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Post your verbal score and how much time on average you spend reading. I want to see if there really is a strong correlation. You can also post how much prep you did specificaly for the SAT because that would probalby skew results.

By Apguy (Apguy) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 05:52 pm: Edit

Verbal Score: 380
Time Spent: 11 seconds

I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong!

j/k

By Hsimpson2k4 (Hsimpson2k4) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 05:54 pm: Edit

I got a 720 and the only free reading i did was the harry potter collection. However, i got tutored.

By Nuoli (Nuoli) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 06:07 pm: Edit

I read all my life until high school, when time conflicted. English, it's either in you or it isn't -- that simple. And what determines whether or not it's in you is how much you read.

So yes, it helps a LOT on the SATs to read, as does prepping a good bit. But remember, reading and the skills that go along will last you a life time, whereas prepping -- a 3 hour test. So read. And learn! :-)

By Number9 (Number9) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 06:18 pm: Edit

590. I only read when it was manditory. I've always excelled at English, often times being the 1st in class, but I wasnt feeling my best that day, and decided to keep the score just as an indicator.

Im happy to report that I am starting on the CollegeBoard's list of books. Reading isnt that bad after all...

By Crypto86 (Crypto86) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 06:21 pm: Edit

Well, my psat verbal score was 610, and I read ESPN The Mag, SportsWeekly, Wired, and Scientific American. I rarely read novels. Go figure.

By Jason817 (Jason817) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 06:23 pm: Edit

590.

I used to read lots of novels (hundreds or so) but stopped after 7th grade. Then I only read what was mandatory for school. I am also one of the top in my English class.

By Mike28 (Mike28) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 06:24 pm: Edit

750. I hardley read any books unless they're required, but I do read tons on the internet, nothing thats going to win a putlzer or anything like that though.

O yeah, I love the articles in playboy, I read those like 8 times a day! =-0

By Roper (Roper) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 07:11 pm: Edit

760
I read only for school.
I read vocab lists from 2 weeks before though, and learned about 3000 words

Don't spend your time reading books, they won't teach you new words: that is a myth
You may learn 10 to 100 words from a book
(200-300 pages, maybe 4-5 days)
Or, you could spend 2 days and learn at least 100 new words (probably more)

By Dwayne_Hoover (Dwayne_Hoover) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 07:18 pm: Edit

roper you idiot--people who read a lot generally have excellent vocabularies. We're not saying you should read a book 2 weeks before the SAT to "study" we're saying a lifetime of dedicated reading = good vocabulary. Unless you read dumb books, then you prolly wont learn many words.

Furthermore, the SAT has about 4-5 questions that really test a good vocabulary, so why waste your time studying vocab lists (lol i pity you) for 4-5 questions. Hugest part of the test is critical reading and reading skills, all stuff you learn through reading...

By Smiley (Smiley) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 07:37 pm: Edit

800
I don't do much reading apart from that which is required for school... When I'm into a book and have time, though, I do enjoy it... just too busy to do much reading...

I studied some but not obsessively... I had notions of learning Barron's 3500 list, but that never happened. I did about 150 words then got involved with other things... took 2-3 practice tests

By Premed88 (Premed88) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 08:02 pm: Edit

so Smiley, you just have a proclivity towards english? How'd you do so well?

By Number9 (Number9) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 08:32 pm: Edit

*hardley = hardly
*putlzer = Pulitzer

good thing the SAT doesnt judge spelling!

By Mazzo (Mazzo) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 08:34 pm: Edit

660 i read mostly magazines

By Jongleur (Jongleur) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 09:29 pm: Edit

630 I read boxcar children, goosebumps, etc. in elementary school, and then I stopped doing free reading after the 5th grade. Now, after my atrocious verbal score in april, I try to make time for free reading. Unfortunately, I've only made time for 1 novel and a couple sunday editions of the LA Times.

