lesson #31: the new sat understand the changes in the sat practice new sat test items understand sat...

Lesson #31:The New SAT

• understand the changes in the SAT

• practice new SAT test items

• understand SAT essay scoring guidelines

• learn timed writing strategies

• review effective persuasive writing techniques

Why Is the SAT Changing?

• To better reflect today’s classroom practices

• To make the test more closely related to the skills students will need to succeed in college

• To reinforce the importance of writing skills

• To help colleges make better admissions and placement decisions

SAT Changes An Overview

Verbal• Name will be changed to critical

reading• Analogies will be eliminated• Short paragraph reading passages

will be added to existing long reading passages

Writing

• Multiple-choice grammar and usage questions

• Student-written essay

Math

• Algebra II

Current SAT New SAT

3 hours 3 hours 35 minutes

Critical Reading

75 minutes

Two 30-minute sections and one 15-minute section

70 minutes

Two 25-minute sections and

one 20-minute section

Math

75 minutes

Two 30-minute sections and one 15-minute section

70 minutes

Two 25-minute sections and

one 20-minute section

Writing

60 minutes

One 35-minute multiple-choice

section & one 25-minute essay

Time Specifications

Content and Question Types

Current SAT New SAT

Critical Reading

Sentence Completion (lesson #18)

Critical Reading (lesson #19)

Analogies

Sentence Completion (order of difficulty)

Critical Reading: Short &long reading passages(chronological order)


Current SAT New SAT

Math

Multiple-choice items,student-produced responses & quantitative comparisons measuring:

Number and Operations;Algebra I & Functions; Geometry; Statistics, Probability & Data Analysis(lessons #15 & #16)

Multiple-choice items & student-produced responses measuring:

Number and Operations;Algebra I, II & Functions;Geometry; Statistics, Probability & Data Analysis


Current SAT New SAT

Writing

No Test Currently. Multiple-choice: Improving sentences & paragraphs and identifying errors

Student-Written Essay:Effectively communicate a viewpoint, defining andsupporting a position

Verbal Section–Renamed Critical Reading

• Measures knowledge of genre, cause and effect, rhetorical devices, comparative arguments, and the ability to recognize relationships among parts of a text.

• Types of questions: information retrieval, inference, main idea, and function

Verbal Section–Renamed Critical Reading

• Long and short reading passages are taken from different fields:

• Natural sciences

• Humanities

• Social science

• Literary fiction

The Critical Reading SectionExample of new short paragraph reading items

Dinosaurs have such a powerful grip on the public consciousness that it is easy to forget just how recently scientists have become aware of them. A two-year-old child today may be able to rattle off three dinosaur names, but in 1824 there was only one known dinosaur. Period. The word “dinosaur” didn’t even exist until 1841. Indeed, in those early years, the world was baffled by the discovery of these absurdly enormous creatures.

Line 5

1. The reference to the “two-year-old child” (line 4) primarily serves to

(A) challenge a popular assumption

(B) highlight the extent of the change

(C) suggest that a perspective is simplistic

(D) introduce a controversial idea

(E) question a contemporary preoccupation

Correct Answer: B

2. The statement “Period” (line 6) primarily serves to emphasize the

(A) authoritative nature of the finding

(B) lack of flexibility in a popular theory

(C) stubborn nature of a group of researchers

(D) limited knowledge about a subject

(E) refusal of the public to accept new discoveries

Correct Answer: D

Writing Section

• Multiple-choice

• 3 types of multiple-choice writing questions

• Identifying Sentence Errors (20% no error)

• Improving Sentences

• Improving Paragraphs

Examples of Multiple-Choice Writing Items

Identifying Sentence Errors:

It is likely that the opening of the convention center,

previously set for July 1, would be postponed because of (A) (B) (C) (D)

the bricklayers’ strike. No error. (E)

Correct Answer: C

Examples of Multiple-Choice Writing ItemsImproving sentences:

Although several groups were absolutely opposed to the outside support given the revolutionary government, other groups were as equal in their adamant approval of that support.

(A)were as equal in their adamant approval of

(B)held equally adamant approval of

(C)were equally adamant in approving

(D)had approved equally adamantly

(E) held approval equally adamant of Correct Answer: C

Examples of Multiple-Choice Writing Items

Improving paragraphs:

(1) At one point in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, the evil archaeologist Belloq shows the heroic Indiana Jones a cheap watch. (2) If the watch were to be buried in the desert for a thousand years and then dug up, Belloq says, it would be considered priceless. (3) I often think of the scene whenever I consider the record album–collecting phenomenon, it being one of the more remarkable aspects of popular culture in the United States. (4) Collecting record albums gives us a chance to make a low-cost investment that might pay dividends in the future.

[Excerpt from longer 3 paragraph passage]

Examples of Multiple-Choice Writing ItemsImproving paragraphs:

In the context of the first paragraph, which revision is most needed in sentence 3?

(A) Insert “As a matter of fact” at the beginning.

(B)Omit the words “it being.”

(C)Omit the word “scene.”

(D)Change the comma to a semicolon.

(E) Change “think” to “thought” and “consider” to “considered.”

Correct Answer: B

SAT Writing Section

• Short essay (25 minutes-30% of Writing Section)

• Students will be given a prompt to respond to.

• Students must first think critically about the issue presented in the essay assignment and then define and support their position, using reasoning and evidence based on their own experiences, readings, or observations.

• The essay will be similar to the type of on-demand writing that is typically done in college.

Example Essay Prompt

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following quotations and the assignment below.

1.While secrecy can be destructive, some of it is indispensable in human lives. Some control over secrecy and openness is needed in order to protect identity. Such control may be needed to guard privacy, intimacy, and friendship.

