Writing about the test
What we have learned from logging every question our students attempt.
Desmos is built into the digital SAT, and most students barely use it
The graphing calculator sits in the test app on every maths question. Here are the six situations where it turns a two-minute algebra problem into a ten-second one, and the two where reaching for it costs you time.
When should my child start SAT prep?
Work backwards from the test date rather than forwards from today. A guide to picking a first test date, how long each stage actually takes, and why starting too early usually backfires.
How to review a practice test properly (most students do it backwards)
Going through the questions you missed is the least useful review you can do. Here is the order that finds the points, and the four categories every question should be sorted into.
Why a third-party practice test score is close to meaningless
Unofficial SAT practice tests are scored on curves nobody has validated, which is why a student's score can swing 150 points between two companies in the same week. What they are good for, and what they are not.
How many hours of SAT tutoring does a student actually need?
An honest answer from the tutor you would be paying: what the number depends on, when more hours stop helping, and the three situations where tutoring is the wrong purchase entirely.
How the adaptive digital SAT actually works, and what it means for how you study
The digital SAT gives every student a second module chosen by how they did on the first. Here is what that routing does to your score ceiling, and the three study habits it quietly makes obsolete.
Right but slow is a wrong answer you haven't gotten yet
Why per-question timing catches the plateau that practice-test scores hide, and how to tell a pacing problem from a content problem on the digital SAT.