Your Comprehensive Guide to the SAT
SAT Math
If there's one thing I can convince you of about the SAT Math section is that learning Math like you would in your school classes is not the most effective way to increase your scores! Learning some math is necessary (if you don't know it already), but better than that is to learn the question types and learn the test-taking strategies.
1. Math Knowledge
So, what math do you need to know? Arithmetic, Algebra and Functions, Geometry, Numbers and Operations, Statistics and Probability. Nothing beyond what you've learned in Algebra II. The very good news about this is that within each of these math topics, the actual questions are very narrow. You can easily learn how to do the math in a very short time, and I ONLY teach what you need for the exam.
As for geometry formulas and equations, the SAT is kind enough to provide that information at the beginning of each math section. However, I would definitely not recommend being in a position where you have to use it; KNOW IT BY HEART BEFORE HAND!
The formulas the SAT provides you for each Math Section
2. Question Types
I can never stress this enough: learning that the test is composed of only so many different types of questions is invaluable. These types of questions are tested over and over again. Learn the types of questions, how to recognize them, and the steps to answer them and you'll find the SAT reduced to a simple mechanical process. Like learning to hit a golf ball, hit a tennis serve, or throw a pitch, it's just a few easy steps that become second nature.
3. Test Taking Strategies
There are two major strategies that are extremely effective, but they are both driven by this overall maxim: always seek to turn the abstract into concrete. If you see the answers all have variables, use your own number for that variable. If a question asks you to perform operations on a value without telling you what that value is, make up a number for that value. If you see answers are all numbers, use those numbers instead of doing the math; use the answer and the form they take to get you to the answer. Learn how to be a a good test taker instead of a good math student. There's a difference.