I agree 100% with your points here. I love working with students aiming for perfect math scores, mainly because I get to spend more time on the more fundamental concepts and problem solving skills. These students have more recent success with the advanced concepts and may, because of acceleration, be many years removed from arithmetic and geometry basics.
Your findings underscore the idea that the SAT math section is not merely a math test. Also, it seems that the difficulty in the ACT test is somewhat more accounted for by just having some tougher math in there.
Am I correct to suspect, by the way, that a couple of the hard module SAT math questions are designed to identify potential future code-breakers or rocket scientists? So when a student gets those right, those names are secretly passed on to the NSA?
Yes, the ACT math is so hard because it covers more material and imposes more time pressure. Re the NSA...I have not heard of College Board back channel. Perhaps this can be a future Tests and the Rest episode?? It actually would be pretty fun to see a rocket scientist work through some of those really hard ones, like the 'a + b + c' one from Test 4.
I agree 100% with your points here. I love working with students aiming for perfect math scores, mainly because I get to spend more time on the more fundamental concepts and problem solving skills. These students have more recent success with the advanced concepts and may, because of acceleration, be many years removed from arithmetic and geometry basics.
Your findings underscore the idea that the SAT math section is not merely a math test. Also, it seems that the difficulty in the ACT test is somewhat more accounted for by just having some tougher math in there.
Am I correct to suspect, by the way, that a couple of the hard module SAT math questions are designed to identify potential future code-breakers or rocket scientists? So when a student gets those right, those names are secretly passed on to the NSA?
Yes, the ACT math is so hard because it covers more material and imposes more time pressure. Re the NSA...I have not heard of College Board back channel. Perhaps this can be a future Tests and the Rest episode?? It actually would be pretty fun to see a rocket scientist work through some of those really hard ones, like the 'a + b + c' one from Test 4.
That would be fun!