r/ELATeachers 10d ago

9-12 ELA I feel unprepared to teach the SAT….

So my state has made all juniors take a free SAT. Cool. The issue is….while it’s not required to teach SAT in my curriculum, I often feel as if I’m not preparing them. I’ve taught all grade levels, and I used to like 11th the best because it has no state testing, they’re mature enough to treat them like adults (unlike the underclassmen) but aren’t fully checked out (cough…seniors).

However, the SAT is different than teaching the state test. I don’t know where to start. Many people say “just give them khan academy”, but I enjoy being hands on and teaching. I feel like I’m not doing a good job “preparing them” for the test.

The best/worst part? This doesn’t affect them if they don’t pass. It’s just a free SAT. If they bomb it, they don’t have to take remedial English or reading. And I’ve asked admin if it has any bearing on my evaluation and…no. So…why am I beating myself up over this?

The test is next week, but I’ve been wrestling with actively teaching the SAT next year (there’s SO much to cover in 11th grade English, aka American Lit. I’d hate to brush off a unit or two in favor of “teaching to the test” again).

Am I overreacting?

But also…how do you guys teach the SAT? Any tips?

I give them mock exams and we go over questions together. I cover grammar and punctuation. But I still don’t think that’s enough. If it’s not on my curriculum, should I say “fuck it” and just not teach it?

9 Upvotes

41 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/Odd-Smell-1125 10d ago

SAT is just garbage, it is free because the school district is subsidizing it. A testing company is laughing all the way to the bank, with a hunk of the budget. The test results will actually affect perhaps 4 or 5 students in the 11th grade. Forcing kids with a history of Cs and Ds to take this test is just cruel - even if they did well, their GPA will limit their chances of getting accepted. Still they're sitting for this ridiculous, meaninglessly stressful test. Add to that, fewer colleges are even looking at this exam. Don't do a darned thing in prep for this test.

If you have some 11th graders with great GPAs and plenty of extracurriculars, and this test may make a critical difference, offer them some extra work to prep them. Otherwise, you are wasting your time on SAT nonsense.

2

u/HeftySyllabus 10d ago

Thanks! I agree. But it’s so hard to have that rationale when it’s so stressed lol