Barrons how to prepare for the SAT 2008

Your Blueprint for Test Success

A diagnostic test

Six full-length practice tests

All questions answered and explained

In-depth review of all test subjects

Your Private Tutor

■ An overview of the test: What you

should know about the current SAT

test format

■ Additional practice questions with

answers

■ Vocabulary flash cards to increase your

word power

■ Study tips and test-taking strategies

Personal Instruction for a Better

Test Score

• Extensive reviews in critical reading,

grammar, and math

• Coaching to help you master the Writing

section

• Expanded math review includes

third-year college preparatory math topics

23RD EDITION Sharon Weiner Green and Ira K. Wolf, Ph.D.

Visit www.barronstestprep.com

® SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board,

which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this

product.

SAT ®

HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE

2008

HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE

23RD EDITION

SAT

Sharon Weiner Green

Former Instructor in English

Merritt College

Oakland, California

Ira K. Wolf, Ph.D.

President, PowerPrep, Inc.

Former High School Teacher, College Professor,

and University Director of Teacher Preparation

®

® SAT is a registered trademark of the College Entrance Examination Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this book.

DEDICATION

© Copyright 2006, 2005, 2001, 1998, 1997, 1994, 1993, 1991, 1989, 1987,

1986, 1984, 1982, 1980, 1978, 1975, 1974, 1973, 1972, 1971, 1969, 1966,

1965, 1964, 1962, 1958, 1955, 1954 by Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.

Formerly Published as Barron’s How to Prepare for the Scholastic Aptitude

Test.

Critical Reading sections adapted from previous editions of How to Prepare

for SAT I by Samuel C. Brownstein, Mitchel Weiner, and Sharon Weiner

Green, published by Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form,

by photostat, microfilm, xerography, or any other means, or incorporated

into any information retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, without

the written permission of the copyright owner.

All inquiries should be addressed to:

Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.

250 Wireless Boulevard

Hauppauge, NY 11788

http://www.barronseduc.com

ISBN-13: 978-0-7641-3449-4

ISBN-10: 0-7641-3449-3

ISBN-13 (with CD-ROM): 978-0-7641-7934-1

ISBN-10 (with CD-ROM): 0-7641-7934-9

International Standard Serial No.: 1069-272X

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

In memory of Mitchel Weiner and Samuel Brownstein, who first brought

college entrance test preparation to the high school students of America.

S.W.G.

To Elaine, my wife and best friend, for all of your support and love.

I.K.W.

