Practice How You Play

Perhaps the most common question that my new SAT and ACT students ask is, what are my thoughts on the official online prep resources?  While I do think that there are good features of some of these resources, I typically advise my students to avoid them for one main reason: you need to practice how you play.  The SAT and ACT are both pencil-and-paper tests, which offer you the opportunity to use tactics that computerized tests do not. One of the first things I teach my students is how to use their pencil to their advantage.  Circling, underlining, and crossing out portions of each question and passage are all key elements of an effective SAT or ACT gameplan. Online practice tests and problem sets prevent you from making full use of your most important tool.  If you cannot reap the full benefits of proper pencil use in your practice, then you cannot expect to do so on the actual test.

One additional issue that I have with online resources is that it isn’t clear whether the questions they offer are made by the test maker.  One of the first rules of standardized test prep is only use official questions. Third party test prep providers may claim to be able to write questions that mirror the exam’s questions, but I wouldn’t want to bet the success of my preparation efforts on those claims.  The best way for you to know what to expect come test day is to do real test questions. If you can master those, then there shouldn’t be any unwelcome surprises come test day.

Remember, practice how you play!