How would you define SAT Math in your own words?

Answer 1

The SAT Math section tests a student’s ability to apply their knowledge of high-school math topics spanning algebra 1, geometry, algebra 2, and trigonometry. At the time of writing, the current version of the SAT is digital and the Math portion of the test consists of 2 computer adaptive Math modules. A student's performance on the first module determines the difficulty of the second module. Students are allowed to use the built-in DESMOS feature, a powerful graphing calculator app, wherever it is helpful.

The thing that must be understood about SAT Math is that it will test one’s math knowledge in both standard AND non-standard ways. By standard ways, I mean assessing the student’s ability to:

---solve algebraic equations and inequalities

---simplify expressions algebraically and evaluate them numerically

---read graphs, charts, & tables to locate data points and answer questions about them

---apply mathematical operations, such as seen in function notation

---use formulas and relationships to answer questions, such as those involving geometric properties, etc

---represent verbal information mathematically to create equations, inequalities, or systems of both, such as in word problems

More interesting, however, are all the NON-standard ways the SAT Math section tests you – ways that are NOT taught in high-schools – such as whether you can:

---understand and use unusual new kinds of function notation and operators

---answer a question using logic and clever observation rather than "brute force", especially in problems involving number properties, sequences, certain graphs, etc.

---model real-life situations using linear, quadratic, and exponential functions (including using inequalities or systems)

---recognize the conceptual meaning of each component of an equation, particularly in models

---work with increasingly abstract problems, involving mostly unknown variables and constants, and containing fewer numbers

---tell how many solutions a given equation or system might have, or determine if finding a solution is even possible (as opposed to straight-forwardly solving for any solutions)

---apply algebraic manipulation to cleverly rewrite many complex equations and expressions to

(a) help uncover what might have been hidden in the original form,

(b) solve for the value of an expression consisting of 1+ variable(s) where simply solving for an individual part or variable would have been otherwise impossible, or

(c) make the equation/expression easier to solve/evaluate

The good news is that both the standard tasks AND the non-standard tasks are highly consistent across SAT forms and are VERY learnable! Reach out to learn about how I can help you prepare.