“What is a good SAT score?” Michael, a sophomore at Daniel Hand High School asked. Through the fifteen years of teaching SATs to Connecticut students, I have been asked this question over a thousand times. “Where do you want to go to college?” That would be my most common response. “The SATs are relevant in […]

“When should I guess?” This is a question that I have answered several thousand times through the 15 years of training Connecticut students to master the SAT. The new SAT has fortunately provided a simple answer: “yes.” The current SAT had a guessing penalty such that there was a deduction for missed answers. The new […]

“I use my calculator to think.” Said Jessica, a very bright Waterford High School junior said as she evaluated the new SAT math section that prohibits the use of a calculator. Jessica had taken the new PSAT. Although the results have not been released, she felt that she did well on the PSAT math section […]

“Am I correct that the new SAT Math section is far harder than the current SAT?” Over twenty high school guidance counselors throughout Connecticut have called me with this same question. Most are wondering how to advise their college bound juniors about the SAT. The general assertion is correct. Having gone through all published official […]

“How is that wrong?” Jason, an East Lyme High School junior, exclaimed as he navigated the Writing and Language section of the new SAT. The sentence at issue: “The competition between my brother and I for house ping pong champion was intense.” I explained that prepositions like “between” required object pronouns to follow. “Me” is […]

“I can’t stand grammar.” Scott, a junior at Westbrook High School said.  Scott, like many Connecticut high school students, was worried about his deficient grammar skills as he prepared for the ACT.  He was hopeful that the new SAT would provide salvation from grammar.  It won’t! The new SAT Writing and Language section is now […]

“Do I really have to do the essay?” Rachel, a junior from East Lyme High School asked. “I thought the new SAT essay was optional.” Rachel is correct. The new SAT is optional. But Rachel, much like most every college bound Connecticut high school student, does not know where she will apply to college. Rachel […]

“Thank goodness. No more sentence completions!” Said Jake, a junior at Daniel Hand High School in Madison, CT. “I have a terrible vocabulary.” Jake was referring to the elimination of sentence completions on the new SAT. The current SAT’s sentence completion section has been criticized for having too many obscure words (like obscure!) that are […]

“An hour and five minutes of SAT reading!” exclaimed Ethan, a junior at Guilford High School. “I can barely read for twenty minutes straight.” The current SAT reading test consists of three reading sections. Two sections are twenty-five minutes and one section is twenty minutes.  Moreover, part of each of those sections is broken up […]

I am one of the few SAT teachers in Connecticut who has been teaching SATs long enough to have been around during the last major overhaul of the SAT (circa 2005). The biggest difference in reaction is the pre versus post social media frenzy that this current test as caused. Back then, there was a […]