Subbing this week in HS Algebra II class. Students are working through the SAT math "practice" test today and tomorrow.
I'm working through the same packet for "fun".
My HS self would not recognize this version of me.
I have also realized something I never considered back in HS (and no one ever told me): The SAT is not actually a math test. It's a problem solving test. In many ways, it's a test of your understanding of how math works — how the concepts work — not so much a test of whether you can write / evaluate an expression.
Forget the calculator. Think about the process. Look for the trick. Look for the underlying principle. Solve the puzzle, not the "equation".
The instructions say that a calculator is "permitted". How many students will realize it's not required and can actually restrict your ability to solve some problems?
They include a bunch of geometry formulas _in the test packet_. How many students will realize that this implies memorization is not what's being tested? (I think this practice test made use of one of the included formulas).
One girl, today, after I'd been talking to her, said "This is an Honors Algebra class. I'm so used to homework and tests being hard. This [the SAT math practice] is so easy!"
I said, "keep in mind that a lot of the students taking the SAT aren't in Honors Algebra. The SAT covers things you've learned before now."
Or should have learned.
vlbrown-mzydt 
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