Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
SAT tutor's impressions, March 12, 2005
(Note: Following is the text of my original review in March 2005. I have updated the review with new comments under "NEW review" below.)
Let me start this review by stating that this is a great book, obviously written by someone who knows the SAT (and the New SAT) VERY well. Mr. Robinson understands how the exam works and provides some very useful strategies for tackling all of the question types. This book is not perfect (hence, the 4 stars), however, and several things really take away from the utility of the book. First of all, the CD is practically useless. The reader is misled into thinking that the CD allows him to use many valuable bonus features on the website. Close inspection will inform the reader, however, that FREE registration on the website offers him the exact same features. The RocketScore engine (which supposedly scores essays to a decimal accuracy) is not terribly accurate. I had students submit good essays and earn 0s (they were told it was off-topic, when the essays were clearly ON-topic), while others submitted mediocre essays that earned top scores from the engine. There wasn't often a rhyme or logic to it; the scores were very misleading. The author had also promised illustrative problems on the website for all the math review chapters at the end of the book. He only just posted a handful of questions, many of which look to be replicas of questions from the practice test. They are not nearly enough questions; I was looking for more ample practice material. The CD adds an entirely unnecessary cost to the book; the book can easily be sold for $10 less without the CD. And while the author presents himself as the ultimate authority on the SAT, there are a few errors, major and minor (not all of which have been corrected with the errata on the site), that belie that claim. The main flaw with the book is the lack of practice material. Although he provides some questions to illustrate the strategies in the book, he only offers one complete practice test, while other books give at least three or four. And no explanations accompany the answers, making it a sub-par exam (although the questions themselves are good). He did not even give short practice sets for the chapters. He might be partly forgiven, though, since the book already runs over 700 pages. Use the Official SAT Study Guide with this book. Overall, a good book, with some major deficiencies.
NEW review:
Since I wrote my first review of this book (the first edition) more than two years ago, I thought it would be prudent to update my thoughts on the book. On the whole, my impressions of the book remain largely the same. I should point out that my earlier criticism of the CD was not entirely fair. Registration with the CD is necessary to access some features, including RocketScore (the essay-scoring engine) and OmniProctor (which offers audio samples that attempt to simulate a real, proctored exam) (OmniProctor STILL, by the way, does not offer a 10-minute section). I have not used RocketScore since the first year; I certainly hope that Mr. Robinson has improved its effectiveness and accuracy since then. Some might think that these features are worth the extra $10 or so; I don't, especially since new updates and additions are now virtually nonexistent. Mr. Robinson seems to have been a bit indolent since the first year after the publication of the first edition. Despite his promise on the website, for example, that he would update the vocabulary list with some new words, the word list remains exactly the same as that in the first edition. There is still a paltry number of practice questions on the website for the Math section (although these are NOT duplicated in the practice test in the book, as I wrote earlier), even though he promised a large number of questions in the book. Some blatant errors (many of the ones I noticed in the first edition) remain in the third edition, and some parts of the book have still not been updated (after more than two years!!) to reflect the changes that the author surely must have noticed since seeing the first administrations of the new SAT. Thus, it's apparent that Mr. Robinson has nearly, or entirely, stopped doing new work on and updating his book and website. This is a disservice to the reader, and, if he's reading this, I would urge him to start working on the book and website again! Finally, the practice test is not perfect. Particularly, the Critical Reading questions are not always in the precise style of the official SAT, and the stated correct answer is not always unambiguously the best answer. (The Math and Writing sections are much better.) These gripes notwithstanding, the reader should know that this is an excellent book -- one of the best on the market -- for preparing for the SAT and PSAT. Even with its flaws, this book, teeming with great strategies and insights that only an experienced, expert SAT tutor can offer, will probably help nearly every student in raising his or her scores, sometimes significantly.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Legendary Methods, June 12, 2005
5.0 out of 5 stars A book that I trust very much , April 23, 2006
I took the SAT's my junior year in High School. Prior to taking the test I was looking to find prep books for the Test, but I felt like no one had any idea what they were talking about. Everyone told me to buy the big blue book from the company that administers the SAT. I did this, however despite being great for having old tests to practice with there were not any other resources. I was in Barnes and Noble looking for test prep books because I was always anti-tutoring; I felt that it never really went any where you need to know how to take the test, plan your time, and know what to expect. I had never heard of the Rocket Review prior to this time, however I did approach one of the sales reps who claimed that she did know a thing or two about SAT test prep books. She had nothing bad to say about this book, she said that she recommends buying the blue books as did everyone else, but she also said that Robinson was the man who perfected the Joe Blogs tool. I shook my head as if I knew what that meant, and then she showed it to me in the Princeton Review prep book. Joe Blogs- it is a strategy that helps make an educated guess when you don't know the answer 100%.
I am not here to knock any authors or books, but looking through the Princeton Review guide I did not see much help. The Rocket Review focuses a little less on spending time to take the test, but more time on a strategy that will help you feel more confidently walking in to the test. I decided to take this book on, as my main source of preparation. The best part about this book, was reading the comments, and the way the book went around choosing a correct answer, and planning my time.
As a guide for the SAT in addition to taking practice tests from the Blue Book, it is the best tool I could have found, and I have recommended this book to everyone I know.
It does not claim to give you 300 points just for reading the book, and its not a heavy read at all. But using this guide as a resource can only help, and it helps a lot.
So if you are a parent, or a student. Great book, I have nothing but good things to say.
Age 18, University of Southern California.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best SAT Book on the Market - Period., June 3, 2005
I sit here writing this review as a satisfied and confident student the night before the "big test." After reviewing many of the SAT prep books (SparkNotes, Princeton Review, The Official College Board Edition, etc.), I have found that Adam Robinson's "The RocketReview Revolution: The Ultimate Guide to the New SAT" is the best SAT book on the market. A combination of effective techniques, valuable study tips and advanced technology make this the only SAT prep book to own.
Mr. Robinson (a man that has SAT knowledge down to a science) created this book for the student that is truly dedicated to improving his or her scores on the SAT. The new format of the test can make some students apprehensive to say the least, but Mr. Robinson puts every single aspect of the new SAT into terms that can put any nervous student into a confident and content state. Believe me: before this book, I was about as anxious and worried as any teenager could get; but after reading this excellent source for all of the SAT information, I couldn't be more prepared for tomorrow's test.
This book truly goes above and beyond any other SAT book I have ever read. Mr. Robinson really does care about the people that read his book: he talks to his readers with the utmost respect and as if they are right beside him. The interactive website, along with the CD included with the book, make the learning process even easier with an essay grader, interactive practice problems, a real-time proctor program to help study in a timed environment and updates and new tips to keep students on top of the SAT.
If you're a student that wants to raise your SAT score to it true potential with all of the latest and most efficient techniques and features known today, then Adam Robinson's "The RocketReview Revolution: The Ultimate Guide to the New SAT" is the book for you.
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