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DREAM
Summer 2023
Day 1
July 10, 2023
THURSDAY
Chapter 13
Chapter 17
MON
TUE
WED
Ch. 12: Introducing SHSAT Math
Ch. 13: Math Foundations
The Kaplan Method
Grid In Questions
Basic Terms
Topic 1 Practice
Ch. 13 Math Foundations:
Word Problems
Translations
Homework Topic 2 Practice
Mixed Performance 1
THU
WEDNESDAY
Chapter 13
Instruction
01
FRI
Days
01
02
03
04
MONDAY
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
TUESDAY
Practice Test 1
Today We Will Cover
WKND
Week 1
Introducing SHSAT Math
The Math section is the second
section on the test. It contains
57 questions and accounts for
one-half of your total points
on the SHSAT. The suggested
total time for the section is
90 minutes, or 1 hour and 30
minutes.
Math
Subsection
Total Number
of Questions
Pacing
Grid-In
5 questions
Multiple
Choice
52 questions
1 1/2
minutes
per
question
The beginning of the Math section will look similar to the following:
Question Types- pg 385
Grid In
Questions 58-62
Multiple-Choice Questions
Questions 63-114
SHSAT EXPERT NOTE
Save yourself time by knowing what to expect. The directions are not going to
change, so learn them now so you can move more quickly through them on Test
Day.
How to Approach the SHSAT Math
Some of the concepts you’ll see on the SHSAT include:
Arithmetic
Algebra
Geometry
Statistics and Probability
While you likely have seen most, if not all, of these concepts in school, you need to
approach SHSAT math differently than you would approach any other math. You
don’t necessarily have to do the math differently than you would in class, it’s just
that you have to do it very methodically.
You are being timed when you take the test, so you’ll want to use your time well.
SHSAT EXPERT NOTE
Unlike the math test you take at school, no one is going to check your work. Choose
the fastest method to solve the problem, even if it’s not the way you would do your
schoolwork.
Ultimately, the best way to take control of your testing
experience is to approach every SHSAT math problem the same
way. This doesn’t mean that you will solve every problem the
same way. Rather, it means that you’ll use the same process
to decide how to solve or whether to solve
each problem.
Read Through the Question
You need to read the entire question
carefully before you start solving the
problem. When you do not read the
question carefully, it’s very easy to make
careless errors. Consider the following
problem:
If you don’t read the question carefully you could easily pick the
wrong answer. WE CALL THOSE TRAP ANSWERS. It asks you
for the NEGATIVE VALUE, the correct answer is A. -4
There are other reasons to read the whole question before
you start solving the problem. One is that you may save
yourself some work. If you start to answer too quickly, you
may assume that a problem is more difficult than it actually
is. Similarly, you might assume that the problem is less
difficult than it actually is and skip a necessary step or
two.
Decide Whether to Do the Problem or Skip It for Now
Every time you approach a new math problem, you have the option of whether or not to answer the
question. Therefore, you have to make a decision about how to best use your time. You have three
options:
• If you can solve the problem relatively quickly and efficiently, go ahead and do it.
• If you think you can solve it but it will take you a long time, circle the number in your test booklet
and go back to it later.
• If you have no idea what to do, skip the problem and mark it with an X. Save your time for the
problems you can do.
SHSAT EXPERT NOTE
Remember that when you go back to the problems you skipped, you still
want to fill in an answer even if you have to guess. You’ll see more
about this later, but you may very well be able to eliminate wrong
answers even when you do not know how to solve a problem. Every time
you eliminate a wrong answer, you increase your chances of guessing
correctly.
Decide Whether to Do the Problem or Skip It for Now
What are your first thoughts for #2?
Algebra, let me do the math
OR
Skip, save this problem for later and take an educated guess?
Decide Whether to Do the Problem or Skip It for Now
What are your first thoughts for #3?
Plug in a number for x
Algebra, let me do the math
OR
Skip, save this problem for later and take an educated guess?
Make an Educated Guess
Don’t leave any answers blank on the
SHSAT. Since there’s no penalty for
wrong answers, there is no harm in
guessing when you don’t know the
answer. Even if you answer a
multiple-choice question randomly, you
have a 1 in 4 chance of guessing
correctly. Of course, you should still
guess strategically whenever possible.
Remember, every answer choice you
eliminate increases your odds of guessing
correctly.
If you looked at this problem and either could not
remember how to find the greatest common factor
or were running out of time and wanted to save
your time for other questions, you should be able to
eliminate at least one answer choice pretty easily.
Do you see which one?
