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There are math test related books from the usual suspects: Kaplan, McGraw Hill and Princeton Review. It's very important to take several tests to get used to the material in the SAT.
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For those who want to get close to 800 Rusen Meylani book can be considered. You can also replace SAT training with a couple of community college courses (algebra and pre-calculus).
This book's problems are MUCH harder than the real test's problems,
September 19, 2008 By Cardinal Fang - See all my reviewsI don't know why this book's title calls the tests "Realistic." A quick look at the questions reveals what the preface states clearly: these questions are much harder than questions on the real Math Level 2 test. Although the math level is the same, this book's problems require more steps and more insight. Even if you know the math this book's problems will make you think. Do not buy this book if all you want is some sample tests.
On the other hand, if you want to practice, if you are willing to spend time to learn the math better by working problems, or if, like me, you just enjoy flexing your math muscles, then do buy the book. If you do the problems, your Math Level II score will improve. Don't buy the book for a quick fix, because it won't be quick. Do buy the book if you're willing to work on your math.
Hard but very helpful,
July 12, 2005 P. Hopkins (Lausanne, Switzerland) - See all my reviews
The major advantage of using this book is that it is the most recent book available in the market and it leaves no surprises to its reader since it covers all question types likely to appear in the Math Level 2 Subject Test. This book skips the basics and puts a special emphasis on what a student might be weak at. Therefore it will not be a surprise to see that a student gets 650 on the average while using this book but score 800 in the reality. If the questions are rated on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the easiest and 10 being the hardesr, the author of this book skips the easiest questions, i.e. the questions at the 1 to 4 range.
The answer explanations are short, for example while solving a system of equations the author gives the equations and the key steps for solving it and skips the basic steps and leaves them to the reader.
Questions are realistic; a student will not encounter any question that she has not seen in this book. Traditionally College Board has surprises in every Level 2 test. Another advantage of using this book, again, is that it is possible to see all possible versions of the newest question types in this book.
A student using this book is assumed to know the basics of precalculus enough to figure out what is being meant in a certain question. Moreover, the questions are trickier than those in reality; the author often employs traps involving unit conversions and decimal points.
As a teacher of mathematics my overall comment about this book is that it is harder than usual, but very helpful.May 28, 2007 The problems are good-- about as good as the ones in Barron's Math IIC. If you are having a hard time getting to that 800 and you're only about 100 points off, this is really the book to go
By Hyonok K. Yoon "bbcdeezy" (California) - See all my reviews
A few of my friends found it way too hard, but really, once you spend some time and try to solve the problems, you'll get better. It works ya, but in a good way. It'll get you really prepped for the real SAT since it IS a lot harder than the actual test
However, there are drawbacks:
- a few of the answers in the answer key are wrong.. so watch out and dont freak out
- the solutions don't come in much detail, you gotta do some cognitive thinking on your on
- the material's rather s****y, so if you're one of those ppl that get annoyed with books with horrible texture, flexibility, etc, don't buy this book
but OTHER than that, this book is pretty much awesome
October 12, 2005 The tests in this book are definitely harder than what a student will see on the test day. The tests can be seen as the hardened version of the real ones. In that sense they promise good practice on a variety of original questions. However answer explanations are brief, they could be more detailed; figures could be sketched with a higher resolution and the binding could be more flexible. Apart from those this book is the best practice for the SAT math level 2 subject test.
By Z. Verdi (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
April 29, 2005 This book really fills the gap and it is one of a kind as it presents a variety of 15 "very realistic" tests. The questions are unique and solutions are OK. There is just one slight issue though, some of the solutions could have been more detailed. The tests are slightly harder than the usual but they provide the student with good training. The author has included a chapter on solving equations and inequalities with TI that accounts for 5 to 10 of the questions in the 2C test; however if this book is used along with the TI book of the same author, it will serve its purpose in a better way. The organization of this book is fine, I mean the tests, solutions and the answer keys; but the author has forgotten to include answer sheets this time. As a high school pre-calculus teacher, I recommend this book to all students and teachers.
