Unlike the broad SAT, the SAT Subject tests focus on specific subjects taught in school. Because students are already preparing for finals at the end of the junior year, May or June is a good time to take the SAT Subject tests. Acing the SAT Subject tests is a great way to show what you’ve learned throughout the year.
While we have an excellent record of success with all of the subjects, our biggest score increases come from the Math Level 2 SAT Subject Test, with many students improving over 100 points. Why is this? Are the exams less difficult? Not necessarily. Read on to find three top reasons that our students are so successful on these exams. If you’d like to chat about your specific situation and how our tutors can help you succeed, please give us a call today!
1. The Content Knowledge Required Might Already be Covered
If you are a junior or senior who has taken or is starting to take pre-calculus, you are in a good place to prepare for the SAT Math 2 exam. If you’ve taken 2-3 years of English literature, you will have a strong grounding in the core skills and content covered on the SAT Literature exam.
What do these requirements have in common? They are met by the vast majority of students who reach out to us for tutoring, simply by nature of the most common course progression that high schoolers pursue! That means that, unlike with the SAT Physics or SAT World History exams, which require a year or multiple years of challenging coursework that most high school students don’t take, you may already have the content knowledge necessary to take the SAT Math 2 and SAT Literature exams!
2. We Have Mastered Successful Strategies for Each Exam
Our tutors have been working with students for these exams for 15 years! Though the exams are not easy by any stretch of the imagination, they are manageable and coachable.
The SAT Math 2 exam, for example, tests a narrow range of concepts and often has a forgiving grading scale. We provide our students with an array of tactics, strategies, and even calculator programs designed to provide an edge on test day. For the SAT Literature exam, we have discovered the simplest way to approach complex passages from poetry, drama, novels, and essays. It’s all about working through the passage quickly but carefully, keeping an eye out for the main idea and mapping out each paragraph or stanza for easy location later on. Question evaluation is another core skill that we have honed to a science.
3. Our Approach is 1-on-1 and Practice-Heavy
Our specialty and focus is 1-on-1, customized support. For the SAT Subject Tests, that means each lesson is uniquely tailored to the specific needs of the student. This approach is especially useful for the SAT Literature and SAT Math 2 exams because of how crucial it is to develop a strategy that makes sense for the individual learner. Furthermore, because every student is coming in at a different place when it comes to content knowledge or reading level, a one-size-fits-all method just won’t do.
For success on these exams, it helps to have seen them before! That means taking several practice tests, which is just what we prescribe during our preparation. Equally important is working through the completed exam with an expert to identify patterns in missed questions so that we can better target those strengths and weaknesses in session.
If you combine expert coaching, 1-on-1 customization, practice exams, brilliant strategies, and a manageable exam, you have a recipe for success!