By Mm314 (Mm314) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 09:43 pm: Edit

700...the only things i read are newsweek, time, washington post, etc.

BTW I misgridded like the last 6-7 questions on the verbal critical reading, so I guess I should have scored like a 750 or something.

By Benfriedman (Benfriedman) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 09:48 pm: Edit

650
I do absolutly no reading at all. (Thank Heavens for my 770 math)

By Jimjunior (Jimjunior) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 09:48 pm: Edit

720 sat
770 psat

I didnt prepare for the sat and missed a handful of 2-3 difficulty questions that I shouldnt have, oh well.

It seems like I am the only person on this board who reads regularly. I read somewhere between 500-1000 pages per month. Favorite books are East of Eden, Ender's Game and the Power of One

By Snv (Snv) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 09:50 pm: Edit

im probably the outlier, but here:

800, haven't read a single book in high school-- our school is really stupid, i pull A's in ap english cause our gpa is more inflated than brazilian currency.

but ya, im not kidding, i never read any book, no matter if its a class book or anything (this does not include science textbooks of course)

and im not verbally inclined, i just did barrons 3500 words.. that took care of my life's lack of reading. and did TONS of practice critical reading.

By Chen (Chen) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 10:02 pm: Edit

I tend to find people who read a lot now in high school are better in English class in general. and lmfao snv, that made my day.

690 on PSAT and SAT, haha, that's the highest I've ever gotten including Kaplan tests, so I don't think I can exceed that.

I read pretty often until high school too. Though in elementary school, the books weren't that advanced. 8th grade, I read half the books of the recommended summer list, Memoirs of a Geisha, and harry Potter - to give you an idea of the difficulty. I since have not read for leisure (unless you count magazines like Jane and an ocassional fun article in US News or Newseek), I think, but I plan to resume this summer! Seriously.

As for prep, I browsed through 500 flashcards on this Kaplan CD, and I'm not sure if any of those words were actually on the test. I've also had excellent vocab prep during school, and I know that helped for a few words. I've taken the Kaplan course...and did almost 0 practicing on my own.

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 10:43 pm: Edit

well 630 more than a year ago, and 700 on my PSAT's...although i think i got like a 200 on my June SAT Verbal section (lol) because i felt really blahhhh that day.

i used to read like 30 books a month back in the day (elementary/middle school). stopped reading altogether in high school, except harry potter and then stuff we're forced to read (grapes of wrath, the crucible, great gatsby, huck finn, etc).

i've been taking SAT's since 7th grade (got a 450 verbal my first time!!!), did some minor "prep" back then, but i dont think that counts. i took kaplan last summer and that was it. my 630 was taking it cold for the first time in 2 years as a sophomore. my PSAT was after all the kaplan prep. i guess their guessing strategies do work eh? i had to learn a 250 word list for Honors Soph L.Arts, and tried to learn a few on my own, but wasn't successful, maybe learned like 100 tops.

im going all out and memorizing barrons 3500 word list this summer in an attempt to pull my verbal score above 700 (hopefully 750+)...meant to start today but had a minor change in plans wish me luck!

By Mike28 (Mike28) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 11:12 pm: Edit

Number9:

Heh, yeah I'm the worst when it comes to spelling. Every year on my SAT-9s i frickin make 99's in everything except like a 80 in math and 30 in spelling =/

By Lme529 (Lme529) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 12:24 am: Edit

710 i read all the time (books, magazines, and stuff for school), but i never really look up words if i dont know them so i don't think it helps that much. i didn't study any vocab or anything for the sat. i think reading helps a lot with style and maybe grammar too.

By Escape (Escape) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 12:41 am: Edit

790- I read Sports Illustrated and I read required books for school in freshman and sophomore year (Didn't read for school last year). No vocab lists either. I think I just got really lucky when I actually took the sats. I knew every word on that particular test, even though I don't have the greatest vocabulary ever. I was unsure about maybe 7 of the critical reading questions, but managed to narrow the choices down enough that I only got 2 of them wrong.