Contents

Preface v

Countdown to the SAT v

SAT Format and Test Dates ix

Acknowledgments x

PART ONE

Get Acquainted with the SAT

1 Let’s Look at the SAT 3

What Is the SAT? 3

The Critical Reading Sections 5

The Mathematics Sections 6

The Use of Calculators on the SAT 9

The Writing Skills Sections 10

2 Winning Tactics for the SAT 13

Setting Goals 13

Pacing Yourself 15

Guessing 16

Tactics for the Test 20

PART TWO

Pinpoint Your Trouble Spots

3 A Diagnostic SAT 27

Diagnostic Test 33

Answer Key 66

Self-Evaluation 68

Answer Explanations 73

PART THREE

Tactics, Strategies, Practice: Critical Reading

4 The Sentence Completion Question 87

5 The Critical Reading Question 103

6 Build Your Vocabulary 143

The SAT High-Frequency Word List 144

The SAT Hot Prospects Word List 145

The 3,500 Basic Word List 146

Basic Word Parts 248

Tactics, Strategies, Practice: Writing Skills

7 Grammar, Plain and Fanciful 269

8 Common Problems in Grammar

and Usage 273

9 The Writing Skills Questions 291

10 Writing a 25-Minute Essay 307

Tactics, Strategies, Practice: Mathematics

Introduction to the Math Sections 329

11 Math Strategies and Tactics 337

12 Reviewing Mathematics 371

12-A Basic Arithmetic Concepts 372

12-B Fractions and Decimals 385

12-C Percents 396

12-D Ratios and Proportions 404

12-E Averages 413

12-F Polynomials 419

12-G Solving Equations and Inequalities 425

12-H Word Problems 434

12-I Lines and Angles 441

12-J Triangles 448

12-K Quadrilaterals and Other Polygons 459

12-L Circles 465

12-M Solid Geometry 472

12-N Coordinate Geometry 477

12-O Counting and Probability 485

12-P Logical Reasoning 494

12-Q Interpretation of Data 499

12-R Functions and Their Graphs 507

PART FOUR

Test Yourself

13 Six Model SAT Tests 517

Model SAT Test 1 523

Model SAT Test 2 579

Model SAT Test 3 635

Model SAT Test 4 691

Model SAT Test 5 745

Model SAT Test 6 799

Preface

This edition of Barron’s How to Prepare for the

SAT reflects all of the changes in the new SAT. In

writing this book, we have aimed to give you the

advantages on the SAT that the students we tutor

and teach in classes have enjoyed for decades.

Therefore, we’d like you to think of this study guide

as your personal SAT tutor, because that’s precise￾ly what it is. Like any good tutor, it will work closely

with you, prompting you and giving you pointers to

improve your testing skills. It will help you pinpoint

your trouble spots and show you how to work on

them, and it will point out your strengths as well.

After working with your tutor, you should see

marked improvement in your performance.

Your personal tutor will be available to work

with you whenever you like, for as long or short a

time as you like. Working with your tutor, you can

go as quickly or as slowly as you like, repeating

sections as often as you need, skipping over sec￾tions you already know well. Your tutor will give

you explanations, not just correct answers, when

you make mistakes, and will be infinitely patient

and adaptable.

Here are just a few of the things your tutor

offers you:

• It takes you step by step through thousands

of critical reading, writing, and mathematical

questions, showing you how to solve them and

how to avoid going wrong.

• It offers you dozens of clear-cut Testing Tactics

and shows you how to use them to attack every

question type you will find on the new SAT.

• It enables you to simulate actual testing condi￾tions, providing you with a diagnostic test and

six model tests—all with answers fully

explained—each of which follows the format

of the SAT exactly.

• It provides comprehensive mathematics review

in arithmetic, algebra, and geometry—the

three math areas you need to know to do well

on the SAT.

• It pinpoints specific sources of SAT reading

passages, naming authors and books and mag￾azines, and provides a college-level reading list

that can guide you to these works and more.

• It gives you the 365-word High Frequency

Word List, 365 words from abridge to zealot

that have been shown by computer analysis to

occur and reoccur on actual published SATs,

plus Barron’s 3,500 Basic Word List, your best

chance to acquaint yourself with the whole

range of college-level vocabulary you will face

on the SAT.

• It even gives you your own set of high￾frequency word list flash cards in a convenient

tear-out section at the back of the book. More

than 200 words that have appeared regularly

on previous SAT exams are presented, each

with its part of speech, pronunciation, defini￾tion, and illustrative sentence. Separate the

cards and carry some with you to study in

spare moments. Or devise a competitive

game, and use them with a partner.

No other book offers you as much. Your person￾al tutor embodies Barron’s ongoing commitment to

provide you with the best possible coaching for the

SAT and every other important test you take. It has

benefited from the dedicated labors of Linda Turner

and other members of the editorial staff of Barron’s,

all of whom wish you the best as you settle down

with your tutor to work on the SAT.

BEFORE THE TEST

Set out your test kit the night before. You will need

your admission ticket, a photo ID (a driver’s license

or a non-driver picture ID, a passport, or a school

ID), your calculator, four or five sharp No. 2 pencils

(with erasers), plus a map or directions showing

how to get to the test center.

Get a good night’s sleep so you are well rested

and alert.

Wear comfortable clothes. Dress in layers.

Bring a sweater in case the room is cold.

Bring an accurate watch—not one that beeps—

in case the room has no clock.

