The May 2021 Reading Test - unlike the October 2020 Reading Test and more like the March 2021 Reading Test - sees a return to the normal distribution of question types ..read more

While there were changes to the expected distribution of questions in the March 2021 Verbal sections, the story for the Math sections was just the opposite: core question categories fell squarely within the expected frequency ranges. Despite a handful of changeups (new deliveries of old question types), this was a really “normal” test.   What do we mean by core Q categories? Each company will organize questions differently, but at University Select we try to organize them around a central principle or skill – such that you don’t get a million different math question types, but i ..read more

The SAT Writing Test has remained pretty constant. The same distribution of skills asked in the same ways. This consistency is in part why the Writing Test is the easiest to move scores! There is one new skill that is emerging: Main Idea Questions! The March 2021 test had FOUR! By comparison the October 2020 Test had 1! And of all the SAT & PSAT that we can get our hands on (in the books as well as question and answer services) - there have only been 14 of these questions asked ..read more

While the October 2020 SAT was completely different from other recent administered tests (read HERE) - the College Board decided to swing back completely and then some on the March 2021 Reading Test. It is no secret that that secret to success on the SAT is critical textual analysis! BUT once mastered - the student also needs to know how to find the relevant text in the passage. Locating & textual analysis or just textual analysis = SAT Reading test skills! The October 2020 test saw a huge uptick in emphasis on textual analysis while the March 2021 test went back to a greater emphasis on l ..read more

2020 PSAT: The Reading Test - Less P and More SAT The 2020 PSAT saw some substantial changes! The Reading Test looked much less like previous PSATs and must more like the current iteration of the SAT. WHAT STAYED THE SAME (1) Previous PSATs included more questions that told the student where in the passage they could find the answer as compared to the SAT. This did not change. (2) Previous PSATs included fewer questions that require the student to compare to passages as compared to the PSAT. This too did not change. (3) PSATs continue to have, on average, the same number of Main Idea questions ..read more

    Unlike the Oct 2020 Reading section, the Math sections fell within expected ranges and distributions of Q types.  The way we think about SAT math is this: it’s a surprisingly closed universe (with very tight boundaries), and what you get on any given SAT is a permutation of these expected Q types.  What we’ve been able to do beyond that, however, is to cluster (group, connect different Q’s through shared principles or visual cues) SAT Math questions to such an extent that 2/3 of SAT Math Q’s for every administered test since 2018 fall within 10 tightly held groups.&nbs ..read more

    The October 2020 SAT Reading Test saw some pretty significant changes, not only in terms of the frequency of questions types (how many times a question type appears on the test), but also in terms of the format of the question types. CHANGE IN FREQUENCY Questions that tell the reader where they can find the answer in the passage was at an all time high of any administered test (since the SAT was overhauled to it’s current format). A total of 19 questions had line reference. While the number of vocabulary questions was slightly higher (+1) than average, it was the number of ..read more

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We just received notification that the June SAT will be canceled. Click HERE for official College Board announcement.  It is likely that the ACT will follow suit for the June 13 test date, though no announcement has yet been made. The SAT is promising monthly administrations of the SAT from Aug - Dec with increased capacity for each test.  In the event that schools do not open, both the SAT & ACT are planning a virtual administration. Click HERE and HERE for news analysis of projected Fall options.  We wanted you to ..read more

On the whole there are no huge changes on the October Writing Test. However, there are a few small tweaks … Compared to the average of the 10 Official Tests in the College Board Book/available online (#2 & 4), the October Test had 2 more punctuation questions - matching a growing importance placed on punctuation 1 more grammar question (consistently of plural vs singular or verb tense) 1 more graphic question 0 - we call them grab bag questions — those questions that test grammar rules - but rarely (e.g. subject vs. object pronouns or idioms) 3 questions that ask about main ideas ..read more