CHANGES TO THE SAT^*

• SAT ADMINISTRATION DATES
• DETAILS OF THE CHANGES TO THE SAT
• SAT LAYOUT

The SAT^* was changed in March 2006. Analogies and Quantitative Comparisons are out, but Essays and Algebra II are in.

The goal is to make this test a more accurate indicator of freshman year performance.

The result is that it is now a much more coachable test than its predecessor - that means that your scores will skyrocket with help from EUREKA!

The chart below is a first look at the new changes to the SAT. For the details of the changes, click here.

SAT ADMINISTRATION DATES

SAT I dates for the upcoming year are as follows:

Since the EUREKA Program is based on the student's timetable, it can be completed as quickly or as slowly as desired, though we recommend that the lessons be finished in 7-15 weeks.

Our tutors have flexible schedules and will be able to accommodate any timetable. During the lessons, they will not only teach everything students need to know on the math and verbal sections, but they will also teach intricate test taking strategies. Taking EUREKA will put a student ahead of the curve in preparing for the SAT and give the student the confidence they need to do their best.

DETAILS OF THE CHANGES

Why Change the SAT?

• In February 2001, University of California president Richard Atkinson raised the issue of dropping the SAT as an entrance exam for all UC campuses
• He felt that it wasn't an accurate indicator of freshman year performance
• The College Board responded to this by changing the SAT to appease the UC system, its largest client

The New Writing Exam

• You will be asked to write an essay and correct grammar (very similar to the soon to be eliminated SAT II Writing Exam)
• Writing topics could include:
  • We learn more from failure than we do from success
  • The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
  • Freedom is never truly free
• You'll have 25 minutes to write your essay, but the grader will have only 90 seconds to grade it
• The essay is not a time to be creative; instead you will need to follow the scoring formula and cite literature and history to get a high score
• You will also be given sentences to find/fix errors, such as:
  • The student did well on their exam
  • This sentence is common in everyday speech, but is not grammatically correct - "student" is singular, while "their" is plural. It should read: The student did well on his/her exam.
• This new exam will be scored out of 800, bringing the total of the New SAT to 2400. Now there's no reason you shouldn't score higher than your mom and dad did on this test!

The Math Exam

• Algebra II is here to test your ability of complex math. Don't worry though, there will only be 4-6 questions on this, so if you haven't taken it, you can still get a good score on this test.
• Quantitative Comparisons have been eliminated. These questions baffled students and were unlike any type of question they had seen before. You were given two columns and were supposed to choose which column was larger, or, determine that there was no definitive relationship between the two columns. Good Riddance.

The Reading Exam

• The Verbal section will change its name to Critical Reading and include paragraph length critical reading questions.
• Analogies are gone! Some people love them, some hate them. Regardless, you'll never have to deal with them.

What's in a name?

• The name "SAT" used to stand for: "Scholastic Aptitude Test". Pressure from school officials that "Aptitude" was not tested caused the test-makers to rename it to: SAT I Reasoning Test as it tests student's ability to reason more than anything else.
• Reasoning is the lost art of taking what is known as an absolute and logically applying it to the problem at hand. Sure, students are still expected to know the Pythagorean Theorem and the definition of the word "imperious", but that is only half of the battle. Knowing those facts alone will not translate into a good score on the SAT. (This is why there are so many stories of 4.0 students barely scoring above the national average on this test.) Students need to learn how to apply reasoning and analytical skills to score well.

SAT LAYOUT

The SAT has 10 sections in it: 3 Math, 3 Reading, 3 Writing and 1 Experimental. The following chart helps you understand the timing on the SAT:

Within the 3 scored sections of the Math part you will see the following:

• One 25 minute section with 20 Multiple Choice questions
• One 25 minute section with 18 questions:
  • 8 Multiple Choice questions
  • 10 Grid-In questions
• One 20 minute section with 16 Multiple Choice questions

Within the 3 scored sections of the Reading part you will see the following:

• One 25 minute section with 24 questions:
  • 8 Sentence Completions
  • 4 Short Critical Reading Passage questions
  • 12 Critical Reading questions from 1 passage
• One 25 minute section with 24 questions:
  • 5 Sentence Completions
  • 4 Short Critical Reading Passage questions
  • 15 Critical Reading questions from 2 distinct passages
• One 20 minute section with 19 questions:
  • 6 Sentence Completions
  • 13 Critical Reading questions from 2 related passage
    • 4-5 questions relating to Passage 1
    • 4-5 questions relating to Passage 2
    • 2-4 questions asking you to compare/contrast the two passages

Within the 3 scored sections of the Writing part you will see the following:

• One 25 minute section with 1 Essay
• One 25 minute section with 35 questions:
  • 11 Improving Sentences questions
  • 18 Identifying Sentence Errors questions
  • 6 Improving Paragraphs questions
• One 10 minute section with 14 Improving Sentences questions

^* SAT is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.