Leonor Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 The SAT II Lit is scored like the SAT --penalized .25 for wrong answers. What to do if student runs out of time -- with 2 or 3 questions to go? At a previous SAT Math workshop, the tutor said that it was worth to take an guess. There is taking an educated guess when you have read a question and are unsure or don't have much time to ponder but should you just bubble an answer in even if you have not read the question? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicmom Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Well, personally, I would advise my dc, if they run out time, to leave those questions blank--definitely NOT just bubble in answers. The chance of randomly getting any of them right is extremely low, while the chance of missing them all is extremely high--and that will bring down the overall score. All the advice I've read on the SAT (and SAT II) says you should guess ONLY if you can eliminate one or more answers, thus improving your odds of getting the question right. If you have no clue, it's to your advantage to leave the question blank. Those quarter points add up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonor Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 Thank you for responding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 You can figure this out mathematically using "expected values". (any AoPS counting & probability folks listening out there?:001_smile:) The probability of guessing correctly on any given problem is 1/5, while the probability of guessing incorrectly is 4/5. So the expected value of her score on one on those questions would be: expected score = probability of guessing correctly * score for a correct guess + probability of guessing incorrectly * score for an incorrect guess =1/5 * (+1) + 4/5 * (-1/4) = 1/5 - 1/5 = 0 (the same score you get for leaving a blank answer!) College Board has rigged the scoring so that random guessing shouldn't affect the overall score. Guessing is not in the student's favor unless she can eliminate at least one answer. So she'd be better off not wasting her time filling in those last few bubbles randomly. Good luck to her on the exam! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonor Posted November 4, 2011 Author Share Posted November 4, 2011 Kathy, Thank you for your detailed explanation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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