How to Practice Effectively for the SAT Math Section
If you take the SAT right now or if you take it after spending some time practicing effectively, there’s a good chance that you will get a much higher score after practicing. But what is the best way to practice so that you can really see results? Here are five essentials to what will let you go into the test confident in your math skills and ready to score high on the SAT Math Section.
1. Understand and Memorize the Tested Math Content, Formulas, and Facts
There are a wide range of math concepts that are tested on the SAT. Having them chambered in your memory will allow you to use them to solve problems and save time. The trouble is, how do you know which formulas and facts you need to know and how well you already understand them?
We've prepared SAT Math Notes for specific content and skills you will need and a list of formulas not given on the test that you can practice. Going over that information is an excellent first step to see what you already know and what you need to learn better. The more you understand that content as well as memorize it, the quicker you'll be able to make connections and answer questions correctly on the SAT.
2. Take Timed Practice Tests
The CollegeBoard has released eight free practice tests for the SAT. These are a great place to check what your current estimated score is. By taking these tests in a timed scenario, you can see if you’re able to get through the tests in time and check what types of mistakes you tend to make.
Many test preparation companies make SAT practice tests of their own, but often the quality and content of those tests are not an accurate reflection of the actual SAT Math Section, so definitely go with the CollegeBoard tests to start.
3. Analyze Your Mistakes
If there's anything you can do to improve your score the most for practice it's to analyze your mistakes and take the time and effort to learn how not to make them next time! This step is where your main growth comes from.
The four most common types of mistakes people make on the SAT Math Section can be placed into these categories:
By keeping track of what type of mistake each problem you get incorrect is, you can get a better sense of what you need to do to decrease the frequency of making those mistakes.
Most students simply find where they went wrong and check how to solve the problem without any other follow up. That method won't make much of an impact and it's likely they'll make the same type of mistake again, which is why they don't improve much from test to test. It's really a shame because with just a little more effort they could boost their scores significantly.
To better learn your mistake patterns for each problem you got incorrect, you should write down in some type of designated SAT notebook the following information:
4. Retry Missed Problems Before Checking Explanations
It’s easy to just read about how to solve a problem and see why it makes sense. But going through a problem you missed yourself first is a much better way to get the process to stick in your mind. Struggling with the math is a better way for your brain to understand the concepts in the long run than to just read about how to solve a problem. If you can see what you did wrong, great! If you just can’t seem to find what it is, then check the explanation. By sticking to this approach, your problem solving skills and comprehension will both improve compared to just reading an explanation first.
5. Space Your Practice Out Over Time
Cramming is not going to help much on the SAT, and could even be counterproductive. In fact, we suggest doing little to no studying in the day or two leading up to the exam. You will want to be completely familiar with all your facts, formulas, and strategies so that you can focus on putting together the pieces for the more difficult problems and really get a great score. You don't want to be trying to recall simple facts and second guessing yourself by a piece of information that you should have known. By practicing consistently and in small focused spurts (20 to 40 minutes) over a few months, you will have placed that key information into your long term memory and it will be no effort at all to recall and use it.
Summary: By spending time practicing effectively, you are sure to get a higher score on the test.
Going in to the test with a good expectation of what you’ll be asked to solve will also give you more confidence from the start. Even if you still run into some unexpected material on the test, just remember to stay calm and use good problem solving strategies to give yourself the best chance of getting as many problems correct as possible.
1. Understand and Memorize the Tested Math Content, Formulas, and Facts
There are a wide range of math concepts that are tested on the SAT. Having them chambered in your memory will allow you to use them to solve problems and save time. The trouble is, how do you know which formulas and facts you need to know and how well you already understand them?
We've prepared SAT Math Notes for specific content and skills you will need and a list of formulas not given on the test that you can practice. Going over that information is an excellent first step to see what you already know and what you need to learn better. The more you understand that content as well as memorize it, the quicker you'll be able to make connections and answer questions correctly on the SAT.
2. Take Timed Practice Tests
The CollegeBoard has released eight free practice tests for the SAT. These are a great place to check what your current estimated score is. By taking these tests in a timed scenario, you can see if you’re able to get through the tests in time and check what types of mistakes you tend to make.