Bring a small snack for quick energy.

Don’t be late. Allow plenty of time for getting to

the test site. You want to be in your seat, relaxed,

before the test begins.

Countdown to the SAT

The day before you take the test, don’t do practice tests. Do look over all the

tactics listed below so they will be fresh in your mind.

v

vi

DURING THE TEST

First answer all the easy questions; then tackle the

hard ones if you have time.

Pace yourself. Don’t work so fast that you start

making careless errors. On the other hand, don’t

get bogged down on any one question.

Play the percentages: guess whenever you can

eliminate one or more of the answers.

Make educated guesses, not random ones. As

a rule, don’t fill in answers when you haven’t even

looked at the questions.

Watch out for eye-catchers, answer choices that

are designed to tempt you into guessing wrong.

Change answers only if you have a reason for

doing so; don’t change them on a last-minute

hunch or whim.

Check your assumptions. Make sure you are

answering the question asked and not the one you

thought was going to be asked.

Remember that you are allowed to write in the

test booklet. Use it to do your math computations

and to draw diagrams. Underline key words in sen￾tence completion questions, grammar questions,

and reading passages. Cross out any answer

choices you are sure are wrong. Circle questions

you want to return to.

Be careful not to make any stray marks on your

answer sheet. The test is graded by a machine,

and a machine cannot always tell the difference

between an accidental mark and an intentionally

filled-in answer.

Check frequently to make sure you are answer￾ing the questions in the right spots.

Remember that you don’t have to answer every

question to do well.

TIPS FOR THE CRITICAL READING QUESTIONS

Read all the answer choices before you decide

which is best.

Think of a context for an unfamiliar word; the

context may help you come up with the word’s

meaning.

Break down unfamiliar words into recognizable

parts.

Consider secondary meanings of words. If none

of the answer choices seems right to you, take

another look. A word may have more than one

meaning.

Sentence Completion Questions

First, read the sentence carefully to get a feel for

its meaning.

Before you look at the choices, think of a word

that makes sense.

Watch for words that signal a contrast (but,

although, however) or indicate the continuation of

a thought (also, additionally, besides, furthermore).

These signal words are clues that can help you

figure out what a sentence actually means.

Look for words that signal the unexpected, such

as abnormal, illogical, and ironic. These words

indicate that something unexpected, possibly even

unwanted, exists or has occurred.

In double-blank sentences, go through the

answers, testing the first word in each choice (and

eliminating the ones that don’t fit).

Reading Passage Questions

When you have a choice, tackle reading passages

with familiar subjects before passages with unfa￾miliar ones.

Make use of the introductions to acquaint your￾self with the text.

Read as rapidly as you can with understanding,

but do not force yourself.

As you read the opening sentence, try to antici￾pate what the passage is about.

When you tackle the questions, use any line

references given to help in the passage.

Base your answer only on what is written in the

passage, not on what you know from other books

or courses.

In answering questions on the long paired read￾ing passages, first read one passage and answer

the questions based on it; then read the second

passage and tackle the remaining questions.

Try to answer all the questions on a particular

passage.

TIPS FOR THE MATHEMATICS QUESTIONS

Whenever you know how to answer a question

directly, just do it. The tactics that are reviewed

below should be used only when you need them.

Memorize all the formulas you need to know.

Even though some of them are printed on the first

page of each math section, during the test you do

not want to waste any time referring to that refer￾ence material.

Be sure to bring a calculator, but use it only

when you need it. Don’t use it for simple arithmetic

that you can easily do in your head.

Remember that no problem requires lengthy or

difficult computations. If you find yourself doing a

lot of arithmetic, stop and reread the question. You

are probably not answering the question asked.

Answer every question you attempt. Even if you

can’t solve it, you can almost always eliminate two

or more choices. Often you know that an answer

must be negative, but two or three of the choices

are positive, or an answer must be even, and

some of the choices are odd.

