PSAT Barron Diagnostic test

[ciyates]

I picked up the PSAT Barron's study guide and gave the diagnostic test to DS (15). I thought he would do average. In the critical reading section he did above average, and in the math he actually scored inadequate! :confused: He has an A in Algebra! For those of you not familiar inadequate is below below average. What do I do?

[Belacqua]

You might try another book before you make any decisions about further review. Barron's study guides are frequently much more difficult than the exams they purport to prepare for, which can be really discouraging (their AP Physics book caused a great deal of anxiety in our house).

[creekland]

Has he done Geometry yet? If not, remember, Geometry is a big part of the PSAT.

 

Barrons can be a bit more difficult than actual tests, but my middle son likes them since he feels if he's prepared enough for Barrons, the real test is likely to be easy. That's all up to an individual preference I suspect.

 

If you can, find a copy of a "real" test from a previous year. Have your son do the math portion of that with no time constraints. Then see where his errors are. If he has done well on topics he has covered, then he just needs to cover more topics and work on his time to try to get quicker. (This is a good scenario.)

 

If he misses many of the questions on topics he has covered, then he likely has not maintained knowledge of the material. This OFTEN happens with many kids. I think it happens more often than true knowledge does. I know it happens that way far more in our local public school. Grades in classes are almost always based on current coursework. Many kids memorize how to do steps (esp in Alg) and when they are currently working on those problems, A's can come easily. However, they do not truly KNOW what they are doing beyond memorization. Weeks or months later their memory has faded. Then, couple that mixed questions (not "doing this now so expected questions") and true math knowledge (or lack thereof) can be seen.

 

In this scenario, I'd buy McGraw Hill's study book as it does a good overview of the actual math involved on the tests. Then I'd explain the difference between memorizing steps and being able to tell "why" something is done. Don't let "because it's the next step" be the reason. WHY is it the next step? There will almost always be some slippage of the memory, but if a student knows why they are doing something, often they can take something they have never seen before and figure it out based on the concepts. That's when they "know" math (or at least that segment of it).