How to CRUSH Standardized Tests (SAT, ACT, etc.)
Standardized tests are a real pain, and terrify many students, as they are often required to get into good colleges, and needed to continue your education into higher grade levels. But don't worry, I am here to tell you that these tests are, in reality, not that difficult, and can be somewhat "gamed" through preparation. These tests do not really test intelligence or thinking ability, but rather how well you can adhere to a syllabus and recognize patterns. The great news is that, almost always, the syllabi of these tests are holistically available online for free! Many people struggle with these tests because they try to simply go over what they have learned in class, but that is not a good idea, because these tests are designed to test a very specific subset of topics in a very specific manner. I will not necessarily break down how to study by test here, but rather give more general strategy on how to perform very well on these intimidating tests.Â
Firstly, the syllabus is your best friend; look through it and know exactly what is required of you- nothing more, nothing less. Like most skills, pay attention to areas or topics which you are weakest in, and direct around 90% of your time studying to them- it will be more difficult, but is a much better use of your time. However, knowing the general content is, unfortunately, not enough for these tests, and the real secret is to look at past released tests and practice exams. These resources, if you give them some time, will allow you to completely game these tests, as you will begin to understand every type of question that can be asked and how to answer them properly. This does take a lot of time, so for maximum efficiency I recommend taking one as a sort of diagnostic, then matching missed questions with a syllabus topic and delving into further study. Then, rinse and repeat until you can achieve a desired score on your online test. This technique has worked quite well for me in the past, and I bet that it will work great for you! Of course, I have linked some of these study resources at the bottom of the page.
Keep in mind that these tests have nothing to do with intelligence, and are merely a skill. If you are struggling more than your peers with part of a test (for example, critical reading), know that what you need is simply deliberate practice. Look at answers and understand the thinking process that makes them correct. Standardized tests are so gameable because they require an "objectively" correct answer- there cannot be two somewhat correct seeming answers, one is always slightly wrong. Be very careful reading questions and answer choices, and make sure that you are responding to what the question is asking- after doing a few practice tests, you will be able to pick up on all of the "tricks" they can throw at you, making you invincible to even the most difficult standardized test questions.
​Although studying is undoubtedly a pain, if you can learn to do it properly and efficiently, it will change your life. Being able to "study" essentially teaches you how to learn anything, whether it be an idea or a skill, faster. This ability, once sharpened, will allow you to easily surpass your peers and competition in anything that you choose to do, way beyond the classroom. The ability to obtain knowledge and quickly adapt is necessary in our fast changing world, and having the tools necessary to do so will make you stand out in whatever field or discipline you choose to pursue. I urge you, try your hardest to follow, and learn from, the tips I have provided, and put some time into practicing not only your given subject, but the skill of studying itself. Also, feel free to look into more helpful ways to learn, I still have so much I am not aware of, and I do not wish to limit you to the information I have provided on this site. Good luck, and don't give up! Working on improving yourself will pay dividends in your future.
Quick Tips: English Section
(Disclaimer: My standardized testing experience only includes the digital SAT, so all of my tips will be concerning that test specifically. However, most other standardized tests are quite similar, so many of these ideas in the following sections will be applicable, just not perfectly aligned with the curriculums of other standardized tests)
For the majority of people, the English section is most difficult to gain points on because, unlike math, you cannot simply just "learn more English" to improve your score. Well, that's what most people think at least. In reality, you can DRAMATICALLY improve your English score through proper preparation, and learning "more English" actually is a valid strategy for some parts of the test (specifically grammar questions)! Though there is no way to completely avoid dedicated practice if you want to achieve an amazing score on the SAT, there are certainly mindset shifts and techniques which you can apply to quickly improve your scores. I will now share with you several tips which I personally discovered in my studying of the SAT English section, which enabled me to get a perfect reading score on both of my attempts of the test.
Every Reading Question Has a CORRECT Answer
It may seem obvious that every question has a correct answer, but this understanding was THE FACTOR which enabled me to get perfect reading scores every time I took the SAT. For some reason, there is a misconception amongst students that many reading questions are not completely objective, but rather are up to interpretation of the reader. However, as I went through practice exams, it became clear to me that, in fact, EVERY SINGLE QUESTION has an answer which can be found directly in the reading. Difficulty in these questions usually arise from the complexity of the reading passages themselves, most notably the scientific passages which use big words and can thus be very hard to understand. However, the understanding that every question has one CORRECT answer can be used to completely game any reading section, even if you do not completely comprehend what it is saying. Almost every question will have one correct answer, an almost correct answer, a stupid answer, and a trap answer. Students many times see the similarity of answers and assume that interpretation is involved, but in reality, critical reading answers are ALWAYS found directly in the passage. Although it is sometimes easier said than done, the following strategy will allow you to NEVER miss a critical reading question ever again!
