Mary Score Break Down & Analysis:

Perhaps an analysis/commentary of another student’s weak points can help you focus on your own… good luck testers!

• Name has been changed to maintain privacy

Mary Score Break Down & Analysis:

Dear Parent:

Please review the information below slowly, and alongside with the score report she brought yesterday. In the future, score reports ($12 additional fee through collegeboard.com) should be ordered the same time that you register for the SAT, so that you get your score report, test booklet, and SAT score together approximately 3 weeks after the test. Schools do not force or even tells kids to do this, but it is extremely important that you always order your real answer key, so you know what your weak points were the day you took the real test. This should be done especially if you plan on retaking the SAT.

SAT test date: March 2010

Goal Score: 2000

Real score: 1880

Retake: May 1, 2010

Real Score: (still waiting for release; Expected, May 20th, 2010)

Mary’s March 2010 SAT TEST ANALYSIS:

Again, review this slowly and alongside your score report:

Mary’s biggest enemy was the vocabulary. Her vocabulary in context mistakes cost her roughly 150-200 points.

In Section 2 (Critical Reading), approximately the first 7 questions are strictly vocabulary in context. In section 2, Mary got 3 vocabulary questions wrong; 4 right. In section 8 (Critical Reading), Mary got 4 vocabulary questions wrong, but only 3 right, Section 5 had 10 vocabulary in context questions; Mary got 3 wrong and 7 right. Mary’s reading comprehension skills are pretty strong. Her reading comp errors were mainly vocabulary in context in the passage (S2 Q 12 & 17). Otherwise, she has a very strong critical reading base. No more intensive prep here needed.

Mary’s weak points in math are the student response questions in section 4. Here, students lose no points for incorrect answers; they only gain 1 raw point for each correct one. Questions 9-18 are student response. Out of 9 questions, Mary got 3 wrong, 5 right. She does not need to work on the pre-student response (multiple choice questions). Here, she got a perfect score: 8 out of 8 right. Mary’s math overall is very strong, except for the free-response. More work is needed here.

Mary’s writing skills need light polishing. She had a very impressive section 10. Out of 14 questions, Mary got 1 wrong, 13 right. Good work here! Statistically, students score much worse in section 10 than do in any other section. This is perhaps from a combination of reasons, but in particular, because it is the very last section of a very rigorous, tightly timed test. What hurt her writing score was the essay (see below). My other student, Helen Grestova (October 2009/ Now my Friday Test Proctor) scored a 750/800 on her writing. She got every single writing question right, but only an 11 out of 12 on her essay. Her writing score went from a potential 800 to a 750-- 50 points lost just due to the essay. Usually students lose 7 to 10 points for each question but losing points on the essay costs more points. (curved).

For Future Testing:

In addition to the vocabulary sheets provided by Kweller Prep, we highly recommend you memorize the vocabulary in the books we provided. Specifically, the Barron’s 2400, the Barron’s Writing & Critical Readying and the large Grueber SAT. Not memorizing as much vocabulary as you can is a terrible judgment mistake. The vocabulary sheets provide an excellent foundation, but a comprehensive vocabulary base can up your overall score by as much as 200 points. Again, the vocabulary-in-context questions make up approximately 1/3 of each critical reading section.

Writing needs very light polishing. What really hurt Mary here was her essay score. For future testing, be sure to use more college level vocabulary in the first few lines of your essay and always stick to your thesis statement. For more information on perfecting your essay, please see the original 12 essays that Kweller Prep has provided for Mary.

I hope this detailed score analysis assists you. Good luck with your results on the upcoming MAY SAT results. If you decide to retake the SAT in October, be sure to order your MAY 2010 score report ASAP.

For subsequent SAT tests, order your score report right away—the same day you register for the SAT -- a small investment, a big return!

Frances Kweller, J.D.
www.KwellerPrep.com
917 499 3913