By Shilpa1125 (Shilpa1125) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 01:47 am: Edit

700- I read a lot. I'm usually reading two books at a time- one for fun, one for school. But, like Lme, I never look up words if I don't know them, just kind of figure out what they mean by context and then forget them after that sentence. Maybe I should work on that...

I took a lot of practice tests for the SAT, but didn't study vocabulary or anything, other than the words I studied for vocab. tests at school (which, luckily showed up on the test a few times).

By Fireflower (Fireflower) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 02:26 am: Edit

710 - I read constantly. I didn't prepare for it at all. A 710 isn't great, but I did get a 35 on the ACT Reading and was disgusted that I actually missed one of those easy questions.

By Smac86 (Smac86) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 02:53 am: Edit

Reading tons of books in the long run helps:
a) Increasing your vocab
b) and more importantly, helps you get through the critical reading passages without many problems [it'll help you comprehend things easily]

I only wish these two things made me read more! I hardly ever sit down to read a book- though I read magazines etc...

By Olive_Oil (Olive_Oil) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 03:59 am: Edit

670--8th grade verbal score..I read every book I can get my hands on, no matter what it's about.

By Testtaker (Testtaker) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 10:10 am: Edit

testtaker's analasys:

Although everyone is always saying that only people who read A LOT get very high verbal scores, this poll does not seem to support that.

It looks like people who read a lot are the ones who can get high six hundreds low 700s without any sort of prep. However, it seems that the very high scorers (above 750) are not the ones who do the most reading but the ones who study vocab and take many practice tests (general intelegence also helps I am sure).

What does everyone else think??

By Greenmoo04 (Greenmoo04) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 10:15 am: Edit

620-want to read, but never have any time for it

By Snv (Snv) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 12:13 pm: Edit

i don't see any correlation between high verbal score and reading time. None at all! If we plot a graph of score vs. time spent, r=0!!!! it would prob. be a jumble of points showing no pattern.

so, heres my conclusion (feel free to rebut)-- reading in fact does NOT matter. Practice/vocab memory is the only thing someone needs to do to score high. Am i correct in making such a generalization, or is that a conceptual leap?

By Studiousvegetar (Studiousvegetar) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 12:18 pm: Edit

630 Read when I can

By Evil_Robot (Evil_Robot) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 06:05 pm: Edit

800

Used to read a lot.

By Crypto86 (Crypto86) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 07:45 pm: Edit

I read for fun occasionally. My latest leisure book was Contact by Carl Sagan, and that was LAST summer. I don't really comprehend questions too well. I associate that with required reading, and I believe that takes the fun out of reading. I guess I'll have to learn how to comprehend questions better if I want to do well on the Verbal section and Writing SAT II, though.

By Jason817 (Jason817) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 08:04 pm: Edit

Snv:

Statistics show that people who are avid readers GENERALLY score higher on the SAT than those who do not read. Why? I don't know. It doesn't make sense to me at all. I mean, by reading hundreds of books during your childhood, you'll never see all the words from Barrons and/or Gruber's word list. Sure you can get a couple words a page. It doesn't make sense to me how people who read but never study Barron's word list score 800's. However, I understand how they can get a higher CR score but it doesn't make sense how they know all the vocab.

By Xiggi (Xiggi) on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 - 08:06 pm: Edit

>> Although everyone is always saying that only people who read A LOT get very high verbal scores, this poll does not seem to support that. <<

1. Most people who HAVE scored very high are no longer frequenting a board aiming at preparing for the SAT.

2. Reading is one part of the equation. What is more important is reading comprehension. People with good reading comprehension skills WILL do good on the SAT. Having a good vocabulary is part of possessing good reading comprehension skills. However you could have a very extensive vocabulary -like from reading all the SAT lists - and still do poorly on the SAT.

By Roper (Roper) on Friday, June 20, 2003 - 03:04 pm: Edit

DWAYNE obviously does not know what he is talking about.