Whenever you answer a question, do not simply skim the paragraph, think about it in your head, and then select the answer. This seems like the logical approach, to focus in on your comprehension and then apply it to answer questions about what you just read. However, the REAL way to answer these questions is to find EXACTLY where the reading specifically says the answer you are choosing: if you cannot identify where the reading says the answer explicitly, it cannot be correct. Sometimes, due to complex language, discerning between two answers can be quite difficult. If you find two answers which you think MIGHT be in the passage, apply the following strategy: rather than determining which is correct, find which is INCORRECT by investigating the answer choices. Trap answer choices, nearly every time, are formulated by making a completely logical assumption about the paragraph which is not ACTUALLY said in its contents. Students will read the paragraph, put it into their own words, and make inferences about it, which, in a usual academic setting, is the right approach! However, the SAT doesn't really test "thinking", per se, but ability to objectively understand what a reading is saying. Every time you go through an SAT reading question, find exactly where the correct answer is said in the reading, and, if another seems correct, think if the reading actually states it, or if it is rather a generalization or assumption which simply makes sense, but isn't necessarily true. With these two tips and dedicated practice, I promise the often feared Critical Reading questions will become a breeze!
How to Approach Vocabulary Questions
To be completely honest, questions which ask you to define words are the hardest to prepare for because they are mainly testing how much you have read in your entire lifetime, which is a little bit stupid in my opinion. But fear not! Several people have compiled sat vocabulary lists for your study; you don't need to take time to verbatim memorize these definitions, simply being able to easily understand them in your own words is enough. What if the answer choices are all words which you have never seen in your life? This can often happen, and the best way to "guess" the answer is through applying familiar prefixes and suffixes to the words which imply aspects of their meaning. The SAT is somewhat nice because they usually provide a few words which are common knowledge and only two real choices which you need to discern from, usually containing some hint of their meaning. If you learn common prefixes and suffixes and what they imply, you can almost immediately expand your vocabulary and properly guess even the most difficult of vocabulary questions!
Writing Mechanics Questions
Once again, reading a lot of books trivializes these questions because you will likely be familiar with the English language. Unfortunately, if you weren't a big reader, many of these questions will be inaccessible because most schools frankly do not care if you actually know the more refined details of the English language. However, that doesn't mean that answering these questions is impossible! Actually, they are quite easy, and I'll tell you the few MOST important topics which you need to lookup before the test to confidently answer any mechanics question:
Know what an independent/dependent clause is, and how to properly punctuate them
Know the differences (and similarities) between the comma, colon, and semicolon. Personally, I was never taught this in school, but the SAT loves testing about it for some reason so make sure you are careful about this one
What can be capitalized
Conjunctions
"Misplaced Modifiers" is another big topic which I never really was taught in school, but learning this common mistake will guarantee one or two correct questions in the writing mechanics section
Rhetorical Synthesis Questions
Despite the fancy title, these questions are legitimately just free points, and I don't really understand why they are included in the SAT. If you are not familiar, these types of questions usually occur at the end of the English section, and will give you a list asking the "most effective" way to organize the information. All you need to do is see which of the answer choices has the most information which is EXPLICITLY included in the bullet points they provide you. Don't waste time trying to understand the data and synthesize it in your head, just immediately match up the answer choices and these questions can be trivialized.
Quick Tips: Math Section
The mathematics section is much easier to prepare for, and EVERY SINGLE testable topic can be found right here: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/k12-educators/about/alignment/math
That being said, it DOES require preparation, and you need to be sure you answer as many practice questions as you can, and learn a few key topics to ensure you know enough math to answer any question they give you:
Quadratics! Learn what a discriminant is, the sum of the roots of a quadratic, vertex form, the product of roots of a quadratic, and the quadratic formula.
Trig Identities: sin cos and tan and how to find them in a right triangle, "special" right triangle properties (30 60 90 and 45 45 90); also know that cos is 90-sin and vice versa!
Learn what the unit circle is and how to find the tan at different points; apparently they test this now lol
What is a standard deviation and how to find it given a plot of points
Unit conversions with squared units (I used to always miss these, learn how to do dimensional analysis and be able to explain how to convert normal units to squared units)
How to solve systems of equations and convert word problems to systems of equations
Basic "parent functions" (y=x, y=x^2, y=1/x, etc.)
How to transform graphs (scale them, shift them, etc.)
Algebraic exponent properties, such as how to multiply exponents and raise exponents to a power
Similar Triangles
These are , in my humble opinion, probably the highest yield math topics which you can study. Everyone is different, though, and I recommend you do as many problems as possible to figure out what it is you do not understand!
The SAT can be scary, but I promise mastering it is certainly possible! In the resources section, I will provide several useful sources of SAT questions and wisdom which you can use to study when the time is right. Best of luck, I know you can do it!
