SAT Algebra — typed answers: getting the entry right

About a quarter of the questions in the SAT Math section have no answer choices. These student-produced response questions ask you to work out a value and type it into an answer field, and points are lost there not only through algebra slips but through entries the test does not accept: a mixed number, a repeating decimal cut too short, a comma in a large number, a percent sign, a negative sign in the wrong place.

This material pairs both skills. Each question is an Algebra problem of the kind the SAT asks in this format: a linear equation in one variable with fractions or decimals, a system of two linear equations, a linear function set equal to zero, a slope from two points, a percent-increase equation, a fixed-fee-plus-rate context and a compound inequality with a whole interval of correct answers. After solving, you choose which of four typed entries would actually be scored as correct. The wrong entries are the typical errors: the right value in a form the test refuses, the value of the variable when an expression was asked for, the reciprocal, the lost sign.

Along the way you practice the published entry directions until they are automatic: at most five characters for a positive answer and six for a negative one, with the negative sign first; a fraction that does not fit becomes a decimal; a decimal that does not fit is truncated or rounded so that it fills every available character (so 0.667 is accepted for two thirds while 0.67 is not); a mixed number is typed as an improper fraction or a decimal; no percent signs, commas or dollar signs; and when several answers are correct, one of them is enough.

The quiz has twelve questions with worked explanations that solve the problem and then justify the entry. The flashcards collect the entry rules and the traps to check before moving on. In this practice the typed entries are shown as choices so that each rule can be explained; on the test itself you type the value, and a calculator is allowed throughout the Math section.

The material is based on the College Board's published description of the SAT Math section and its student-produced response directions. It is independent practice and is not produced or endorsed by the College Board.

  • Solve linear equations, systems and inequalities whose answers are fractions, repeating decimals or negative values.
  • Enter a student-produced response within the five-character (positive) or six-character (negative) limit.
  • Convert a too-long fraction to a decimal and truncate or round a decimal so that it fills the answer space.
  • Type mixed numbers as improper fractions or decimals and leave out percent signs, commas and dollar signs.
  • Pick one valid value when a question has a whole interval of correct answers, and answer the expression actually asked for.

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the College Board's description of the digital SAT Math section (Algebra domain; student-produced response format, about 25% of Math questions) and the student-produced response directions printed in College Board practice tests.

Sample question

A question on the SAT asks you to type your answer. If $\frac{2}{3}x + 4 = 9$, what is the value of $x$? Which entry would be scored as correct?

See the answer

15/2

Subtract 4: $\frac{2}{3}x = 5$, so $x = 5 \cdot \frac{3}{2} = \frac{15}{2} = 7.5$. The entry 15/2 is an improper fraction of four characters and is accepted (7.5 would be accepted too). A mixed number such as 7 1/2 is not an accepted form: the directions ask for an improper fraction or a decimal instead. The entry 2/15 inverts the fraction, and -15/2 has the wrong sign.

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