7 ms·

I had a similar experience as OP. Maybe you can't imagine it because you went to a competitive high school where kids talked a lot about stuff like that? I bar

I had a similar experience as OP. Maybe you can't imagine it because you went to a competitive high school where kids talked a lot about stuff like that? I barely tried and was in the top 1% of my class yet I didn't prepare for the PSAT or SAT that I can recall. Maybe I did do a few practice SAT tests, but it definitely was preached that the SAT was an aptitude test so you couldn't study for it. I ended up getting $60k in scholarships mostly from my PSAT results but at the time I took the test I had no idea what was riding on the results. I thought it was literally just "Practice" SAT.

kaashif 4y ago
> I had a similar experience as OP. Maybe you can't imagine it because you went to a competitive high school where kids talked a lot about stuff like that? The reason I probably can't imagine this stuff is that I grew up in the UK, where exams are exams, and everyone knows you can study for them (even if they don't). The idea of a set of exams being pitched as an aptitude test you can't study for (when in fact you definitely can study for aptitude tests) is weird. I guess children in many public schools in America are being failed on such a basic level - not being told what the tests they're taking mean and whether you can study - that I had no idea. > it definitely was preached that the SAT was an aptitude test so you couldn't study for it. This seems like you were just straight up lied to, and is sad.
- crazygringo 4y ago
  It seems like you maybe just don't know what the SAT is. It's not an exam like any other high school exam, it's totally unique. It's not meant to be studied for -- it's meant to give a general overview of your total scholastic ability. (It's also not even run by the school system, it's a private company that you have to pay in order to take the test.) But the reality is that you can "game" it by learning patterns in the types of questions they ask, and how to give the answer they're "looking for" on the verbal section, when the correct answer is often highly subjective for questions on analogies and reading comprehension. And you can also focus on a very narrow subset of words and math problems that tend to statistically recur. There's also literally strategy around when you should guess vs. when you should leave an answer blank, depending on your confidence. These are what test prep focuses on -- not on improving your general scholastic aptitude in any way. So it's not studying for an exam in any normal sense. It's more like "gaming" it. As for children being failed on such a basic level in many public schools in America -- on that, you couldn't be more correct, sadly.
  - netr0ute 4y ago
    > There's also literally strategy around when you should guess vs. when you should leave an answer blank, depending on your confidence. This hasn't been true for almost a decade, and now you can guess on any question.
- warbler73 4y ago
  The tests are a lot different than school exams based on coursework that you study for. Those exams you are taught content and told what will be on the test and how to prepare. There may be weekly quizzes, a midterm, a final, essays, graded homework. You receive back graded each quiz and exam that has marked exactly what you got wrong so you can focus on areas you have problems with for the final. With standardized state tests, IQ tests, SAT/ACT, you don't get any feed back. For standardized state test you spend a lot of time on the test and are never given any feedback at all. When I was in school I just stopped taking them. I would sit there and not fill in anything. Why should I? The SAT was more of the same. I would not receive any feedback about what I got wrong and I have no idea what the questions will be or what I will be tested on. A lot of students then say why bother and just sit and fill in all A bubbles or leave their sheets blank. There is no point in studying for such a test as you have no idea what will be on the test. Now the ACT is better since they have a test question bank and if you take it enough times you'll see most of the math and grammar questions. But the reading stuff is all random and lots of the questions arbitrary with even the authors of the excerpts used saying they have no idea what the correct answer is supposed to be about "what was the author's intent". Still how many students know any of this? Most teachers don't, fewer students. With "high stakes" state standardized exams so many schools in the US spend most time in class drilling and prepping for these that everyone loses interest. It is incredibly boring prepping for this stuff and they push test prep for over 10-13 years, badgering the students about how important it is for a test they will get no feedback from, and which is taking up the majority of time in over a decade of state education. Everyone sane checks out and gives up.

kaashif 4y ago

> I had a similar experience as OP. Maybe you can't imagine it because you went to a competitive high school where kids talked a lot about stuff like that? The reason I probably can't imagine this stuff is that I grew up in the UK, where exams are exams, and everyone knows you can study for them (even if they don't). The idea of a set of exams being pitched as an aptitude test you can't study for (when in fact you definitely can study for aptitude tests) is weird. I guess children in many public schools in America are being failed on such a basic level - not being told what the tests they're taking mean and whether you can study - that I had no idea. > it definitely was preached that the SAT was an aptitude test so you couldn't study for it. This seems like you were just straight up lied to, and is sad.

crazygringo 4y ago
It seems like you maybe just don't know what the SAT is. It's not an exam like any other high school exam, it's totally unique. It's not meant to be studied for -- it's meant to give a general overview of your total scholastic ability. (It's also not even run by the school system, it's a private company that you have to pay in order to take the test.) But the reality is that you can "game" it by learning patterns in the types of questions they ask, and how to give the answer they're "looking for" on the verbal section, when the correct answer is often highly subjective for questions on analogies and reading comprehension. And you can also focus on a very narrow subset of words and math problems that tend to statistically recur. There's also literally strategy around when you should guess vs. when you should leave an answer blank, depending on your confidence. These are what test prep focuses on -- not on improving your general scholastic aptitude in any way. So it's not studying for an exam in any normal sense. It's more like "gaming" it. As for children being failed on such a basic level in many public schools in America -- on that, you couldn't be more correct, sadly.
- netr0ute 4y ago
  > There's also literally strategy around when you should guess vs. when you should leave an answer blank, depending on your confidence. This hasn't been true for almost a decade, and now you can guess on any question.
warbler73 4y ago
The tests are a lot different than school exams based on coursework that you study for. Those exams you are taught content and told what will be on the test and how to prepare. There may be weekly quizzes, a midterm, a final, essays, graded homework. You receive back graded each quiz and exam that has marked exactly what you got wrong so you can focus on areas you have problems with for the final. With standardized state tests, IQ tests, SAT/ACT, you don't get any feed back. For standardized state test you spend a lot of time on the test and are never given any feedback at all. When I was in school I just stopped taking them. I would sit there and not fill in anything. Why should I? The SAT was more of the same. I would not receive any feedback about what I got wrong and I have no idea what the questions will be or what I will be tested on. A lot of students then say why bother and just sit and fill in all A bubbles or leave their sheets blank. There is no point in studying for such a test as you have no idea what will be on the test. Now the ACT is better since they have a test question bank and if you take it enough times you'll see most of the math and grammar questions. But the reading stuff is all random and lots of the questions arbitrary with even the authors of the excerpts used saying they have no idea what the correct answer is supposed to be about "what was the author's intent". Still how many students know any of this? Most teachers don't, fewer students. With "high stakes" state standardized exams so many schools in the US spend most time in class drilling and prepping for these that everyone loses interest. It is incredibly boring prepping for this stuff and they push test prep for over 10-13 years, badgering the students about how important it is for a test they will get no feedback from, and which is taking up the majority of time in over a decade of state education. Everyone sane checks out and gives up.