Ready! Let’s go:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s what’s important to note as you think about your plans for your student:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- \n
HOW THE SAT HAS CHANGED<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- \n
PROBLEMS WITH SAT-SPECIFIC PROGRAMS<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- \n
SAXON AND THE SAT: HOW TO PREPARE<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- \n
THE BOTTOM LINE FOR USERS OF SAXON AND THE SAT<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Over the last couple of years, I\u2019ve heard several people start to question how well Saxon will prepare their kids for college entrance exams<\/strong>. This was not a sentiment you’d have heard just a decade ago. But overnight, it seems, some doubt appeared. There were suddenly people who had been devoted Saxon users who were suddenly jumping ship to go to other curriculums. So, what gives? Why the change?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HOW THE SAT HAS CHANGED<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
In 2015 a revamp of the Math portion of the test meant a lot of things changed for Saxon and the SAT. Mind you, colleges weren\u2019t necessarily changing what they were teaching<\/strong>. But the focus of the test did change. And that sent some people scrambling to change along with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"saxon](\"https:\/\/blog.nicolethemathlady.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/0521-IGFB-for-SAT-and-Saxon-040220.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAs the college entrance cheating scandal<\/a> has shown us, acceptance into certain schools is viewed by some people as a pinnacle achievement in a young person’s life. So of course with the change in the math portion of the test, people started to question what their kids or students needed to do to score well on the test. In fact, at least one entire curriculum has been developed specifically to achieve success on the test. It already has a reputation for producing excellent results on the SAT that, in many cases, I’m sure it delivers on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PROBLEMS WITH SAT-SPECIFIC PROGRAMS<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
But here\u2019s the deal:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you use a curriculum that has been written specifically for the current SAT then you\u2019ll probably have a student who does well on the test. But will they be good at math? Will they be confident in math? <\/strong> We\u2019ve all heard our adult friends say \u201cI did really well on tests in school, but I forgot everything afterward.\u201d Perhaps we have even said that ourselves. So we have to ask, is that what we want for our kids, too?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don’t want that. John Saxon didn\u2019t want that. He wanted to prepare students to know math and understand math and apply math well in real-world situations for their entire lives. That\u2019s why Saxon does all those quirky things like Mental Math,<\/a> 30 Mixed Practice problems<\/a>, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do all those changes on the test, then, mean your child won\u2019t do well on the SAT if you continue to use Saxon? Absolutely not. If you want a student who is both excellent at math AND who does well on the SAT<\/strong>, it may simply mean they need to spend a bit of time doing some test prep. And I do mean just a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SAXON AND THE SAT: HOW TO PREPARE<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s how it works:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Complete Saxon Algebra 1.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Complete Saxon Algebra 2 (the 2nd or 3rd edition).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Work through at least the first third of Saxon Advanced Math (2nd edition).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Remember that a full course of Geometry is included within those texts! \/li><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- NOW your student may want to spend a few weeks preparing for the test.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Keep in mind that test prep doesn\u2019t mean learning new material. It means getting familiar with how the test words questions, and what they are looking for in the answers. To that end, test prep is going to be important to some extent regardless of the curriculum<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What might preparation with Saxon and the SAT look like? For most students, it’s quite simple. And for almost everyone, it certainly does NOT have to mean an expensive and time-consuming test preparation course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The College Board itself has made available–for free–what it calls the best preparation for its tests. You can get started here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
They have an app to help with practice <\/a>and of course, they have practice tests.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best part? Even the College Board itself doesn\u2019t recommend spending a ton of time outside your regular curriculum. They recommend 20 hours of prep, tops. Do the division (I know you can!): That\u2019s 1 hour a day for 4 weeks, or 30 minutes a day for 8 weeks prior to the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n