The “Student Produced Response Questions”, or “Grid-In” questions, are unique to the SAT. These 10 questions can be critical in determining a student’s SAT math score. Therefore, it is essential that every student knows the directions perfectly (and not by reading them on the day of the test). Since the answers are recorded in the four-column grid, 9999 is the largest possible answer to any problem. The least possible answer is zero since the directions explicitly state that there are no negative answers. A classic student question is what to do if your answer contains less than four digits. You can place your answer in any column(s) of the grid; the SAT folks only want to see that you’ve got the right answer. The directions clearly state that some problems may have more than one answer. Therefore, a student shouldn’t sit there with a solution such as x > 3 and wonder what to grid. Just pick your favorite number greater than 3 and move on quickly. 

Mixed numbers are absolutely not to be bubbled into the grid. This is because a scanner can’t tell the difference between 2½ and 21/2. Use 2.5 or 5/2 if you think the correct answer is 2½. Lastly, be sure you know what to do if you think the answer is a non-terminating decimal. Here again, the SAT folks are trying to be nice. As long as you fill all the columns of the grid, they don’t care if you “truncate” your decimal (a good SAT word meaning to cut off the decimal when you run out of room) or properly round off your decimal.

One of the 3 math sections of the SAT contains 18 questions. The first 8 are multiple choice and the last 10 are “grid-ins” (more on these later). The 8 multiple choice questions are again arranged in almost perfect order of increasing difficulty – #1 is easy and #8 is quite difficult. The problem on this 18-question section is the fact that the hard questions like #7 and #8 are sitting right in the middle of the section. Once again, the student must be honest about his/her potential score. If you’re a candidate for a 700, you need to attack every question. What if you’re shooting for a 500 which requires about half the questions to be answered correctly? To be candid, you should SKIP #7 and #8. Students are always told not to spend too much time on a problem that they find difficult. Correct. However, #7 and #8 are guaranteed to be difficult, so we say the average student should spend zero time on them. Right after #8, you will find the start of the 10 grid-in questions. They begin easy, then come the medium ones and end with the hardest. You need to preserve time for these grid-ins. If you waste time on #7 and #8, you’re taking time away from grid-ins that you can definitely do if you left yourself enough time. The 18-question math section is the key to your math score and not spending too much time on the first 8 multiple choice questions is the key to handling this section.

What do the letters SAT stand for? Right now they are just three letters. However, they used to represent the “Scholastic Aptitude Test.” Why isn’t this used as the present-day name of this test? There’s a sensitivity to using the word “aptitude.” An aptitude test is a test of your intelligence, your basic ability. After working hard to compile a solid high school transcript, this single four-hour test helps tell a college what capabilities you have. The Educational Testing Service used to say that you can’t possibly increase your aptitude. This has been dramatically proven wrong. A well-planned program of practice will increase your SAT score. Educational Services Center can help you maximize your score on the reading, writing, and math sections of the SAT. There’s a strategy to approaching the math questions. We’ll review your arithmetic, algebra and geometry. We’ll also show you how to employ other approaches when you don’t see a “pure” mathematical solution to a problem. With dedicated practice, you can definitely improve your SAT score.