Important SAT Update: Transition to Digital SAT
Effective December 3, 2023, the traditional paper-and-pencil format of the SAT has been discontinued. Starting in 2024, all students are required to take the Digital SAT, ushering in substantial changes in duration, format, material coverage, and question types. This shift to the Digital SAT represents a departure from traditional testing methods. It is crucial for students, educators, and test-takers to acquaint themselves with the new examination structure. Read more about the Digital SAT here.
If you are hoping to improve your score on the SAT Math test, then check out these strategies!
1) Take Practice Exams
Be sure that your practice work is realistic to the question type, format, and difficulty level you will see on the official SAT exam. This accuracy is crucial to create realistic expectations and set realistic goals for your improvement and scoring. Experience and practice for the SAT test is a great way to boost your confidence and improve your scores.
2) Time Yourself
Time management on the SAT Math section is crucial. While preparing for the official SAT exam, it is important to take the entire practice exam at once, rather than trying one section at a time. This step is important to determine your testing endurance and concentration levels.
You want to set a realistic expectation for your time management skills, and the best way to do so is to only take breaks that are allowed on the official exam. If you run out of time on practice tests, you can dedicate part of your study plan to time management skills.
3) Practice Weak Points
You want to be efficient with your time. Instead of studying the entire exam, find the areas you struggle with the most. Spending time reviewing the questions you consistently get right is not worth your time.
Be intentional with your time and dedicate most of your plan to areas of improvement. You are more likely to gain points if you focus on the places you are missing points. Get specific!
4) Do the Easy Questions First
This strategy aims to improve your time management. The more straightforward questions take less time. If you get them out of the way first, you will have more time to spend on the hard questions. As you work, skip the more difficult questions. You can come back to them later once you have finished the easy ones.
5) Find the Method That Works for You
You can solve some math questions in a variety of ways. If you recognize that there is more than one way to solve a problem, try each method to find one that is the most comfortable and efficient for you.
You can boost your score by only using the methods that are quick and compatible with your thought process.
6) Learn From Your Mistakes
Once you get your results from your practice exam, it is crucial to determine why you missed the questions you did. Using UWorld’s SAT Prep Course, you can review your errors in detail through the detailed question explanations.
Understanding whether you misread the question, ran out of time, didn’t know the proper formula to use, or made a silly mistake will shape your study plan.
7) Don’t Leave Any Questions Blank
There is no penalty for guessing on the SAT exam. If you don’t know the answer, you should know that you have a 25% chance of guessing the correct option for multiple-choice questions.
Don’t leave any questions blank, and if you have to make a guess, then do it!
8) Practice the More Common Topics
Another way to be efficient with your study plan is to focus on the most common question types. For example, if you spend a ton of time studying questions that assess your skills with function notation, you are wasting time: there will be a max of one question that focuses on that skill.
You are taking time away from studying the more commonly tested skills, like solving linear equations or interpreting linear functions. Basing your study plan on how common the skills are is a great way to maximize your time.
Simply put, being prepared for more popular question types or skills will help you succeed with more questions.
As you look for ways to improve your SAT Math score, try out these strategies. You can test their effectiveness by using UWorld’s SAT Prep Course, where you will find thousands of sample questions, practice tests, and detailed explanations.
You will also find performance tracking tools to further analyze the problems you succeed or struggle. Try it out to boost your SAT Math score!
