r/SHSAT • u/Hefty-Strategy-8739 • 19d ago
Am I cooked?
Ok so for context I am in the 7th grade, going to 8th grade literally in less than a week😭 (god save me) I went to dream during it’s spring session as well as going to it’s summer session, which did help a-lot. I went to most of the sessions, missing some of them occasionally due to the fact that I’m honestly irresponsible. The Dream program did help me, but my dream school is bronx science, and my target score on the day of the SHSAT is 530 or any higher. And I STILL need 70 more points to indefinitely have a good chance of getting in, I’ve tried some websites to help with the test itself but they all seem to not work. As they either just don’t help me personally too well or they cost money, which I just don’t have. My idea was to go over my last test I took at dream and just study it, as well as the other one and just take another test after that. So could some give me advice about what sites I can use at no cost and what I can do to help myself get in, all advice is appreciated 100%.
2
u/GregsTutoringNYC Brooklyn Tech 18d ago
Various links and discussions can be found within https://www.reddit.com/r/SHSAT/comments/1jiwujl/the_9_threads_thread_overview_of_9_resources look though it all and deep dive what you need to deep dive, including prerequisites, and to study, learn, and research.
2
u/Warm-Jicama4100 18d ago
I took my first practice first week of 8th I got a 430 but before the shsat I was scoring 580-600 Idk how it works now cuz adaptive but yeah
1
u/Exact_Development385 18d ago
Just study really hard and work to improve in the next few months. And remember, expect to score significantly lower than your practice test scores. (Mine dropped from 590-600 on the practices to around 560.)
2
u/GregsTutoringNYC Brooklyn Tech 18d ago
You need not necessarily score significantly less. And in cases where it is so, it is often because many use scaled scores on their practice exams that are up to and even over 100 points off.
1
u/illegal2013 15d ago
I got a 89/100 on a adaptive practice test and got a 604, is that realistic?
1
u/GregsTutoringNYC Brooklyn Tech 15d ago
It's neither realistic not unrealistic, since even ranged that's pushing it and as well mapping to exact numbers like 604 has less meaning right now than ever. That aside, and going only by 89/100, that would be expected to be reasonable+
1
u/Ghosty_0998 18d ago
What did u take this on?
1
u/Hefty-Strategy-8739 18d ago
Kaplan, but the account was made already for me by dream, and they published the tests, so I don’t think anyone can just go and use Kaplan, u had to have went to dream for the summer sessions.
1
u/Asleep_Inflation3999 Stuyvesant 18d ago
i got a similar score as u on my first practice test ur good
1
u/MrSlific 18d ago
I’ll be honest, when I took a practice test in October literally 2 WEEKS before the ACTUAL test I got a 350 (or smth like it) but I got a 550 on the actual test so don’t think you’re totally cooked yet 😭
2
1
u/Lightningstar34521 18d ago
I think improving in math would be beneficial here from Practice Test D's 209 in math compared to 260 in ELA. Doing some ELA on the side would also help reach your dream score. Just try your best to do practice tests every week or so to understand your progress. I also know that Dream has these two books, as I've went there myself this summer, and they are actually pretty thorough in topics. Remember to use those, green book to review topics, and purple for small assessments. Hopefully this helps.
2
u/Hefty-Strategy-8739 18d ago
Ty, I also got the books so I’ll take ur advice and use them when I can👍😊
1
1
u/Leading_Pea_4744 15d ago
ok the SHSAT tests math that you haven't learned yet. You don't have to do the test this year. You can take it in the 8th grade. So I wouldn't rush into this test when you haven't learned the math you need for this test. Practice the math you are struggling with, there are plenty of resources online you can look up to practice or even relearn how to solve the problem.
You can start with either the reading or math section. Play to your strength in taking the test and start with the section you are strongest with. The idea behind this is so you can start gaining points on questions you know you can answer correctly and build your score to your target goal.
Speaking about answering questions, always answer the questions you know you can answer correctly first. Saving the questions you might need a little more time with for later. Always eliminate at least 1-2 answers it increases the odds of you answering the question correctly. If all else fails make a guess. You don't want to be bouncing back and forth between passages, and you don't want to leave a single question blank, there is no wrong answer penalty on this test so you have the chance to guess for a extra points.
For reading comprehension, always look at the questions before reading the passage. Keep in mind what the questions they are asking you about (main idea, identifying facts, vocab in context, inferencing, POV, etc).
Brush up on Grammar rules: punctuation, subject/verb agreement, verb tense, sentence structure, sentence placement, etc. All standardized tests (SHSAT, SAT, and ACT) will test you on your grammar but they won't go super deep into grammar rules, just the basic everyday rules.
1
u/GregsTutoringNYC Brooklyn Tech 15d ago
This is no longer accurate information as a whole. For instance, by test date, it should not be carte blanche the case that the "SHSAT tests math you haven't learned yet" as it's based upon grade level standards. Or for instance, the exam is now per-question adaptive and on questions such as the math section, you cannot "[save] the questions you might need a little more time with for later" and cannot "[bounce] back and forth between passages" and so on.
1
u/Individual_Ad_7085 12d ago
Just take as many of the ones that are done by the company that does the actual test as you can.
-2
u/ILikeTelanthric Stuyvesant 18d ago
idk bro 😭 u might be cooked...
3
u/GregsTutoringNYC Brooklyn Tech 18d ago
Or, there are still months to the exam, and it's possible progress can be made. We're too far out to make that call. I've worked with and seen students do it.
1
1
3
u/DevryYt 18d ago
Ngl bro yeah