By B. Platt (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
Good buy,
April 1, 2005 I do not know how good this book is, as I have not purchased it, but I did get the Math IIC package of 10 test booklets less than a week ago and I think it is the coolest thing ever. If only these 15 were booklet form, it makes it so easy to move around and you can lend them to friend. The one I have seems to be very accurate to the other practice tests I have seen. I am now waiting for my copy of his book that shows you how to take the entire IIC on your TI Calc. If this is as good as his 10 test booklets, it is a good buy, especially since it has the solutions.
By D. Cole (California) - See all my reviews
Math SAT 800- How To Master the Toughest Problems
Cracking the SAT Math 1 and 2 Subject Tests, 2007-2008 Edition (College Test Prep)
This book contain valuable material that not only gives a student an idea of what exam is actually about but really helps to improve the score. It does not replace a regular textbook or a good teacher, but still can help a lot. It is better tool for preparation to the math part of SAT then any general "all-in-one" SAT preparation book.
The book contains 18 chapters which cover most topics well and three model tests. Those tests are very important preparation tools and are well worth the money.
Chapter 2: "Tactics" is a really valuable chapter. It covers eight very useful approaches to solving SAP math problems. Exercises (with solutions) are good and as far as I can tell are pretty realistic. Three model tests are the real strong point of the book. Each of them is worth the price of the book alone.
Shortcomings are few. IMHO ideas of chapter 2 are not sufficiently reinforced in other chapters. The geometry section can (and should) be enlarged as this topic usually creates for student the most problems.
Also topics are treated as isolated without pointing to bridges between them (for example between trigonometry and geometrical problems).
Some neat tricks possible because a powerful TI-89 graphic calculator is allowed on the test (and it is IMHO a must ) are not covered. This is an area that needs another book (for example TI-89 Graphing Calculator For Dummies my opinion is that the only dummies are those who do not make use of this book ;-).Dedicated self-study of TI-89 not only improves your SAT score, but it prepares you to the challenges of math in the college. Some call usage of calculator to solve the test problems cheating but I would like to call it real intelligence. The only real problem is that you need to master it to "cheat" SAT with it. Other things equal it is better to use the calculator that you know well and get used to.
Highly recommended as an additional book to a good "all-in-one" SAT preparation book because math part of the test is the most important and most difficult part of SAT test. It can help to improve the score and at the same time save the family some money if (and only if) the student has adequate motivation to study himself/herself.
- Paperback: 496 pages
- Publisher: Barron's Educational Series; 3 edition (January 1, 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0764123653
- ISBN-13: 978-0764123658
- Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 7.8 x 1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Average Customer Review: 15 Reviews
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,892 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
January 4, 2002 This review is from: Barron's Math Workbook for the Sat I (Barron's Math Workbook for the New Sat) (Paperback)
By Amber McCann "Future Author" (Modesto, CA) - See all my reviews
It does not surprise me that a SAT Prep teacher does not care for this book. If more students bought and used this book, their math score would improve dramatically and the SAT prep teachers would be out of business. Would I rather spend 225 dollars on a course for improving my score or 15 dollars for a book to do the same.
I chose the book and boy did it work.
I bought this book and used it for about 2 months prior to my second SAT. I knew I should have spent longer time with it, because I wasn't able to get all the way through this in-depth book. Yet I improved my math score by 105 points just by using this book only half of the way through.
Imagine if I had the time to read the whole book! I am really impressed with Barron's. I strongly urge this for anyone who is looking to improve their SAT math skills....Oh and when I took the actual SAT I recognized about 90% of the math problems from the Barron's book. So yes it does help tremendously.
January 8, 2006
By Anti Nerd "iAmNoTaNeRd" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
I've taken my SATs May of 2003, and October 2003. I scored 740 for May SAT and achieved 780 for October SAT. This book is one of the best books for mathematics. It depends on how well you use this book. Anyways, I'll tell how i used this book.
First week: I bought the book, went over the concepts, structures, tricks, strategies, one of 10 REAL SATs practice exam to know what score i would rank, read through beginning stuff.
