By: Ben Sexton
During the past week, we’ve seen a rush of inquiries from students repositioning for the May SAT. Despite all of the angst after the March SAT, many of our students did achieve good results. There were some hugely positive surprises! All in all, the March results were not different from company results we’ve had from previous tests. However, most students did still say that they were doing better on the College Board practice exams than they did on the March exam itself. The call for more and better practice material was widespread.
Good news: College Board has released two additional practice tests – Tests 5 and 6. These arrive at just the right time for students seeking to prepare for the May SAT. Not only are they new, but they also appear to be relatively difficult, meaning that their difficulty aligns better with the difficulty of the March exam. These two new tests will be an essential resource for students preparing for May and beyond, especially in Math, as they contain new question types that did not previously appear on any available practice material.
Many families with juniors are now debating whether they should aim their SAT preparation at May, June, or August. May makes sense if a student is already pretty close to their score goal, or they only have one section that they need to study. But a primary consideration for this decision should be student availability. The May test falls right before AP exams. The June test may fall right before finals week. And August works great if the student is around during the summer, but not as well if a student is mostly away for the summer.
Finally, a natural instinct for a student who did not do as hoped is to wonder if they should jump ship on SAT and switch to ACT. This is a case-by-case decision, of course, but overall I would say that most students who prepared only for SAT should continue with SAT, as enough of our students did well that we know that the potential for improvement is there. Starting completely over with ACT would take a lot of effort and additional preparation. There is time, but it’s relatively late to begin that process.
We can help you get on track to stay on track with your continued SAT preparation. With the additional practice exams, we feel well-positioned to help students succeed on this still new exam!
