through a new Math Test will also reveal a lot more words. In the new word
problems, the Testing Serpent is interested in creating real-world situations
(think currency exchanges, bank loans, and toxicity reports) rather than the how-
many-bus-routes- go-through-Sasparilla-type questions of yesteryear.
Also—and this is crucial—the new Math Test includes a section that is 55
minutes long. That is a very long time to spend on math. This will require a level
of endurance that you have not yet experienced.
So, real talk: Is it harder?
Yes.
But this is not all bad news! Test-prep nerds like the Up Your Score authors
have long been worried that the old SAT Math section was, in a sense, too easy.
So many kids were getting strong scores on the old SAT Math section that it
totally messed up the grading curve. On a recent test date, one mistake on a math
section dropped you from a perfect 800 to a 740. That’s right: 60 points off for
one mistake. Three mistakes could land you in the high 600s. That should never
be the case. The hope is that the difficulty of the new test will, in this bizarro
way, allow you to get a higher score even if you make more mistakes.
“Victory will only come through struggle.”
—not Samantha
But here’s our big point: The new SAT Math Test is very new. So read the
following pages carefully.
MENTAL MATH TRICKS
It is definitely important to know how to use your calculator, but you should also
know how to use your brain, for two reasons. For one, some arithmetic is just
easier to do in your head than on a calculator. For example, what is ⅖ plus ⅕?
You should be able to answer ⅗ faster than you could enter it into your
calculator. (If you couldn’t, then you should definitely read and then reread our
section on fractions.) The other reason is that there is a brand-new, no-
calculator portion of the test.
One great way to sharpen your mental knife is to learn/relearn the concepts
on the test (which we will do in a few pages). But another great way is to
memorize the following tips and tricks.