Best way to find out what you don't know that you need on the SAT and fix it fast, once and for all.

1. The Kahn Academy (www.theKahnAcademy.org)
Kahn is so good:
-Bill Gates gave him $3 million to just keep improving his web site.
-Google gave him $1 million for the same thing.
-Many teachers have “”flipped their lessons upside down” and assign a Kahn unit as
homework, spend the class time practicing with the teacher as a tutor.
-You can select and learn any topic he covers on your own without a teacher, always
find an internet connection and brush up if you need a quick review (even 20 years
later). Work at our own pace, have confidence you “totally got it”, only need to use me
if and when you completed Kahns offering on a topic and still aren't “sure”.
-You will always know the material cold before the test, be ready to ace the test. (It is
crazy to find out what you still didn't get by taking a test that counts toward your grade.

2. The Kahn Academy (theKahnAcademy.org)
Kahn says current teaching moves you to the next topic as long as you got
at least 60%, and the class got at least 70%. .BUT
•If you only got a 70 on part 1of a two step task, then a 70 on part 2
will result in a 49. Everybody will feel, look like an idiot on
complicated tasks. (google American Test Scores- we are in
trouble!)
•If we are to get the best jobs, promotions, have jobs with
complicated tasks, we need to set a goal of MASTERY, not
mediocrity.
•In my experience, even those who never passed the FCAT knew
80% of what they needed to get As and Bs, but were failing over the
20% they had missed due something wrong at the time it was
covered. (E.G. illness, moving, family issues, trouble with a
classmate, etc.) Once they found an issue they did not know, they
often fixed it PERMANENTLY in ½ hour or less. (got mojo back
and went from F average to keeping up in classes with A and B
average in 3 to 6 months of rewarding effort)

3. Kahn has every math topic, and you only need a few. How to get help on the few you
need.
1. Take the free paractice SAT test at https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/sat
This test gives a printout of the topics you are most likely to miss on the SAT. Most
importantly, the list is basically in the order of most basic to most advanced, so it is in
the correct order you need to study the concepts you missed.
2. Just click on the link and watch the Kahn video (plus any others suggested on the
sidebar that you still need after watching the first one.
3. Do the Kahn exercise for that video to be sure you actually learned how to do the
math just taught. If you have trouble, the answer you chose tells them what the
problem is, and they give you a lesson on that. Feel free to go back and watch the
video again, pausing when it goes to fast, repeating the sections as often as you
want, Do this until you can do the exercises. If you still need help, see the instructor,
or ask your teacher at school for help. Do not go on to the next math concept until
you have mastered that one. (Each later problem requires the skills you have not yet
mastered at this point, so now is the best time to get it right.)

4. Examples of two line scientific calulators that let you reliably just punch in the
problem and get the answer for all the math you will do the rest of your life.
Both cost less than $16 You should be able to:
Can be bought at Walmart - type in 5-7=
Or Target, etc - (-5)x(-8)=
- 1/5 / 1/3=
- change .375 to a fraction
TI SXIIs - Change 3/8 to a decimal
Exactly like you write it, and
Get the right answer, 1st
try.
These calulators can handle
Complex numbers, Sin,
Cos (trig), Exponents, roots, Log,
Ln ,
Quadratic Equations, Probability,
Statistics, and can do Calculus.
What is more, you don't have to
FX115 ES use them every day or read the
Manual to get the right answer
Without fiddling around. Unless
You current calculator is a two line
Scientific calculator, get one NOW
The strategies for getting SAT math answers quicker and more accurately will
depend on you using this type of calculator.

5. Even when calculators are allowed,
you must have a sense of reasonable
ness. To test yourself on multiplication,
first try getting each red answer.
(5x5=?)
Next, note that the table "mirrors itself"
around the red diagonal. (8x7=7x8)
Test yourself with the bottom left hand
half of the yellow rows and columns.
You actually only need flash cards for
any you miss. (For brushing your teeth
to until you never hesitate or get it
wrong).
When I miss one, I look for an answer
I do l do know in a touching cell, and
subtract or add my way to the "hole" in
my memory. Try using this "patch"
method to mend the really difficult last
few answers.
P.S. you can also test and fix your division skills using this table to make division flash cards
of any you miss.
P.P.S. Try making a similar addition and subtraction table (change the answers in the cells)
and test yourself with it. Make flash cards of any you miss or can't immediately recall.

6. Tips on Math Word Problems.
Be sure to watch Kahn's techniques for solving Word Problems. The algebra statements he is writing
are gotten directly from each of the short statements inside the word problem. Note that each
time he comes to a comma or period, he stops to see if he can write something down yet in
algebraic form.
If he can write something down, he looks at it and sees what algebraic manipulation (regroup,
simplify, etc) he knows for just that part of the problem, and does it.
When you attack a math word problem, you try to imitate him. The English language itself has made
the test creator write each part of the algebraic problem as a separate word statement. Most
likely, the problem was created by taking each part of a simple problem and disquising it by
doing a simple manipulation before writing it down. That is why Kahn checked each statement as
he wrote it to see if the algebra needed a simplifying re-write .
Think of this step as picking up each piece of a jig-saw puzzle and using its shape and colors to put
it near where it belongs before actually finishing the puzzle. (the two step approach to solving
math word “puzzles” by creating the algebra equivilent statement and solving it with algegra rules
is faster AND safer.
When he hits the last part, which is the question itself, Kahn often doesn't even read the actual
question, but instead solves the algebraic equation he found when reading the word problem up
to that point. Once he has done this, he will read (or re-read) the actual question to see if it
requires one last step to answer it. (For example, what is 2x requires that he double the value he
got for x, and you can bet the value for x is one possible choice for an answer, along with the
value for 2x.
Try to use this same approach with all word problems. You don't have to "see" the answer before
you can begin solving the problem. Begin finding and working on each piece, and let each part
you get lead you to more ideas until you can finish.