Many test preparation companies make SAT practice tests of their own, but often the quality and content of those tests are not an accurate reflection of the actual SAT Math Section, so definitely go with the CollegeBoard tests to start.
3. Analyze Your Mistakes
If there's anything you can do to improve your score the most for practice it's to analyze your mistakes and take the time and effort to learn how not to make them next time! This step is where your main growth comes from.
The four most common types of mistakes people make on the SAT Math Section can be placed into these categories:
- Lack of conceptual understanding
- Careless mistake
- Not comprehending the question
- Lack of time or time pressure
By keeping track of what type of mistake each problem you get incorrect is, you can get a better sense of what you need to do to decrease the frequency of making those mistakes.
- For lack of conceptual understanding, check our SAT Math Notes and Formulas Practice Sheet and fully learn the content.
- For careless mistakes, note what you did wrong. Did you mix up plus and minus signs? Did you not check the scale of a graph’s axes? Did your answer not match the question specifically being asked? Study your tendencies and make sure to avoid them in the future. Often it can help to underline what the problem is asking for and make sure your answer matches when you enter it. Also, take a few moments to make sure your answer makes sense in context before moving on to the next question.
- For not comprehending the question, draw a picture, label parts of the problem, or reread the problem to help you get a better idea of the situation. Sometimes it just helps to see how to solve a certain type of problem first, so giving yourself exposure to many problem types will give you the experience in problem solving to let you know how to proceed efficiently.
- For lack of time or time pressure:
- Skip difficult or long problems by circling them and then come back to them later. In the time you could finish one long or difficult problem, you might have been able to solve three easier ones and gotten more points in total. Ultimately, you just want to get as many problems correct as you can. If time allows, you can return to the problems you originally skipped. After getting through the quick and easier problems, work through questions that are doable, but time consuming. Then go on to the hard problems. Read more test-taking strategies here.
- Make sure to practice with your calculator (for the Calculator Section) so that you know what types of problems the calculator can help you solve faster or more accurately than by hand, and which are more efficient without a calculator.
- You should also become familiar with where all the buttons are on yor calculator that you might need for the test so that you don't waste time trying to find them during the actual SAT.
- We've said it before: memorize the formulas! This includes the given formulas as well as formulas not given on the test that will be useful to know.
Most students simply find where they went wrong and check how to solve the problem without any other follow up. That method won't make much of an impact and it's likely they'll make the same type of mistake again, which is why they don't improve much from test to test. It's really a shame because with just a little more effort they could boost their scores significantly.
To better learn your mistake patterns for each problem you got incorrect, you should write down in some type of designated SAT notebook the following information:
- The problem number
- The type of mistake
- What you learned about the concept involved or what you did wrong in the solution process
4. Retry Missed Problems Before Checking Explanations
It’s easy to just read about how to solve a problem and see why it makes sense. But going through a problem you missed yourself first is a much better way to get the process to stick in your mind. Struggling with the math is a better way for your brain to understand the concepts in the long run than to just read about how to solve a problem. If you can see what you did wrong, great! If you just can’t seem to find what it is, then check the explanation. By sticking to this approach, your problem solving skills and comprehension will both improve compared to just reading an explanation first.
5. Space Your Practice Out Over Time
Cramming is not going to help much on the SAT, and could even be counterproductive. In fact, we suggest doing little to no studying in the day or two leading up to the exam. You will want to be completely familiar with all your facts, formulas, and strategies so that you can focus on putting together the pieces for the more difficult problems and really get a great score. You don't want to be trying to recall simple facts and second guessing yourself by a piece of information that you should have known. By practicing consistently and in small focused spurts (20 to 40 minutes) over a few months, you will have placed that key information into your long term memory and it will be no effort at all to recall and use it.
Summary: By spending time practicing effectively, you are sure to get a higher score on the test.
Going in to the test with a good expectation of what you’ll be asked to solve will also give you more confidence from the start. Even if you still run into some unexpected material on the test, just remember to stay calm and use good problem solving strategies to give yourself the best chance of getting as many problems correct as possible.