Unless a diagram is labeled “Note: Figure not

drawn to scale,” it is perfectly accurate, and you

can trust it in making an estimate.

When a diagram has not been provided, draw

one, especially on a geometry problem.

If a diagram has been provided, feel free to

label it, and mark it up in any way, including

adding line segments, if necessary.

Answer any question for which you can esti￾mate the answer, even if you are not sure you are

correct.

Don’t panic when you see a strange symbol in a

question; it will always be defined. Getting the cor￾rect answer just involves using the information

given in the definition.

When a question involves two equations, either

add them or subtract them. If there are three or

more, just add them.

Never make unwarranted assumptions. Do not

assume numbers are positive or integers. If a

question refers to two numbers, do not assume

that they have to be different. If you know a figure

has four sides, do not assume that it is a rectangle.

Be sure to work in consistent units. If the width

and length of a rectangle are 8 inches and 2 feet,

respectively, either convert the 2 feet to 24 inches

or the 8 inches to two-thirds of a foot before calcu￾lating the area or perimeter.

Standard Multiple-Choice Questions

Whenever you answer a question by backsolving,

start with choice C.

When you replace variables with numbers,

choose easy-to-use numbers, whether or not they

are realistic.

Choose appropriate numbers. The best number

to use in percent problems is 100. In problems

involving fractions, the best number to use is the

least common denominator.

When you have no idea how to solve a prob￾lem, eliminate all of the absurd choices and guess.

Student-Produced Response (Grid-in)

Questions

Write your answer in the four spaces at the top of

the grid, and carefully grid in your answer below.

No credit is given for a correct answer if it has

been gridded improperly.

Remember that the answer to a grid-in question

can never be negative.

You can never grid in a mixed number—you

must convert it to an improper fraction or a decimal.

Never round off your answers, and never

reduce fractions. If a fraction can fit in the four

spaces of the grid, enter it. If not, use your calcula￾tor to convert it to a decimal (by dividing) and

enter a decimal point followed by the first three

decimal digits.

When gridding a decimal, do not write a zero

before the decimal point.

If a question has more than one possible

answer, grid in only one of them.

There is no penalty for wrong answers on grid￾in questions, so you should grid in anything that

seems reasonable, rather than omit a question.

TIPS FOR THE WRITING SKILLS QUESTIONS

Read all the answer choices before you decide

which is correct.

Use your ear for the language to help you

decide whether something is wrong.

Pay particular attention to the shorter answer

choices. Good prose is economical. Often the cor￾rect answer choice will be the shortest, most direct

way of making a point.

Remember that not every sentence contains an

error or needs to be improved.

Identifying Sentence Error Questions

First read the sentence to get a feel for its struc￾ture and sense.

Remember that the error, if there is one, must

be in an underlined part of the sentence.

Look first for the most common errors (lack of

subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent prob￾lems, faulty diction, incorrect verb tense).

Improving Sentence Questions

If you immediately spot an error in the underlined

section, eliminate any answer choice that repeats

the error.

If you don’t spot an error in the underlined sec￾tion, look at the answer choices to see what is

changed in each one. The nature of the changes

may reveal what kind of error is present.

vii

viii

Make sure that all parts of the sentence are

logically connected.

Make sure that all sentence parts arranged as

a series are similar in form. If they are not, the

sentence suffers from a lack of parallel structure.

Improving Paragraph Questions

First read the passage; then read the questions.

First tackle the questions that ask you to

improve individual sentences; then tackle the ones

that ask you to strengthen the passage as a

whole.

Consider whether the addition of signal words

or phrases—transitions—would strengthen the

passage or particular sentences within it.

When you tackle the questions, go back to the

passage to verify each answer choice.

Tips for the Essay

First, read and re-read the prompt with care. Be

sure you understand the topic.

Decide on your thesis, the main point you want

to make.

Pace yourself: keep to your essay-writing plan.

Allow yourself 5 minutes for pre-writing and

outlining.

