Tips to Improve Your SAT Score

Did you receive your SAT score? Are you satisfied with the score? If you are not satisfied, taking another date for the SAT is an option. Some students may choose to take SAT twice even if they have done satisfactory in the earlier test.

Whether you are satisfied or not, there is always a space for improving your SAT score unless it is a full. Students may fail to score good in their first SAT due to lack of clear understanding of the test, its format and method of preparation.

It is good if you are planning to take the SAT again. Here we have mentioned a few tips for you to perform better in the test this time:

Ten Ways to Improve Your SAT Score

1. Start the Preparation for Second SAT Test Immediately after the First One

Well, everyone may not need to think so. You might have an SAT score that you are happy with. But, if you feel that you have not done as per your expectation in the SAT, then it is better not to delay the preparation for the second one. After finishing the test, take notes on what confused you, what you found difficult, and concepts or sections that were harder than you anticipated. These notes are going to be helpful in understanding where you need to improve. Things will become clearer when you receive your report. If the score isn’t very good, as you anticipated, look for the sections where you couldn’t perform well and start your preparation.  

But don’t worry, if your test is over and you didn’t write anything down afterwards, it isn’t too late. Set aside some time to think carefully about the test that you took, and see if you can recall any of the specifics from above. Do you remember a question that was so hard you didn’t even know where to start? Do you remember which sections of the test felt easy and which felt difficult? Were there sections that seemed completely foreign? It’s never too late to think back to the test and recall as much as you can.

You also need to look back and analyze what you did right in your preparation and what you did wrong.

2. Analyze your Score Report

Your score report is something more than a copy to be sent to colleges. Your test score is the reflector of your skills in the field of Evidence Based Reading and Writing and Math. Your test score reflects how you performed in the hours of the test as well as how you prepared for the test.

Pay attention to the sub scores in the report. These include a score ranging from 1-15 for each of the following categories:

• Command of Evidence
• Words in Context
• Expression of Ideas
• Standard English Conventions
• Heart of Algebra
• Problem Solving and Data Analysis
• Passport to Advanced Math

You may have performed very well in a section, whereas in some other sections you may have struggled. You need to be more specific on what particular skill of yours is weak. You need to move from “I want to improve my SAT score” to “I want to improve my English Scores” to “I want to improve my skill of expressing ideas”. The more specific you get, the better understanding of your weaknesses you achieve. Knowing your weaknesses and working to improve them always prepares you better for your future activities.

3. Set a Target Score

You need to set a target score if you want to know how much is left for you. Setting a target just based on guesses is not going to work. You need to consider a few factors before making a guess.

First, you’ll need to consider where you’re starting from. The good news is, the lower your score, the more room there is for improvement. However, improvement won’t come without hard work. Setting unrealistic targets can only bring disappointment. You need to set the target maximizing your potential. 

The other factor to consider when setting a target score is the list of schools to which you intend to apply. Have a close look at the score ranges of the colleges to which you are applying.

4. Figure Out Which Mistakes You Make Most

Your score report might give you a picture on your weaknesses but the picture is not going to be clear. You won’t have clear idea about what mistakes you really make. To know about your mistakes, you may take a practice test or two and see. Noting what are the most common mistakes you make can help you a lot in improving. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that you may have obtained lower score due to test anxiety. This factor can also be checked by the practice tests. Compare your test scores with practice test scores. If the scores in practice test are much higher than the scores in the test, you might have suffered test anxiety. There might be many ways to avoid test anxiety, but the best one is to form a habit and make yourself believe that tests are normal. 

If your score is similar on the practice test, you will need to evaluate your mistakes. Generally, these fall into three categories:

• Careless mistakes are the ones that seem obvious as soon as you review the question. These types of errors generally occur as the result of rushing through your work or experiencing test anxiety.

• Pacing errors occur when you find that you are unable to answer all of the questions in the time allowed, or when your mistakes are clustered at the end of each timed section.

• Content knowledge gaps occur when you are lacking some of the basic skills or knowledge to understand the questions at hand. These types of mistakes are generally most obvious on your score report because they are clustered according to subject or sub score.

Once you know which mistakes you make most, you be able to start tackling the underlying causes behind them.

5. Join a Study Group

Study groups can be more than a gathering if taken seriously. Forming an interactive study group can help you understand about the test in other’s perspective as well and set strategies for performing the best in the test. In groups, you can compare among each other to know about weaknesses and strengths in the test. You can check with your high school, local library, or even a local community college to find a study group.

