Customer Reviews

The Official Study Guide for All SAT Subject Tests

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Official Study Guide for all SAT Subject Tests isn't a study guide at all, as is the case with most if not all of College Board's study guide publications. This book includes only one previously administered test per subject area, which isn't adequate enough to determine the knowledge you have mastered in the subject. The exams themselves must be at least several years old, and the conversion charts reflect the performance of past years; test writers change over time as well as student competitiveness. The part that probably ticks people off the most is that NO answer explanation is included. Because this is the only SAT Subject Test book published by the actual test writing company, many have no choice but to buy this. Just because there are no other publications of previously administered exams doesn't make it right for College Board to sloppily take a past exam booklet and add answer keys. Another problem with this book is that half of it is foreign language exams. Almost no student takes more than one language test, if any at all. The foreign language exams are dead weight. The CD included only contains listening parts. College Board needs to do better, especially for the prices it charges students for the standardized tests it administers. Unless College Board updates the exams, adds an answer key explanation, or includes more exams, this book doesn't help much, but for $13 (Amazon) or $19 (College Board), it's better than nothing. If you think about buying it, buy it early, since you're most likely not going to take more than four SAT Subject Tests, and using it for just one practice test is a waste.

Although the book is published recently, most tests are 3 to 4 years old and NOT up to date! But that's the only real tests one can buy in the market. What can I say!? In addition, only one test per subject is not enough!

This product could have been helpful, but there were many mistakes within the book. I was reviewing for the French SAT II test with listening, and the answers in the back of the book were not correct. Although this tool can be very helpful and can help give you a feel for what the SAT II's look like, it has many errors and can lead you astray.

This is a very generalized book covering a wide range of topics. I think that it was a very smart idea to have one book that covered all the SAT subjects--however, the subjects are very generalized and don't teach you much beyond what you already know or can solve. If you've had some previous experience with an AP class in the subject that you're wanting to test in, then this book is a nice, overall study guide, but don't expect to learn or teach yourself anything in preparation of the subject tests--like I said, it is very generalized, and some concepts are never fully understood unless they are taught in a classroom setting.

I am an Associate Professor of Mathematics, SAT Math tutor, and author of the book "The 32 Most Effective SAT Math Strategies."

It is important to do a few practice tests before going into an SAT Subject Test examination, so this book is necessary, but certainly not enough. If you are only taking one or two subject tests, then you're better off buying the books for those subjects separately. As a Math Tutor I will spend the rest of this review commenting on the Math.

I have been tutoring SAT Math for over 10 years. When I tutor for the Subject Tests I use The Princeton Review's book in addition to the version of this book that only has math tests. It's not ideal, but in my opinion The Princeton Review gets closer to College Board questions than other test prep companies. Eventually I plan to write my own strategy book for the SAT Math Subject Tests, but for now I am able to get students into the high 700's to 800 using these 2 sets of materials. Here are a few tips for those of you taking one of the SAT Math Subject Tests:

(1) Make sure you take an actual Level 1 and Level 2 test under timed conditions before deciding which one to take. Even though you may feel like you're doing awful on the Level 2 test, your scaled score may come out much higher than you think. The curve is MUCH more generous on the Level 2 test than it is on the Level 1 test.

(2) If you are preparing for the SAT, then I recommend taking the Math Subject test the month after you take the SAT. There is some overlap between the Math sections of the regular SAT and the Subject tests. So don't give yourself time to forget all the strategies you've been practicing for the regular SAT. Spend that extra month practicing SAT Subject Test problems, memorizing the extra formulas you need, and learning a few more strategies specific to the Subject Tests.

(3) All of the strategies that you learned for the SAT will be useful for the Subject Test. So make sure to implement these strategies as you practice Subject Test problems. I do plan to eventually write a strategy book for the subject tests in the future, but unfortunately that may not be for a while. In the meantime, I plan to put up an advanced SAT problem with worked solution once a week at my website (free).

(4) If you are taking the Level 2 Test, do all the problems from the Level 1 tests for extra practice. You are responsible for knowing all this material anyway.

Best of luck to those of you taking one of the SAT Math Subject Tests.

The book gives a few tips that may not be easily found elsewhere, but mainly repeats info you've seen/heard if you've been checking into these tests. Then there's one sample test per subject, along with the answer grid; that's what makes it such a long book. As long as you know that's what you're getting...

This "Official Study Guide" isn't exactly true to its name. It's really just a compilation of previously administered SAT Subject Tests (one for each subject, which makes it less useful). I don't know anyone that took every single Subject Test available from CollegeBoard, so this is not really as useful as I had hoped. I still give it 3 stars (an "OK" rating), because it does give me an accurate understanding of what to expect, in terms of difficulty. I would much rather just purchase an individual review book for each exam that you're taking, as it will probably provide explanations, strategies, and review of key concepts (something this book definitely doesn't do). If you're taking a BUNCH (5 or more) exams, this might be useful for the practice tests, but that's about it. Please save your money and invest in a review book for the designated subject(s) that you are preparing for.

I bought the book thinking that it would be more for my money. And the truth is that it is more for money. A lot more. This book is huge! And unless you are going to take all of the subjects, it is too big to carry around. It is a lot easier to study from a lighter book, than this monster. I do recommend the series, but be reasonable and buy separate books.

I took SAT chemistry and Math level 2 exam, and found this book helpfull. Yes the book contains the test from previous date that could have been outdated, but the test dd not change itself. Wehn i went to my examination i found a lot of problems similer, if not the same. Perfect book if you are taking more than one exam.

Since this is the only book that has real SAT subject tests, you must get this book if you want to take the SAT subject tests. The other book simply do not have questions like the real thing.