Reading books will not make you a good critical reader. I never read books - i got all the critical reading correct. How do you explain that?
Reading periodicals, i.e. newspapers/magazines helps critical reading.
By the way, 4-5 questions is a lot to miss on the SAT. Critical reading has little to do with novels.
Novels are NOTHIGN LIKE critical reading passages -- essays, persuasive writing, scientific information. Novels are passive reading, you don't INTERPRET or LEARN anything from a novel. It's just plot, blah blah blah. Who's the idiot now?

By Godis (Godis) on Friday, June 20, 2003 - 03:15 pm: Edit

740

i read novels every now and then but my main reading comes from online journals and stuff like that.

By Ch2 (Ch2) on Friday, June 20, 2003 - 03:36 pm: Edit

760 verbal
i used to read a LOT until high school, now i only get through one non-school book every 3 or 4 months. i have found that i have absorbed some vocab from them. i've read Catch-22 ten times and it has a lot of good vocab in it too, actually (and its a great book). i also read the new york times (sometimes) and magazines and stuff. i didn't do AP english though (I dropped out), so i don't know how much that would have helped more score..

By Smac86 (Smac86) on Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 01:02 am: Edit

740
Hardly any reading at all

By Nuoli (Nuoli) on Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 01:10 am: Edit

800. Read from age 6 to age 15... always a bookworm :-)

Until high school of course, then everybody's busy. But reading from a young age taught me how to read and how to write, and a strong vocab to boot. So in short, yes, correlation exists :-)

Little studying. Lots of practice.

By Enzo (Enzo) on Saturday, June 21, 2003 - 02:12 am: Edit

700. I read a lot but never anything literary. My reading consists of the sports page of the newspaper, magazines occasionally, and online articles. In fact, sad as it may be, I have not read a novel from front to back since I was 10 or 11. I simply skim or read summaries for school books. If you score poorly on SAT verbal, don't blame it on a lack of reading, but moreso, a lack of the right situation. The majority of the "SAT vocabulary" that I know is picked up from friends or acquaintances or from vocab books studied in school. Also, I have a handy electronic dictionary and when I hear an unfamiliar word, I look it up. As far as the critical reading section goes, that is more a test of strategy than synthesis. If you know how to approach the questions and where to look for answers, that section is a cinch.

By Andymcgav (Andymcgav) on Monday, June 23, 2003 - 07:42 pm: Edit

Roper is wrong. Nobody take advice from him. Reading is good for you and you should read whenever you can. Anybody who says differently obviously just doesn't like it!

By Chasgoose (Chasgoose) on Monday, June 23, 2003 - 11:25 pm: Edit

800, I devour books, reading whenever I get the chance. I didn't do any prep for the Verbal part.

By Quentin_Compson (Quentin_Compson) on Tuesday, June 24, 2003 - 09:58 am: Edit

I got an 800, and I love reading: it's what I spend most of my free time doing . I looked through a few vocab lists the night before the test, which was really helpful. READING IS GOOD FOR YOU, you should consider it...

By Beckes04 (Beckes04) on Tuesday, June 24, 2003 - 10:55 pm: Edit

790 (80 on PSAT, though... Grr...)

I used to read a lot more than I do currently, but I still read a respectable amount (mainly science books, sci fi novels, and online news like the Washington Post).

What helped me more, though, I think, was that I was really into WRITING when I was young. In fact, I spent virually all of my free time writing short stories and essays. In my quest to refine my writing skills, I studied Thesauruses like no other. Plus, I've always been good at English.

I didn't directly study for the SAT at all except by taking a few practice tests throughout high school (which might be why I got a 790 rather than 800?).

So, if you've been preparing for the SAT all your life by thirstily acquiring knowledge through reading/writing/learning, I wouldn't really worry about the SAT. It's just a silly test, anyway...