If you cannot find an existing study group, you can form one on your own. Talk with other friends who are attending the SAT. It is possible that they also have the interest in study group. Be optimistic in setting up a cooperative environment.

6. Take Advantage of Free Study Materials

There are tons of free study materials available to help with SAT studying and preparation, but knowing where to look for high-quality materials is important. Many study guides have been self-published online by students with not much more experience than you. Instead, you should look for professionally produced materials that are based on a wealth of industry insights.

No matter how much content knowledge you study, you need to know the format of the test and how it assesses this knowledge in order to be successful. Find study materials that include SAT-specific strategies and tips.

The best place to start is Khan Academy. This is the official College Board SAT practice partner, and the website contains a wealth of materials from practice tests to strategy sharing. By creating a free online account, you can receive personalized, interactive practice that is tailored to your specific SAT needs. 

7. Get Help

You might believe that an SAT tutor is a privilege that not everyone can afford. You need to be informed that you can find many tutors that may be affordable for you. Sometimes, an SAT tutor can simply be a mentor, teacher, or guidance counselor who has helped to coach other students through the SAT in the past. Ask around at your school or public library to find if there is anyone with this sort of experience and expertise who might be willing to help you.

You can also find paid tutoring services available locally, or online. 

8. Learn the Material That’s Easiest to Memorize

The SAT consists, in large part, of abstract skills that can be quite difficult to study in isolation. That being said, there is a pool of content knowledge necessary for success on the test, and if content knowledge was a weakness on your practice or diagnostic SAT, you should be certain that you’re reinforcing it before you take the test again. If you need advice on where to start, we recommend learning the material that lends itself best to rote memorization.

In particular, you should be familiar with the math skills and conventions of standard English that are required on the test.

The math skills will include the following content areas:

• Heart of Algebra: Linear equations, systems of linear equations, and the relationships between them. Linear equations always involve two variables that change according to a consistent pattern. These questions often involve distance, speed, mass, volume, or even everyday budgeting or financial issues.

• Problem Solving and Data Analysis: Application of ratios, percentages, and proportional reasoning. For these questions, you’ll need to demonstrate your ability to create and use a model and to understand the distinction between the model predictions and data collected. This includes skills like understanding the difference between simple and compound interest.

• Passport to Advanced Math: Complex equations and functions typically needed in STEM-based careers. This could include adding, subtracting, and multiplying polynomials, dividing a polynomial by a linear expression, or manipulating expressions involving exponentials, integer and rational powers, radicals, or fractions with a variable in the denominator.

Standard English Conventions on the SAT include:

• Sentence structure: Modifier placement, parallel construction, subordination and coordination, sentence boundaries, verb tense, and pronoun agreement.

• Conventions of usage: Pronoun clarity, possessive determiners, agreement, frequently confused words, logical comparison, conventional expression.

• Conventions of Punctuation: End-of-sentence punctuation, within-sentence punctuation, possessive nouns and pronouns, items in a series, nonrestrictive and parenthetical elements, unnecessary punctuation.

9. Employ the Process of Elimination

No matter how difficult any question on the SAT is, you will have a 50% chance of getting it right if you can eliminate two of the answer choices. It’s likely that all studying aside, you will probably encounter during the course of the test at least one or two questions on which you will need to make your best guess. Capitalize on these opportunities to earn an extra point or two by making the smartest guess possible.

If you really have no clue about how to solve a problem, try working backwards from the answers. See if there are any answer choices that you can immediately rule out. Even if there are not, try to plug some answers into the question to see if any can be eliminated that way.

Think of it this way: A completely random guess of the four answer choices has a 25% chance of being correct. If you can eliminate one more answer choice, you suddenly have a 33.3% chance of guessing correctly. And if you can eliminate yet another choice, you’ll be up to a 50% chance of guessing correctly. Those aren’t bad odds for not knowing the answer to a question.

10. Practice, Practice, and Practice

Understanding everything including your weaknesses and strengths is not going to work alone. What you need to do is bringing your understanding into practice. Practice tests are the most fool-proof preparation there is for a test that measures almost as much test-taking strategy as it does content and skill.

Start by taking untimed practice tests, one section at a time. Identify your weaknesses and work to improve in those areas. Gradually, as your skills grow, begin to take each section of the test with time constraints. And finally, take a few complete practice tests under testing conditions as similar to test day as possible.

While the prospect of improving your SAT score can definitely seem daunting at first, it’s reassuring to know that most students take the SAT more than once, and the majority of them experience the most significant score improvements between their first and second SAT. In fact, the lower your score to start with, the greater the chance that you’ll achieve significant improvements on your next test.