Keep careful track of your time. Allow yourself

time to come to a conclusion.

Write as legibly as you can.

Length counts: write as much as you can (while

still making sense) within the allotted time.

Follow traditional essay-writing conventions.

Indent paragraphs. Use transitions.

Upgrade your vocabulary judiciously. Avoid

throwing in big words that you don’t understand.

ix

SAT FORMAT TOTAL TIME: 4 HOURS AND 5 MINUTES*

Section 1: Essay

Time—25 minutes

Section 2: Critical Reading—24 Questions 8 Sentence Completion

Time—25 minutes 4 Reading Comprehension (2 short passages)

12 Reading Comprehension (1 long passage)

Section 3: Mathematics—20 Questions 20 Standard Multiple-Choice

Time—25 minutes

Break

Time—10 minutes

Section 4: Writing Skills—35 Questions 11 Improving Sentences

Time—25 minutes 18 Identifying Sentence Errors

6 Improving Paragraphs

Section 5: Experimental This section can be Critical Reading, Mathematics,

Time—25 minutes or Writing Skills

Section 6: Critical Reading—24 Questions 5 Sentence Completion

Time—25 minutes 4 Reading Comprehension (paired short passages)

15 Reading Comprehension (2 long passages)

Break

Time—10 minutes

Section 7: Mathematics—18 Questions 8 Standard Multiple-Choice

Time—25 minutes 10 Student-Produced Response (Grid-in)

Section 8: Critical Reading—19 Questions 6 Sentence Completion

Time—20 minutes 13 Reading Comprehension (paired long passages)

Section 9: Mathematics—16 Questions 16 Standard Multiple-Choice

Time—20 minutes

Section 10: Writing Skills—14 Questions 14 Improving Sentences

Time—10 minutes

Note: As stated above, the “experimental” section can be an extra 25-minute Critical Reading, Mathematics, or Writing Skills section.

This section, which permits the test-makers to try out new questions, does not count in your score; but because there is no way to

know which section is the experimental one, you must do your best on every section.

Section 1 is always the essay. Sections 2–7, which are each 25-minutes long, can come in any order. In particular, the experimenal

section is not necessarily Section 5—it can be any of Sections 2–7. Sections 8 and 9 are always a 20-minute Mathematics section

and a 20-minute Critical Reading section—in either order. Section 10 is always the 10-minute Writing Skills section.

*The above format is used in all the model tests in the book (including the diagnostic test), except that the model tests don’t have an

experimental section. Therefore, the model tests take 25 minutes less than an actual SAT.

SAT TEST DATES

Test Dates Registration Deadlines

Regular Late

2007

March 10 February 2 February 14

May 5 April 3 April 11

June 2 April 27 May 9

The authors gratefully acknowledge the following copyright

holders for permission to reprint material used in the reading

passages.

Page 6: From A Handbook to Literature by C. Hugh Holman,

©1995. Reprinted by permission of Prentice Hall, Inc.

Pages 35–36: From Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian

History of the American West by Dee Brown ©1970 by Dee

Brown. Reprinted with permission of Henry Holt & Co., LLC.

Page 49: From Black Boy by Richard Wright. Copyright ©1937,

1942, 1944, 1945 by Richard Wright. Renewed 1973 by Ellen

Wright. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins, Inc.

Page 50: From King Solomon’s Ring by Konrad Z. Lorenz,

©1952 Harper & Row. Reprinted with permission of

HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Page 57: From “Let’s Say You Wrote Badly This Morning” in

The Writing Habit by David Huddle, ©1989, 1994 University

Press of New England.

Pages 57–58: From “My Two One-Eyed Coaches” by George

Garrett, ©1987. Reprinted with permission of The Virginia

Quarterly Review, Spring 1987, Vol. 63, No. 2.

Page 113: From Summer of ’49 by David Halberstam, ©1989.

Reprinted with permission of William Morrow & Co.

