I recently received a request from Jennifer Karan, Executive Director of the SAT Program at the College Board, who asked me to post an article she wrote refuting recent charges that the SAT is biased and unfair. In short, Jennifer's response is that the questions themselves are not biased, and that SAT merely reflects unfairness that is already present in our educational system. I basically agree, … [Read more...]
5 Lies About SAT Prep
Everybody is lying about SAT prep. Here are 5 of the biggest lies, and the people who tell them. 1) Gaston Caperton, the President of the College Board, which administers the SAT, is lying about SAT prep. Yesterday in the NY Times, Mr. Caperton responded to this question from a reader, “How does the College Board feel about SAT test preparation?” His response? “Research shows that … [Read more...]
The Myth of Content
Doing well on the SAT is not about learning a lot of content. In my last post, I examined the myth that learning some tricks, techniques or strategies can help someone get big increase in their SAT score. They can’t. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to you, and you should run the other way. If you really want to increase your SAT score in a significant way, there’s someone else you … [Read more...]
The Myth of Test Taking Tricks and Techniques
Doing well on the SAT is not about tricks and techniques. A couple of months ago, somebody contacted me about helping him study for the licensing exam to become a psychologist. I thought it was an odd request, because I coach high school students for the SAT and other college admissions tests. Psychology is one of those fields that everybody knows something about, but I didn’t think I could help … [Read more...]