the SAT II Subject Tests
Information provided by www.kaptest.com
An Achievement Test
by any other name... The SAT II is a set of more than 20 different tests
focusing on specific disciplines such as English, History and Social Sciences,
Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Foreign Languages. Each Subject Test
lasts one hour and consists entirely of multiple-choice questions, except
for the Writing Test, which has a 20-minute essay section in addition
to a 40-minute multiple-choice section.
How Does the SAT
II Differ from SAT I?
Originally, SAT stood for Scholastic Aptitude
Test. When the test changed a few years ago, the official name
was changed to Scholastic Assessment Test. In 1997, the testmakers
announced that SAT no longer stands for anything, officially.
SAT I is largely a
test of verbal and math skills. True, you need to know some vocabulary
and some formulas for the SAT I, but it's designed to measure how well
you read and think rather than what you know. The SAT II is very different.
It's designed to measure what you know about specific disciplines. Sure,
critical reading and thinking skills play a part on these tests, but their
main purpose is to determine exactly what you know about writing, math,
history, chemistry, and so on.
How Do Colleges
Use the SAT II?
Many people will tell you that the SATs (I and II alike) measure only
your ability to perform on standardized exams--that they measure neither
your reading and thinking skills nor your level of knowledge. Maybe they're
right. But these people don't work for colleges. Those schools that require
SATs feel that they're an important indicator of your ability to succeed
in college. Specifically, they use your scores in one or both of two ways:
- To help them make admissions decisions
- To help them make placement decisions
Like the SAT I , the
SAT II: Subject Tests provide schools with a standard measure of academic
performance, which they use to compare you to applicants from different
high schools and different educational backgrounds. This information helps
them to decide whether you're ready to handle their curriculum.
SAT II scores may
also be used to decide what course of study is appropriate for you once
you've been admitted. A low score on the Writing Test, for example, may
mean that you have to take a remedial English course. Conversely, a high
score on the Math Level IIC Test may mean that you'll be exempted from
an introductory math course.
What SAT II Subject
Tests Should I Take?
SAT II Strategies
The simple answer is: Take the ones that you'll do well on. High scores,
after all, can only help your chances for admission. Unfortunately, many
colleges demand that you take particular tests, usually the Writing Test
and/or one of the Math Tests. Some schools will give you some choice in
the matter, especially if they want you to take a total of three Subject
Tests. So, before you register to take any tests, check with colleges
to find out exactly which tests they require. Don't rely on high school
guidance counselors or admissions handbooks for this information. They
might not give you accurate details.
The SAT II: Subject
Tests are different from the tests that you're used to taking. On your
high school exams, you probably go through the questions in order. You
probably spend more time on hard questions than on basic ones, since hard
questions are generally worth more points. And you often show your work
since your teachers tell you how you approach questions is as important
as getting the right answers.
Well, forget all that!
None of this applies to the SAT II. You can benefit from moving around
within the tests, hard questions are worth the same points as basic ones,
and it doesn't matter how you answer the questions or what work you did
to get there--only what your answers are. Plug into a few test-taking
skills and strategies that can improve your scoring performance:
The Test Is Highly
Because the format and directions of the SAT II: Subject Tests remain
unchanged from test to test, you can learn how the tests are set up in
advance. One of the easiest things you can do to help your performance
on the SAT II is to understand the directions before taking the test.
Since the instructions are always the same, there's no reason to waste
a lot of time on test day reading them.
Questions Are Arranged
by Order of Difficulty
Not all of the questions on the SAT II are equally difficult. The questions
often get harder as you work through different parts of the test. The
pattern can work to your benefit. When working on more basic problems,
you can generally trust your first impulse--the obvious answer is likely
to be correct. As you get to the end of a test section, you need to be
a bit more suspicious. now the answers probably won't come as quickly
and easily--if they do, look again, because the obvious answers my be
wrong. They may be distractors--wrong answer choices deliberately meant
to entice you.
You Don't Need
to Answer the Questions in Order
You're allowed to skip around the SAT II: Subject Tests. High scorers
know this fact. They move through the tests efficiently. They don't dwell
on any one question, even a hard one, until they've tried every question
at least once.
There Is a Guessing
It's really a wrong answer penalty. If you guess wrong, you get penalized.
If you guess right, you're in great shape. The fact is, if you can eliminate
one or more answer choices as definitely wrong, you'll turn the odds in
your favor and actually come out ahead by guessing. The fractional points
that you lose are meant to offset the points you might get "accidentally"
by guessing the correct answer. With practice, however, you'll see that
it's often easy to eliminate several answer choices on some of the questions.
The Answer Grid
Has No Heart
It sounds simple, but it's extremely important: Don't make mistakes filling
out your answer grid. When time is short, it's easy to get confused going
back and forth between your test booklet and your grid. If you know the
answers, but misgrid, you won't get the points. Here's how to avoid mistakes:
Always circle the
questions you skip: When you go back, these questions will be easy to
Always circle the
answers you choose: It makes it easier to check your grid against your
Grid five or more
answers at once: You won't keep breaking your concentration to mark the
Practice these skills
and strategies as you prepare for your SAT II.
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