Pages 113–114: From Take Time For Paradise ©1989 by the

Estate of A. Bartlett Giamatti. Reprinted by permission of

Estate of A. Bartlett Giamatti.

Pages 123–124: From Sculpture/Inuit, ©1971. Reprinted with

permission of the Canadian Eskimo Arts Council and James

Houston.

Page 127: From “Renaissance to Modern Tapestries in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art” in the Metropolitan Museum of

Art Bulletin, Spring 1987, by Edith Appleton Standen, copy￾right ©1987 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Reprinted

courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Pages 128–129: From “I Love Paul Revere Whether He Rode

or Not” by Richard Shenkman. Copyright ©1991 by Richard

Shenkman.

Pages 129–130: From One Writer’s Beginnings by Eudora

Welty, Reprinted with permission of Faber and Faber Limited.

Copyright ©1983 by Eudora Welty.

Pages 131–132: From “African Sculpture Speaks,” by Ladislas

Segy, ©1958 by permission of Dover Publications.

Pages 132–133: From “Yonder Peasant, Who Is He?” in

Memories of a Catholic Girlhood, ©1948 and renewed 1975 by

Mary McCarthy, reprinted with permission of Harcourt, Inc.

Page 133: From Reinventing Womanhood by Caroline G.

Heilbrun. Copyright ©1979 by Carolyn G. Heilbrun. Reprinted

with permission of W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.

Page 546: From Take Time for Paradise ©1989 by the Estate

of A. Bartlett Giamatti. Reprinted by permission of Estate of

A.B. Giamatti.

Pages 546–547: From City by William H. Whyte. Copyright

©1989 by William Whyte. Used by permission of Doubleday,

a division of Random House, Inc.

Page 582: From Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard.

Copyright ©1982 by Annie Dillard. Reprinted by permission of

HarperCollins, Inc.

Page 595: From The Waning of the Middle Ages by J. Huizinga.

Reprinted with permission of Edward Arnold.

Page 596: From Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriquez.

Reprinted with permission of David R. Godine, Publishers, Inc.

Copyright ©1982 by Richard Rodriquez.

Page 602: From “The Guilty Vicarage” in The Dyer’s Hand and

Other Essays by W.H. Auden. Copyright ©1948 by W.H.

Auden. Reprinted with permission of Random House, Inc.

Pages 602–603: From Modus Operandi: An Excursion into

Detective Fiction by Robin W. Winks, ©1982, pp. 118–119.

Reprinted by permission of Robin W. Winks.

Pages 651–652: From Athabasca by Alistair MacLean.

Copyright ©1980 by Alistair MacLean. Reprinted by permis￾sion of Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.

Page 653: From The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno

Bettelheim. Copyright ©1975, 1976 by Bruno Bettelheim.

Reprinted with permission of Alfred A. Knopf.

Page 660: From Native Stranger: A Black American’s Journey

into the Heart of Africa by Eddy L. Harris, ©1992. Reprinted

by permission of Simon & Schuster.

Pages 660–661: From Turning Japanese by David Mura,

©1991 by David Mura. Reprinted by permission of

Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

Page 707: From The Overworked American: The Unexpected

Decline of Leisure by Juliet B. Schor. Copyright ©1991 by

BasicBooks, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Reprinted by permission of BasicBooks, a member of Perseus

Books, L.L.C.

Page 714: From The Soul of the Night by Chet Raymo, ©1985.

Reprinted by permission of Chet Raymo.

Pages 747–748: From “The Art of Mickey Mouse” edited by

Craig Yoe and Janet Morra-Yoe. Introduction by John Updike.

Copyright ©1991 by The Walt Disney Company. Introduction

©1991 by John Updike. Reprinted by permission of Disney

Editions, an imprint of Disney Publishing Worldwide.

Page 762: From The Indian in America (New American Nation

Series) by Wilcomb E. Washburn. Copyright ©1975 by

Wilcomb E. Washburn. Reprinted with permission of

HarperCollins, Inc.