By Jason817 (Jason817) on Tuesday, June 24, 2003 - 10:59 pm: Edit

A silly test that counts

By Dschnapps (Dschnapps) on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 - 12:55 am: Edit

I know this doesn't affect anything that people will do, but when considering what gives people an advantage, I think people often underestimate the value of having parents who use large vocabularies.

In addition, reading is often indicative of someone who is verbal and might have acquired good verbal skills and vocabulary without reading. Although heavy reading is not necessary for a good score, I would think it is rare to find big readers who score under 700. I could be wrong...

By Jumbo (Jumbo) on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 - 01:34 am: Edit

700 HARRY POTTER rules.

By Carkles (Carkles) on Friday, June 27, 2003 - 01:18 am: Edit

I read all the time when I was little,a book a day for a while there, often ditching my math homework so I could just read the day away. Therefore, my PSAT scores were 770 verbal, 760 writing and 660 math. My SATs were 730 verbal and 700 math, due, I think, to the fact that I was nervous about my verbal cause I wanted to do really well again, but just sort of cruised through my math, not stressing. Now, I read for pleasure when I have the time(not often! or when I find a book I really like. In the summer, laying out and reading is my favorite thing to do. I read a book a month for school.I skim the newspaper a lot, though not as much as I used to. I'm certain my reading all the time made me smarter. I mean, besides SAT scores, reading just helps you KNOW more. I mean, I love to talk about the time I answered a History question about minstrel shows correctly because I remembered reading about one in my Little HOuse books, or when I knew what an assonance was because I remembered Edmund calling it an assy-thingummy in the Chronicles of Narnia. I also like to tell the story of my friend who started reading in seventh grade when she broke her leg and whose standardized test scores (even math!) went up noticably the next year. To sum up this super long post, READING ROCKS!!
OH, one thing about reading and vocab-- A lot of the time I notice that I can't tell you exactly what a word means, I just know how to use it bc I've read it used this way.
ANother thing, I did absolutely no preparation for my SATs.

By Carkles (Carkles) on Friday, June 27, 2003 - 01:21 am: Edit

And yes, Harry Potter does rule!

By Apg (Apg) on Friday, June 27, 2003 - 10:56 am: Edit

>A lot of the time I notice that I can't tell you exactly what a word means, I just know how to use it bc I've read it used this way.<

As a "reader," I've noticed this as well. I think it is one sign of true intelligence.

By Savoirfaire87 (Savoirfaire87) on Friday, June 27, 2003 - 10:04 pm: Edit

I LOVE TO READ!!!!
Carkles-- I started out with Little House in Kgarten, haven't stopped reading since I read under my desk all through elem...wish I still could

Haven't taken SAT or PSAT yet, however, I took my brother's old PSAT about a month ago (you know how they give you the book and answers...) I missed one in Verbal, two in Writing...didn't do as well in Math (7 or 8...can't remember...yeah, bad I know). I've only just finished my freshman year, so I have excuses...never taken a geometry course...

I agree with Dschnapps...it's kind of funny when the vocabulary words for English class are ones your parents use on a regular basis, especially when you live in the middle of nowhere like I do. (I go to school with a bunch of western pa rednecks)

Carkles and Apg-- I've noticed that as well...obviously, it's good to know how words relate, not only for analogies, but sentence completion. If you don't know the exact meaning, but you have an idea, it helps SOOOO much!! Just memorizing definitions, IMO, is not where it's at. (so to speak) Word usage is vital to the SAT. After all, it's supposed to be testing our ability to use the english language, not our ability to memorize thousands of definitions.

just read; it's good for you...like milk...or whatever...

By Spiffybrownboy (Spiffybrownboy) on Friday, June 27, 2003 - 10:32 pm: Edit

640... I hate reading, sorry to say. However, if it's something in a magazine or a joke or something I'll read it, haha. But I did spend time on vocab: I looked up every word I came across that I didn't know. At the time I knew it probably wouldn't help because what were the chances that those same words would show up on that test? Well, you know what, a few of them did! It made me very, very happy lol. Don't expect me to be breaking a 700 though... that's damn near impossible.

