|
Students Need to Prepare NOW for the New PSAT/SATs
By
Willard H. Blaskopf Jr.
The first major
changes in the PSAT/SATs since the mid 1990s happened in 2004.
(This article was written in 2004.
The information is current in this 2010 posting.)
This
new test assesses higher mathematic skills and includes a writing
component. Here is a listing of the changes:
Mathematics:
1) Students
will no longer have to answer Quantitative Comparison questions. These
questions required students to compare a quantity in two columns and
determine whether the quantities were equal, one was bigger than the
other, or if the relationship between the quantities cannot be
determined.
2) Students
will now have to know some Algebra 2 for the exam. The exam will
continue asking questions on Prealgebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, and such
miscellaneous topics as Probability and Statistics. Some of the
Algebra 2 topics included are: rational expressions and equations,
irrational equations, direct and inverse variations, and quadratics
functions among others.
3) Math
questions will be of the five part multiple choice form and the
Student-produced response form, both currently in use.
4) Calculators
will continue to be allowed, but are not required.
Critical
Reading (formerly Verbal)
1) The
Critical Reading section will now exclude the analogies section.
Questions such as: needle: knitting as chisel: (?) will no longer
appear.
2) Questions
requiring reading comprehension, and sentence completion will continue.
The reading comprehension question will be based on both long and short
passages.
Writing:
1) This
is the totally new section. It will have two parts: a writing sample
and short answers testing students’ use of standard written English such
as is currently on the SAT II: Writing Subject Test.
2) The
essay will be treated as an initial first draft. It will be similar to
an essay on a college English test or even a memo that might be written
in the workplace. The essay will be graded holistically, meaning that
it is the organization and thought process that will be scored. The
scoring of the essay will be on a 1 to 6 scale.
3) The
essay will NOT appear on the PSATs but appears on the SAT.
Scoring:
1) The
scoring of the Math section will still be the total number correct minus
¼ the number of multiple choice questions incorrect. Incorrect answers
on the student-produced sections are not penalized by taking away
points.
2) The
scoring of the Critical Reading section will remain the total number
correct minus ¼ the number incorrect. Blank questions in any section do
not carry an additional penalty.
3) The
writing section will somehow combine the score on the writing sample and
the score obtained by taking the total number correct and subtracting ¼
point for each multiple choice incorrect.
4) Students,
on the SATs, will now receive three scores between 200 and 800. One
each for Math, Critical Reading, and Writing.
5) The
PSATs will continue to report three scores: Math, Critical Reading, and
Writing, each between 20 and 80.
We recommend
that students and their parents stay abreast of the changes by
frequently visiting the College Board website:
www.collegeboard.com.
The College Board promises sample questions and more information will be
available as time progresses. Parents need to make sure that their
school is making provisions for the curriculum to include the new SAT
Algebra 2 topics.
Students may
also want to consider contacting established and reputable tutoring
centers about either private work or group classes. We at Myrna G.
Wasserman and Associates, LLC offer both. We run a special three
Super Sundays PSAT/SAT
Preparation course. This course runs on Sundays in order to meet
the needs of today’s busy student. It will be held at Newark Academy in
Livingston, New Jersey. You can contact us for further information. |
