SAT Resources

This page contains every essential information or prep materials that can help you ace the SAT.

SAT syllabus

Our SAT syllabus contains the essential information you are required to know to be prepared to write the SAT I or SAT II.

Outbound tutorial/prep resources

Khan Academy:

Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organisation created by Salman Khan in 2006 with a goal of creating a set of online tools that help educate students. The organisation produces short lessons in the form of YouTube videos and includes additional practice exercises and materials for educators on its website.
In July of 2017, Khan Academy became the official practice partner for the College Board’s Advanced Placement.
Critics have presented data showing Khan videos are less effective than those of other publishers and that the concept of chalk on a blackboard is less engaging for younger students than other styles of video, such as cartoons. However, we believe Khan Academy can be a great complimentary resource to help you prepare for the SAT.

About the SAT

The SAT is a university or college admission test. It is a popular admission requirement for most schools in the US and around the world. The SAT was initially called Scholastic Aptitude Test, Scholastic Assessment Test, then the SAT I: Reasoning Test, SAT Reasoning Test and now it is called SAT.

The SAT started out as an IQ test required for admission into the US military and was administered as a college admissions assessment for the first time in 1926. Since then, it has undergone a series of changes to make it less focused on innate ability and more on testing concepts and skills students learn in school (literacy, numeracy and writing skills) which are needed for success in college.

The SAT is owned and administered by the College Board which is a private non-profit organisation based in the USA.

The SAT can be divided into SAT I and SAT II.

SAT I

Required for most college application to in the US.

SAT II

The SAT II is also known as SAT Subject Test may or may not be required for admission by the University of your choice. It is essential to check the testing requirements for before you apply to any school.

Criticism

Monopoly

The College Board has been accused of exploiting its monopoly as a preferred standardised test alternative.

Fees and budget

The SAT Reasoning Test Cost $57 (2018) and included other services that come with extra charges (score verification services, late registration, etc.). Even the financial aid application meant to help students pay for college requires a fee for each application.

The College Board had  $582.9 million of revenue in 2006 but only spent $527.8 million leaving a $55.1 million surplus. It has been criticised by the consumer rights organisation Americans for Educational Testing Reform (AETR)  for violating its non-profit status through excessive profits and exorbitant executive compensation. con Despite the College Board’s market-leading compensation (in 2009 the College Board paid out a $1.3 million per year package for CEO Caperton).

Test structure

In 2005, an MIT study showed that longer SAT essays correlate with higher scores and this caused critics to accuse the College Board of encouraging teachers to produce long, formulaic, and wordy pieces as opposed to being better writers since the essay section require a maximum of 25 minutes to complete.

Activities

The consumer rights organisation Americans for Educational Testing Reform (AETR) also claims that College Board is acting unethically by selling test preparation materials, directly lobbying legislators and government officials, and refusing to acknowledge test-taker rights.

 

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