Pages 768–769: From The Greenpeace Book of Dolphins by

John May, ©1990. Reprinted with permission of Greenpeace ©

Greenpeace.

Page 816: From Civilisation by Kenneth Clark. Copyright

©1969 by Kenneth C. Clark. Reprinted with permission of

HarperCollins, Inc.

Page 817: From Mortal Lessons: Notes on the Art of Surgery by

Richard Selzer. Copyright © 1974, 1975, 1976 by Richard

Selzer. Reprinted by permission of Georges Borchardt, Inc., for

the author.

Page 824: From “Tradition and Practice” in George

Santayana’s America: Essays on Literature and Culture, James

C. Ballowe, editor. ©1966 Reprinted with permission of the

University of Illinois Press, Urbana.

Pages 824–825: From “Postscript: The Almighty Dollar” in

The Dyer’s Hand and Other Essays by W.H. Auden. Copyright

©1948 by W.H. Auden. Reprinted with permission of Random

House, Inc.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

x

Get Acquainted with

the SAT

PART ONE

What Is the SAT?

Many colleges and universities require their applicants to

take a standardized examination called the SAT. Conse￾quently, most of you as high school juniors or seniors will

take this test as part of the college admissions process. The

SAT, which is written and administered by the Educational

Testing Service (ETS), purports to evaluate students’ read￾ing, writing, and mathematical reasoning abilities. As a

result, you will actually get three scores: a critical reading

score, a math score, and a writing score, each of which will

lie between 200 and 800. For each part the median score is

500, meaning that about 50 percent of all students score

below 500 and about 50 percent score 500 or above.

What Is New About the SAT?

The SAT that you will take is somewhat different from the

SAT I that your older brothers and sisters may have taken.

This is not a big deal. Every ten years or so, the College

Board revises the SAT in some way. The “old” SAT I that

was replaced by the “new” SAT in March 2005 was itself

“new” when it was introduced in 1995.

Every page of this book presents what you need to know to

excel on the test that you will take. The diagnostic test and

all of the model tests in this book reflect the format of the cur￾rent SAT. It really doesn’t matter what used to be on the test.

But just so you know, the major changes were as follows:

• The test is 45 minutes longer.

• There are three writing skills sections: an essay section

and two sections consisting of multiple-choice grammar

questions.

• Analogies are no longer on the critical reading (formerly,

the verbal) part.

• Quantitative comparison questions no longer appear on

the Math sections.

• Some math questions cover topics not previously includ￾ed on the test.

None of the changes should concern you, and all of them

are thoroughly explained in this book. If you read the book

carefully and take some model tests for practice, you will

know exactly what to expect. Finally, you will be taking the

exact same test that high school students all across the

country will take. You are all in the same boat, but you will

be better prepared for the voyage.

Why Do So Many Colleges Require

You to Take the SAT?

The United States has no national education standards, so

a B+ from one teacher doesn’t necessarily represent the

same level of accomplishment as does a B+ from another

teacher, even in the same school. Given how hard it is to

compare the academic achievements of students within one

school, consider the difficulty of evaluating students who

come from public and private schools in urban, suburban,

and rural areas throughout the United States. The SAT pro￾vides college admissions officers with a quick way to com￾pare applicants from thousands of different high schools.

On one day, hundreds of thousands of students throughout

the United States (and in many foreign countries) take the

exact same version of the SAT, and a math score of 670

means exactly the same thing at a private school in

Massachusetts as it does in a public school in California.

How Do I Sign Up to Take the SAT?

Your high school guidance office should have copies of the

SAT Program Registration Bulletin, which provides informa￾tion on how to register for the test by mail. If your school is

out of bulletins, you can get copies from:

College Board SAT

P. O. Box 6200

Princeton NJ 08541-6200

Let’s Look 1 at the SAT

■ What Is the SAT?

■ The Critical Reading Sections

■ The Mathematics Sections

■ The Use of Calculators on the SAT

■ The Writing Skills Sections

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