Test days tend to come out of nowhere… all of a sudden the SAT is only a few weeks away. Therefore, it is crucial to be engaging in deliberate practice.
Deliberate practice entails focus, application and analysis. It is not enough to just be doing a test a week or going through the routine of answering the 6 questions online. You need to deliberately evaluate your learning. A baseball player trying to perfect his game might spend 2 hours in the batting cage perfecting his swing. After every hit he evaluates his stance, his hand positions, his swing, etc. in order to master his technique. At this point, studying for the SAT should utilize the same training.
Don’t just take a test! Pinpoint your weaknesses. If you are answering the majority of the dailyprep grammar questions wrong, you should go through the workbook or CollegeBoard book and do extra grammar sections! Reread sections in your grammar book, English in English. That is deliberate practice, and that is what ensures great SAT scores. Understanding what you’re doing wrong allows you to fix the problem!
You all have “keys” for every section of the test. These keys present important strategies, rules, techniques, and methods to answering the questions. You should keep these keys out while engaging in deliberate practice. When completing tests, practice questions and mock essays, apply yourself fully: take tests in a quiet room, focus on each question and utilize the WilsonDailyPrep strategies. Again, should you miss a question, analyze what you did wrong.
You should be working on SAT problems every single day. Remember, cramming the night before a tutoring session does not improve scores; studying and practicing a little bit each day does. You are emailed six SAT questions a day through the dailyprep; you have workbooks and test books from tutoring sessions, and by now, all students should have the Official SAT Study Guide by CollegeBoard. All of these materials provide the practice you need to improve your scores, confidence and performance. The dailyprep can guide you as to which areas you should concentrate on. By looking at your score sheets and track records online, you can see if vocabulary, reading, math or grammar questions are your weakest areas.
Also remember that the SAT is a standardized test. Being standardized, the questions and answers must fit into established patterns. There will always be one correct answer and 4 or 5 wrong answers. Your goal – break the code, unlock the pattern! How do you do this? Through deliberate practice.
Remember, greatness is not about doing the best; it’s about doing your best. And greatness can only be achieved if you challenge yourself. Push yourself to more than just the assigned homework. Practice, practice and practice until you’ve internalized the strategies for each section of the test. And then, practice some more.