Practice Test to Regular Test

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 10/22/2014 - 19:34

This tip for improving your SAT score was provided by Jake Davidson at Veritas Prep.

In sports, music, and anything else that requires a lot of practice, the phrase “you play like you practice,” is commonplace. The same notion applies to the SAT. How you take practice tests will reflect how you take the real thing. To get an accurate gauge of your score, make sure practice tests are taken in test-like conditions with a timer—and no cell phone in sight.

Having experienced a close-to-identical environment multiple times before taking the test, you will be ready to excel when you walk into the testing center. Even more important than mirroring the environment, however, is making sure you utilize strategies on the practice test so performing well will be second nature on the actual test. Too often, students fall into the trap of doing things the familiar way on just one more practice test, because that day it seems easier than acclimating to new strategies. Students think this will be fine because, when the test comes, they will make sure to change their methods. I know this because it’s how I used to take practice tests. After a while, when my scores stopped going up, I switched. Within weeks, there was a dramatic jump.

To ensure that this score improvement is reflected on the real SAT, make sure to employ three overarching strategies on all practice tests, as well as on the real thing.

1. Bubble in one page at a time. While this seems simple, it is an often-overlooked way to save time and cut down on careless bubbling errors. Most students circle an answer choice and bubble it in right away. While this works, it takes away time and attention from the test. And a rushing student faces a high likelihood that one answer will be bubbled incorrectly, making the rest of that section wrong.

To avoid unnecessary errors, go one page at a time and bubble in when you finish a page. Sometimes this means five questions on a page, sometimes eight. It will save you time and ensure that you don’t make careless bubbling errors.

2. Check your work as you go. Almost everyone checks their work at the end of each section, if time remains. This is a mistake. Checking one’s work at the end will generally confirm only the answer choices made—or lead to a rash decision that changes the answer. A better time to check one’s answer is right after doing the problem. Whether it is to correct a grammar error or double-check arithmetic, this is the best time to catch errors. Get in the habit of doing this on all practice tests so it becomes second nature at test time.

3. Write. We tend to be overconfident in our ability to process numbers, facts, and ideas while avoiding errors. Admittedly, some people have this ability, but the SAT is not the  venue to show off. Writing everything down—in math, in writing, and in reading—is essential to avoiding errors and  achieving a high score. On math, it means identifying figures and writing down all variables. On reading, it means annotating the passage and crossing out the wrong answers. On writing, it means circling grammatical errors with your pencil. This seems a simple step, but it will result in immense improvement in your scores.

By employing these strategies and avoiding just an error or two on each section, your score could jump hundreds of points.

Plan on taking the SAT soon? Take advantage of Veritas Prep’s free SAT resources, including free SAT video lessons.

Article references
www.businessweek.com