Grid Strategically
The first five questions in the Math section are
grid-in questions that you can either answer first or
save for later. There is no wrong answer penalty, so
if you do not know the answer to the question, you
can—and should—still guess. For every grid-in question,
you’ll enter your response into a grid that
looks like this:
Grid Strategically
Do
●
●
●
●
When gridding in your answer, begin on the left.
Write only one number or decimal symbol in each box, using the “.” symbol if your
answer includes a decimal point.
Fill in the circle under the box that matches the number or symbol that you wrote.
The first column on the left of the grid is only for recording a negative sign, so if
your answer is positive, leave the first column blank and begin recording your
answer in the second column
Don’t
●
Do not leave a box blank in the middle of an answer if you are gridding a value that
doesn’t take up the whole grid,
If there is a blank column in the middle of your answer, it will be scored as
incorrect.
SHSAT EXPERT NOTE
Memorize Common Decimals
The SHSAT does not allow you to grid in fractions, so memorizing common decimal
equivalents such as
¼
= 0.25,
⅕
= 0.2, and
½= 0.5 can save you valuable time.
A repeating decimal can either be rounded or shortened, but it should be entered to as
many decimal places as .166 or .167 rather than as possible. This means it should fill four
spaces. For example, you should grid 1 6 .16 or .17.
Note that you cannot grid any value greater than 9,999 or less than −999. If you get an
answer that will not fit in the grid, you’ve made a mistake and should check your work.
Make sure you fill in the circles that match all parts of your answer, and make sure
that there is no more than one value bubbled in for each column. Always double-check the
accuracy of your gridding so that you don’t make errors that will cost you points.
Lastly, Practice Grid-In Questions In A Test-Like Manner
Gridding does require some care, so practice gridding in your answers when you complete
grid-in questions throughout this book, just as you will do on Test Day.
MON
TUE
WED
THU
SHSAT
Math
FRI
for
WKND
The Kaplan
Method
Step 1
What is the question?
Step 2
What information is
provided in the question?
In what format do the
answers appear?
Step 3
What can I do with the
information?
• Picking Numbers
• Backsolving
• Straightforward Math
Step 4
Am I finished?
The Kaplan Method for SHSAT Math
The Kaplan Method for SHSAT Math helps you
organize the information in a question and decide
on the best approach to answer the question.
This step-by-step approach applies to all multiple
choice questions.
Step 1
Getting to the Answer:
What is the question?
What is x?
Step 2 What information is provided in the question?
In what format do the answers appear?
The question gives you an equation to solve
Step 3 What can I do with the information?
The question asks for the value of x and provides
an equation to simplify. Using straightforward math
will be the simplest way to solve.
Step 4 Am I finished?
Do I have a value for x?
Begin by distributing the 3 over the terms inside the
parentheses on the left side of the equation.
This gives you:
3x + 3y = 12 + 3y
Subtracting 3y from both sides results in
3x = 12.
Dividing both sides by 3 gives you
x=4
The question asks for the value of x, so you are
finished.
D. 4
Grid-In Questions
The SHSAT Math grid-in section
requires you to stay organized as
you answer the five grid-in questions
you are guaranteed to see on Test
Day. Some questions ask for
straightforward calculations, while
others are more complex. If the
question is a word problem, work
through the text systematically,
breaking sentences into short phrases
before calculating
SHSAT EXPERT NOTE
Grid-In Word Problems with Algebra
Approach these questions strategically:
• If variables are not defined, choose
letters that make sense. Be careful not
to use the same letter for different
variables.
• Translate each phrase into a
mathematical expression.
• Put the expressions together to form an
equation.
3 NEW QUESTIONS
MON
THU
FRI
20 MINUTES
WKND
Chapter 13 Set 1 p. 404
● 19–20, 22–23, 25 (grid-ins)
Chapter 13 Set 2 p. 411
● 41–42 (MC)
Chapter 17 Set 1 p. 592
● 2–3 (grid-ins)
WED
TUE
TOPIC 1 PRACTICE SET
NEW QUESTION !
NEW QUESTION !
NEW QUESTION !
Word Problems/Variables in Answer Choices
Common Translation Keywords
SHSAT EXPERT NOTE
Keys to Translation Success
1) Learn the common terms for all major operations.
2) Pay close attention to the order of operations when
translating.
MON
THU
FRI
20 MINUTES
Chapter 13 Set 2 p. 411
● 7–30 (drills)
● 51–55
WKND
Chapter 13 Set 1 p. 404
● 1
● 2–4 (drills)
● 52, 54
WED
TUE
TOPIC 2 PRACTICE SET
HOMEWORK
MIXED PERFORMANCE 1
Google forms
DREAM Course Book
Math Practice Set A p. 433
1, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10