Adapted from Sissela Bok, “The Need for Secrecy”

2.Secrecy and a free, democratic government, President Harry Truman once said, don’t mix. An open exchange of information is vital to the kind of informed citizenry essential to healthy democracy.

Editorial, “Overzealous Secrecy Threatens Democracy”

.

Example Essay Prompt

Assignment:

Do people need to keep secrets or is secrecy harmful?

Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

How Will theEssays Be Scored?

• Essays will be scored by two readers using a holistic scale.

• Readers will look for and reward what is done well rather than what is done badly or omitted.

• Readers will ignore the quality of handwriting and not judge an essay by its length.

How Will theEssays Be Scored?

• Grammar will not be an overriding factor in determining an essay score.

• Readers will neither reward nor punish formulaic approaches

• Readers will understand that the essay is a first draft.

Timed Writing Strategies

• Does your essay answer the question?

• Agree; agree, with exceptions; disagree; disagree with exceptions

• Restate the prompt and state your thesis


• Is your essay well organized? (lessons 12 & 13)

• 4 to 5 paragraph essay

• 1 body paragraph for each example

• Use transitions


• Does your essay use specific examples to support your thesis?

• Is your essay free of grammatical mistakes?

Pacing Your Essay

• You have 25 minutes.

• Write down start and stop time; 5 min. after start time; 5 min. before stop time (1:00; 1:25; 1:05; 1:20)

Pacing Your Essay

• 1st five minutes: read, mark up prompt, brainstorm examples

• Write for 15 minutes.

• Proofread and edit for 5 minutes.

Review of Persuasive Techniques

• Objective examples from history, current events, and literature work best.

• Use relevant and representative evidence.

Review of Persuasive Techniques

• Avoid being overly sentimental.

• Avoid extremes.

• Avoid fallacies.

• Review lesson #26.

New SAT Scoring Guide

Score of 6

An essay in this category is outstanding, demonstrating clear and consistent mastery, although it may have a few minor errors. A typical essay

•effectively and insightfully develops a point of view on the topic and demonstrates outstanding critical thinking, using clearly appropriate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position

•is well organized and clearly focused, demonstrating clear coherence and smooth progression of ideas


Score of 6

•exhibits skillful use of language, using a varied, accurate, and apt vocabulary

•demonstrates meaningful variety in sentence structure

•is free of most errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics

New SAT Scoring GuideScore of 5

An essay in this category is effective, demonstrating reasonably consistent mastery, although it will have occasional errors or lapses in quality. A typical essay

•effectively develops a point of view on the topic and demonstrates strong critical thinking, generally using appropriate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position

•is well organized and focused, demonstrating coherence and progression of ideas


Score of 5

•exhibits facility in the use of language, using appropriate vocabulary

•demonstrates variety in sentence structure

•is generally free of most errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics


Score of 4

An essay in this category is competent, demonstrating adequate mastery, although it will have lapses in quality. A typical essay

•develops a point of view on the topic and demonstrates competent critical thinking, using adequate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position

•is generally organized and focused, demonstrating some coherence and progression of ideas


Score of 4

•exhibits adequate but inconsistent facility in the use of language, using generally appropriate vocabulary

•demonstrates some variety in sentence structure

•has some errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics


Score of 3

An essay in this category is inadequate, but demonstrates developing mastery, and is marked by ONE OR MORE of the following weaknesses:

• develops a point of view on the issue, demonstrating some critical thinking, but may do so inconsistently or use inadequate examples, reasons, or other evidence to support its position

• is limited in its organization or focus, or may demonstrate some lapses in coherence or progression of ideas

Essays not written on the essay assignment will receive a score of zero.


Score of 3

• displays developing facility in the use of language, but sometimes uses weak vocabulary or inappropriate word choice

• lacks variety or demonstrates problems in sentence structure

• contains an accumulation of errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics



Score of 2

An essay in this category is seriously limited, demonstrating little mastery, and is flawed by ONE OR MORE of the following weaknesses:

• develops a point of view on the issue that is vague or seriously limited, demonstrating weak critical thinking, providing inappropriate or insufficient examples, reasons, or other evidence to support its position

• is poorly organized and/or focused, or demonstrates serious problems with coherence or progression of ideas



Score of 2

• displays very little facility in the use of language, using very limited vocabulary or incorrect word choice

• demonstrates frequent problems in sentence structure

• contains errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics so serious that meaning is somewhat obscured


New SAT Scoring GuideScore of 1

An essay in this category is fundamentally lacking, demonstrating very little or no mastery, and is severely flawed by ONE OR MORE of the following weaknesses:

• develops no viable point of view on the topic, or provides little or no evidence to support its position

• is disorganized or unfocused, resulting in a disjointed or incoherent essay

• displays fundamental errors in vocabulary

• demonstrates severe flaws in sentence structure

• contains pervasive errors in grammar, usage, or mechanics that persistently interfere with meaning


What prep materials are available?

• The PSAT/NMSQT Student Bulletin, the free booklet that includes a full-length practice test.

• Ask your counselor about Scorewrite™: A Guide to the New SAT Essay.

• The new version of Taking the SAT, the free booklet that includes a full-length practice test.

What prep materials are available?

• Real SATs, the successor to 10 Real SATs.

• Taking the SAT II: Subject Tests is available at no cost and includes examples of multiple-choice questions that are similar to those that will be on the new SAT writing section.

• The online SAT Learning Center® at www.collegeboard.com will include new SAT sample questions.

lesson #31: the new sat understand the changes in the sat practice new sat test items understand sat...

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