Do you remember the dreaded analogies in high school?  Here are some examples from our past:

• Cat is to meow as dog is to bark


• Poverty is to wealth as hunger is to food.

Designed to encourage critical thinking, analogies used to be included in the SAT test. But wait!  Analogies aren't on the test anymore!  For the past few years, the SAT has eliminated all analogies, and has something even MORE fun instead!  When they removed analogies, they added a section on writing. The SAT test includes a hand-written essay now, but it does NOT have analogies.

Analogies are still a great way to increase your vocabulary and reasoning skills.  Building Thinking Skills Level 3 Verbal by Critical Thinking Press still has curriculum verbal analogies, and  the Analogies Workbook by Liebman remains popular.  It may really come as a surprise that analogies are no longer on the SAT.  It may still be an important skill for you, and perhaps it's something you want to pursue with your children, but it's NOT on the SAT anymore.

Whew!

While I'm relieved, not everyone is happy.  In 2005, when the change was announced, all the reviews were not positive.  Here is an article from the New York Times that year; Still, most of the students I know were HAPPY to avoid the dreaded analogies.

If you're sad about it because you love analogies, this game site may be fun.



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