By Jimjunior (Jimjunior) on Friday, June 27, 2003 - 11:22 pm: Edit

I have learned a lot of vocabulary from my parents. My friends who have parents who grew up in other countries have smaller vocabularies. Also play BOGGLE everyone, you will pick up words like crazy

some boggle words

ait, tam, cosh, pert etc.

By Smac86 (Smac86) on Saturday, June 28, 2003 - 01:59 am: Edit

Hey Jim!
I play a lotta boggle... Even though I didn't read too much, I've consistently got a whole bunch of words from my parents through the years....
DO you play boggle online too? I play at playsite and games.com! You should try it... It awesome fun!

By Liface (Liface) on Saturday, June 28, 2003 - 11:43 am: Edit

610, I read almost every day, and have been since I was about 4 years old, because I don't have a TV in my house.

By Emeraldkity4 (Emeraldkity4) on Saturday, June 28, 2003 - 11:51 am: Edit

We have a tv and I hardly ever got to read a book for fun because of time commitment to homework, job and Ecs.
770V 790SATll

By Dp04 (Dp04) on Saturday, June 28, 2003 - 10:08 pm: Edit

750 verbal and 780 writing. I hardly ever read novels for fun anymore, but I read all the time up until 5th grade or so. I read time magazine and the newspaper on a regular basis though.

By Sunshine916 (Sunshine916) on Sunday, June 29, 2003 - 12:44 am: Edit

well SAT scores came out today and all of my friends who read got really great verbal scores and the ones who dont didnt. simple as that.

too bad i was one of the ones who didnt. stupid 640. i improved TEN POINTS in ONE YEAR. SKFHLSFJSf.

haha going to go nuts prepping this summer. need 700+

By Canadian_Idol (Canadian_Idol) on Sunday, June 29, 2003 - 02:01 am: Edit

800
read editorials on newsapapers...
read harry potter 5 in 12 hours lol

By Techieguy (Techieguy) on Sunday, June 29, 2003 - 04:14 am: Edit

720

I don't read novels, but I read ALOT. Non-brainy stuff like websites and I read TIME magazine alot.

By Lame (Lame) on Sunday, June 29, 2003 - 05:36 am: Edit

780

Missed no critical reading questions...

I read gaming reviews. r0x0r.

By Phishdave (Phishdave) on Sunday, June 29, 2003 - 10:01 pm: Edit

800, read sometimes. i intentionally upped my reading before taking the test and it seems to have worked.

By Crypto86 (Crypto86) on Sunday, June 29, 2003 - 10:08 pm: Edit

In substitution of reading novels, I watch classy television shows including Jerry Springer, Doggy Fizzle Televizzle, and Maury Povich. In addition, I can't get enough of videogames including Age of Mythology, Shining Force (1 AND 2) and NBA2K3. I read ESPN, SportsWeekly, Wired, and Sciam. 610 V psat. I've just got tons of talent - fo' shizzle. =D

By Lostgirl (Lostgirl) on Friday, July 04, 2003 - 03:22 pm: Edit

740. I do read novels now and then but i dont think that was the reason for my score.i think it was because of the 5000 words that i mucked up 2 months prior the test. and ofcource, i had finished all the reading comprehensions from books i could lay my hands on... Barrons, Princeton, Arco(Boo), 10 Real SAts

By Jno (Jno) on Friday, July 04, 2003 - 04:58 pm: Edit

800. Most important thing for me was reading as a kid. That's when you pick up all the rules and habits that make it easier later. Of course, I'm kind of a freak in that I was in the National Spelling Bee. Learned a lot of words that way. Trouble is, you know how to spell them, but you don't necessarily know what they mean. That's why reading helps. You see the words in context, so you don't need to go grab a dictionary to find out what they are.