Using SAT® Skills Insight™
closeSAT Skills Insight is only a general guide. Its goal is to help you determine and improve your current skill levels in the areas tested on the SAT.
Review Your Options: Begin by determining the level your skills are at right now. Look at each score band to see what types of skills it requires. Decide how comfortable you feel with the skills described. Don’t worry if you’re not an exact match for any one score band; it’s normal to have some of the skills in the next higher or lower band.
Make Your Selection: Start by looking at the scores you earned on the PSAT/NMSQT®, SAT, and any practice tests you have taken. Then choose a separate score band for each section of the SAT—for example, 300–390 for math, 400–490 for critical reading, and 500–590 for writing.
Once you’ve chosen your bands, you can look at the areas that need improvement to help you achieve more.
1. Number and Operations
NextAcademic Skills
A typical student in this score band can do the following:
- SKILL 1: Recall basic mathematical facts/definitions about exponential notation, including scientific notation
- SKILL 2: Identify a rule that describes a numerical pattern in a sequence
Suggestions for Improvement
To prepare for the next score band, try the following:
- Identify, use, and represent fractions and percents in arithmetic and algebraic settings
- Use properties of even and odd numbers, multiples, and factors
- Identify and use the names for place values in solving problems involving decimal representations (e.g., tenths and hundredths)
- Use properties of inequalities to compare and order numbers
Skill Examples
The example questions below demonstrate the Academic Skills found in this score band. Without looking at the answers, try out the questions to see how comfortable you feel with the skills they test.
Skill 1—Example
Recall basic mathematical facts/definitions about exponential notation, including scientific notation
When 70,000 is written as 
, what is the value of n ?
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Skill 2—Example
Identify a rule that describes a numerical pattern in a sequence
6, 10, 18, 34, 66
The first number in the list above is 6. Which of the following gives a rule for finding each successive number in the list?
- Add 4 to the preceding number.
- Take
of the preceding number
and then add 7 to that result.
- Double the preceding number and then subtract 2 from that result.
- Subtract 2 from the preceding number and then double that result.
- Triple the preceding number and then subtract 8 from that result.
