So, of course we entered an incorrect answer here to see what happened.

Let's look at the question and the Khan 'solutions.' Not only that, a student who has not been exposed to any kind of alternative prep 'strategy' would only be familiar with the algebraic process s/he learned in school, so his/her intuition should dictate that the solution lies in simply solving the problem. GUYS, it is not at all unreasonable to expect any student applying to college to know how to successfully perform the appropriate mathematical operations to solve this problem. Anyone who successfully passed Algebra I should be able to answer this question, and the fastest way to answer-and to confidently reach the correct answer- is to isolate and solve for the variable just like you would in class. This is not a trick question in fact, this question reflects a problem that looks exactly like something a student would see in Algebra I.

Question 3, below, shows an inequality that asks students to solve for a variable c. The easiest way to illustrate this is to actually look at a practice problem and explanation from the KA site, so let's do that. I hate to say it, but there's no getting around it.

Keeping these two things in mind, the Khan Academy's program content is deeply disappointing. The more familiar and grounded the prep, the less anxiety students experience approaching the tests.

I'm convinced that the idea that the SAT and ACT require a primarily strategy-based approach has terrified students by tacitly communicating that they aren't intelligent and educated enough to just take the test.The SAT and ACT both truly test concepts and rules we learn in high school.

I believe that test prep should be based on fundamentals taught in school in preparation for college.

Otherwise? I cannot figure out how to write this article without sounding like a major curmudgeon, but I'm deeply concerned that so many people have embraced the intention and mechanism behind the Khan Academy's free SAT prep, which is wonderful, and have overlooked the most important part: its content.Īnyone that knows anything about my prep method knows two things: Ans: You make it clear that the only reason that the flaws matter is that they effect negatively effect students.

Khan academy sat preparation