Math, yet I scored perfectly on a standardized Trigonometry Exam. See the score discrepancy? I'm pretty sure the disconnect is clear.

As you have read already, acing a math test based on the material taught at school doesn't mean you will naturally ace the SAT Math. The SAT Math is like the Joker. You can't beat him to submission nor reason with him. You can learn AP Calculus, (often) the highest high school math course, and score less than a 600 on the SAT Math. You can argue with the "questionable" SAT Math problems and get nothing accomplished.

The SAT vs You (see the analogy?)

Having high level math concepts in your arsenal is certainly a good thing, and in fact, essential for college readiness. However, your proud Calculus can't do you many favors when taking the SAT. If you have seen my previous post here, you would have figured that calc isn't the best way to solve things. Heck, I tried to use some trig on my first SAT, and I wasted so much time. I have more, I know a Junior that is taking AP Calculus BC, and can't land a high SAT Math score.

Some of you (and hopefully many) are good at math. Math in high school is so easy, you don't have to study much to ace tests and quizzes. So math is something that you take for granted. You understand everything, so if a math question doesn't make sense, you might find yourself doubting the validity of the problem. I sure remember I did. It was hard for me to accept how I could do well on an advanced topic, i.e. trigonometry, and fail to achieve just as high marks on a test with less advanced topics, the SAT Math. I couldn't help but blame questions for being worded poorly or just being plain wrong (which they were not).

So if you are a student who earns A's in math classes in high school, but struggles to score well on the SAT Math, you'll need to accept these facts:



1. Getting A's in math classes doesn't mean you'll do well on the SAT Math. 

2.  The SAT Math is nasty. It's worded in a bizarre way, confusing many strong math students. And sadly, you need to deal with it.

3. If you can't score well on the SAT Math, you need to do a LOT of practice, probably more work than you do in school. I know, it sucks.

4. Know and UNDERSTAND all of the math concepts covered on the SAT. Despite how impossible the SAT may seem, knowing how to PLAY around with basic math topics is how to ace the SAT Math.

5. Getting used to SAT Math might take some time. It took me months to see through the tricks and traps the SAT had in store.



I know studying for the SAT is a pain, and you may choose not to prepare for it because the SAT is not important in your plans. That's awesome. But for those who need to do well on the SAT, then you will need to do as much work as necessary to obtain whatever goal you have.

Good luck on your SAT prep.