McGraw-Hill’s Top 50 Skills: SAT Math

"What a surprise, what a relief! An SAT guide that actually meets students where they are, talks to them with wit and compassion and clears away the panic of test-taking. And, the writing is first-rate, too. Bravo Brian Leaf.”

Rebecca Pepper Sinkler, former Editor, The New York Times Book Review

“I enjoyed the informal writing style, and the flash cards for math are brilliant!  Students are used to stacks of vocabulary words in preparation for the verbal portion of the test, why not drills on flash cards for the math section?”

Denise Brown-Allen, Ed.D.,
Upper School Director,
The Pingry School

"If everyone starts using Brian's secrets and strategies, The College Board and ETS are going to have to rewrite the SAT!!"

Max Shelton, George Washington University, Class of 2012

McGraw-Hill's Top 50 Skills: SAT Math

McGraw-Hill's Top 50 Skills: SAT Math pinpoints the obstacles you face and provides the skills to eliminate them. The book comes with a pretest so you can identify your weaknesses and then master the essentials for exam success. The skills are presented in easy-to-negotiate two-page spreads with step-by-step examples.

Here's a sample from the book:

Skill 37

Hopscotch, Pigtails, and Remainders

 Remember remainders?  Back in 5^th grade you had this thing down.  You learned it, put it up on the fridge, and ran out into the yard for prisoner dodgeball.  But now it's six years later, and you've no idea what I'm talking about.

Remainders are what's left over when you use long division.

                 52 r1

For example:   7|365 

  -35

     15

    -14

       1

The r1 means remainder 1.  That's it.  So why is this on the SAT?  I think that years ago, when the SAT made the decision to allow calculators on the test, they started using remainder questions since they are hard to do with a calculator. But the Buddha said that if a man is shot by an arrow, do not waste time on discovering who shot him, just help him.  So here's the help.  Remainders are easy, and as usual, the SAT always asks the same concepts.

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