Thread: your SAT scores...

How can you approach say college vectors with only background in AlgebraII/Geometry.

There is like 2 subunits on vectors in geometry. You would have little to no clue what to do.

Now, maybe when I'm a junior and in Calculus2, that might make sense. But to the majority of juniors who graduate taking Alg2, no.

Originally Posted by RudyTheRocka

How can you approach say college vectors with only background in AlgebraII/Geometry.

There is like 2 subunits on vectors in geometry. You would have little to no clue what to do.

Now, maybe when I'm a junior and in Calculus2, that might make sense. But to the majority of juniors who graduate taking Alg2, no.

I'm lost. Are you telling me that you can now graduate High School as a junior? Or are you saying that you're a junior in college, and thus, juniors in high school can't handle college juniors math level?


Either way, you obviously didn't read what I wrote, very carefully.

Originally Posted by MaBell37

It's this easy, ya take the math to the next level, a level of teaching that hasn't been taught to the student, and let them fail the whole test. The idea being, it doesn't matter what score they get, it matters what thinking they do to attempt to solve the problems and whether they try to use what they've been taught to try to solve the problems.

The point being, if you're a junior, then test senior level math, if you're in Alg2 then test Alg3, if you're in Calc1 then test Calc2. Again, the point being, test them on the next level of math that uses what they were taught thus far.

The idea is not to give them a better chance to pass/succeed, the idea being force them to use what they've learned, to include creative thinking, which is a must for problem solving in the real world.

Originally Posted by MaBell37

I got it! I figured out how to make the test more accurate and actually worth the paper it's printed on!

It's this easy, ya take the math to the next level, a level of teaching that hasn't been taught to the student, and let them fail the whole test. The idea being, it doesn't matter what score they get, it matters what thinking they do to attempt to solve the problems and whether they try to use what they've been taught to try to solve the problems.

This would be a good solution, except that:

1) It would grossly advantage children whose parents could afford to pay for private tutoring (as much as you would like students to go in unprepared, that's just not realistic).

2) That sort of thing would be impossible to mark on a national scale.

so is the SAT really worth taking if I have already/will once more take the ACT?

Originally Posted by 33knight33

so is the SAT really worth taking if I have already/will once more take the ACT?

Depends on the colleges you are applying too...most just take your highest score on one or the other, so it usually helps to take both because you don't know if you're better suited for one or the other. But some colleges don't take the ACT/prefer the SAT, so just look at their application guidelines.

Originally Posted by MaBell37

Originally Posted by RudyTheRocka

How can you approach say college vectors with only background in AlgebraII/Geometry.

There is like 2 subunits on vectors in geometry. You would have little to no clue what to do.

Now, maybe when I'm a junior and in Calculus2, that might make sense. But to the majority of juniors who graduate taking Alg2, no.

I'm lost. Are you telling me that you can now graduate High School as a junior? Or are you saying that you're a junior in college, and thus, juniors in high school can't handle college juniors math level?


Either way, you obviously didn't read what I wrote, very carefully.

Originally Posted by MaBell37

It's this easy, ya take the math to the next level, a level of teaching that hasn't been taught to the student, and let them fail the whole test. The idea being, it doesn't matter what score they get, it matters what thinking they do to attempt to solve the problems and whether they try to use what they've been taught to try to solve the problems.

The point being, if you're a junior, then test senior level math, if you're in Alg2 then test Alg3, if you're in Calc1 then test Calc2. Again, the point being, test them on the next level of math that uses what they were taught thus far.

The idea is not to give them a better chance to pass/succeed, the idea being force them to use what they've learned, to include creative thinking, which is a must for problem solving in the real world.

Right, I see what you're saying.
But if you want them to truly fail, then why would you test them on Alg3 or Calc2? They would have a basic background in the subject and they could very possibly get most of the problems right if they had good tutors/teachers.

IMO if we were to truly carry out your plan, shouldn't we give Algebra students Calculus? or Pre-cal, w/e.

And what I was saying is that college level math is so different from high school math, that how can you expect juniors taking exit-level math (Algebra II) to even do well at attempting college Algebra or Calculus. And would said exam allow the use of calculators, or the typical college style hand written work with like 10 problems total.

However, as a freshman in high school, I am in Algebra II, meaning I will be taking Calculus 2 as a junior. Would I be given a Calculus 5 exam? Even though I have background in calculus?

This is where I get confused as well.