Second week: Starting this week, I work on chapter 3, which deals with arithmetic skills and concepts. There are 8 lessons in chapter 3. I did 2 lessons a day starting Monday, and then Friday, I relax and review the lessons I've practiced. When you study, you must MASTER the concepts. Knowing the concept does not help.
Third week: There are 7 lessons in Chapter 4 which deals with Algebra. I do two lessons a day, for 4th day, when I only do 1 lesson, I work on my weaknesses in Chapter 4. Then 5th day, I review and study. When review, review lessons from previous chapters so that you won't forget.
Fourth week: There are 5 lessons in Chapter 5. I work 2 lessons a day, and then I review and study as usual.
Fifth week: Chapter 6 deals with Geometry, which was one of my weaknesses. So I decided to learn 1 lesson a day since there are 8 lessons and SAT strongly emphasizes a lot on geometry. So fifth week, I've done 4 lessons, one lesson each day. 5th day, I reviewed.
Sixth week: I've continued and finish last 4 lessons and reviewed as well
Seventh week: I went back to my routine plan and studied two lessons a day, and then reviewed.
Eighth week: I worked on Chapter 8, last chapter before practice exams. 5 lessons, study.
9th week: Then after I've studied these chapters, I go over and review all the problems, questions, concepts from previous chapters. I review chapters 3-5.
10th week: Same as 9th week but I reviewed chapters 6-8.
11th and 12th week. I took practice exams to familiar myself with the exams. After you see the score you've got, go to problems and check to see if you made a mistake because you weren't careful enough. Then assume that it's correct and check your score again. For instance, You got 630 on practice exam but if you didn't make stupid mistakes, what could you have gotten?, 650? 700?
From this point, you're pretty much set for SAT Math. Note that I'm one of the biggest slacker with horrible English skills who's from Korea and still get high score. I am NOT a genius or some nerd. I received grades of Bs and Cs in mathematic courses in past and if I can pull this off, you can. This is a 3 month plan I've made beginning of junior year.
My parents told me that cramming does not work and that I should space out studying to learn more effectively. I am a fan of Bruce Lee and he has stated long time ago that "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times." This means that you shouldn't assume you know the concept just because you've solved few easy problems. You should apply the concept as many times as you can and do them properly.
People say "practice makes perfect". It does not. PERFECT practice ALMOST makes perfect. You'll never get your goals to be perfect if you don't practice it properly and people make mistakes once in a while, so nobody is perfect.
In Psychology, It shows that spaced practice and overlearning helps for studies because overlearning and spaced practice puts your learning to long-term memory where it wont' decay for a long time.
When I say review and study everytime, it means, know the concept really well and master them by applying them as much as possible to every problems. When i say two lessons, it means, solve every problems in those lessons. I've also used Kaplan Math Workbook for practice problems to strengthen my concepts. I've studied previous chapters When I was studying chapters 4/5/6/7/8 to prevent my brain from forgetting.
I used this method to tutor students also as well. It worked for my studnets. I've raised most students' scores. My best student raised his score from 580 to 720, then he quit learning from me after 3 months, learned on his own from knowing this method for 2 months, and achieved 800. Student getting higher than a teacher? If I can do this, anyone can.
August 31, 2004 This review is from: Barron's Math Workbook for the Sat I (Barron's Math Workbook for the New Sat) (Paperback)
By reader (NY United States) - See all my reviews I've only completed 50 or so pages in this workbook, but it has immediately covered many of my weaknesses.
Although this book is helpful to all (except for the very low or very high scorers,) I think it will be most beneficial to those who are currently in the 600's.
I highly recommend this book.
Kaplan SAT Math Workbook, 4th Edition
Kaplan SAT Math Workbook (Kaplan Sat Math Workbook)
Kaplan SAT Math Workbook 2006 (Kaplan Sat Math Workbook)
McGraw-Hill's SAT, 2008 Edition book-CD-ROMby Christopher Black and Mark Anestis (Paperback - Jun 20, 2007)
