How to study an SAT practice test

I've watched so many students complete an SAT practice test, score it, and ignore their mistakes. This is the fatal flaw of so many students who prepare for the SAT each year. Don't let this be you. Follow this guide after you take each practice SAT test.

First, correct the test. Students of Hammer Tutoring should enter the answers online at the website provided in your sign-up packet.

Second, review the percentage of questions answered correctly and the percentage of questions attempted. Are you answering an optimal number of questions based on your target score?

Third, find any easy questions that you missed in a section. After you locate the problem, erase all slash marks, and re-work the problem on the test in a blue pen. Circle your new answer. Try to articulate the reason you made a mistake. I've found that mistakes are a result of one of the three reasons:

• Reckless Mistakes: you read too quickly or didn't jot down enough information.
• Conceptual Mistakes: you didn't know the concept tested, and you'll need to review it.
• Misinterpretation: you didn't completely understand what was asked in the question, but you answered it anyway.

Fourth, repeat for medium questions. If your trying to score above 700 on any section, repeat for all hard questions.

Fifth, check your new solutions. If you missed a questions for a second time, try to find your mistake using the correct answer.

Sixth, look up all vocabulary words you couldn't define and create flash cards.

I received my SAT Scores...Now What?

After receiving your SAT scores, a student faces three states of mind:

1. Excitement - "I felt great during the test, and reached my target score."
   
2. Ambivalence - "I did really well on the math, but I'm not happy with my reading score. Should I take the test again?"
   
3. Disappointment - "Oh no, I bombed the test. Will I even get into college?"
   

If you reached your target SAT score, you're done. Great job! Focus on your SAT Subject Tests, extracurriculars, and college applications. Don't take the test again to raise your score from a 2100 to a 2180; it's a terrible time investment.

If you're ambivalent about your scores, take some time to reflect. How does your scores compare to your 11th grade PSAT scores? How does your scores compare to your three most recent practice tests scores? To evaluate your performance, average your scores from each section on your three most recent practice tests. Make sure you take the average of each section separately: math, reading, and writing. If one score seems incredibly high, make sure that you completed the test in a realistic test setting. Often times, students will give themselves extra time and artificially inflate their scores. Each section score should be within 40 points of your average scores. In fact, 40 points on the SAT is often only 2 questions. Finally, if available, order your test from www.collegeboard.com.

If you're disappointed with your score, take a deep breath and get ready to do some self reflection. Remember, you can raise your score if you practice correctly. Follow the average score exercise from above. If you're outside of the 40 point range on a section, find out why. Did you suffer from test anxiety? Did you mismanage your time? Next, write out 5 reasons that attribute to your under-performance. Consider events during the test, as well as events during practice. Did you study your mistakes on practice tests? Did you study vocabulary? Did you increase your reading practice? Did you master the concepts tested from math to English grammar?

If you decide to take another SAT, put together a game plan. Set specific milestones. Simply stating that you want to increase your SAT score by 100 points will result in under-performance.