Is it a good idea to practice the SAT Test with different books from different companies?

Hi Anacletus

That's a very good question. Here are a few recommendations:

1. Be thorough with your fundamentals. Review your Algebra and Geometry formulas. You can do this easily via your core curriculum text books. DO THE COLLEGE BOARD TESTS

Step 1: Do the College Board Test papers from the website. THIS IS A MUST DO!

Step 2: Maintain an error log - Question number, Test number -chapter/section/theme -strategy that went wrong

For instance: Q3, Test 8- wrong answer - Reading Comprehension - Literature passage - Main Idea concept.

Step 3: Find which strategies you are losing on the most. This will help you know where you should be careful and where you just have to refine your skills.

Step 4: Choose any test prep book and start learning strategies.

Step 5: Do all the tests from the college board again. Supplement it with the test prep books.

Optional: Have a study group where each student buys one book. Like you can buy Barrons, your friend can buy Kaplan and another can buy Princeton. Then, you can rotate it among yourselves.

Hope this helps! Good luck on the exam. Let me know if you have any questions.

Direct answer:

Using different books is only a good idea if you think you will run out of practice materials - the best materials are the authentic tests made by the College Board. The others, in spite of good efforts, are suboptimal because the questions and answers could either fail to be as objective as they should or they could fail to duplicate the tendencies of the test.

These authentic materials are on the College Board’s website, at Khan Academy, and in the book written by the College Board. Additionally, the College Board website has two PSATs that are equivalent in content to SATs and are slightly shorter.

Other advice is based on my experience of developing techniques that have helped many get top and perfect scores.

1. Work on test time management to develop a comfortable pace to finish the test on time.
2. Don’t just practice. Evaluate how you are doing and learn from your mistakes.

In self-evaluation, learn the following:

1. Know major content of Math and English,
2. Spot bogus answers, especially identify categories in reading.
3. Pick efficiently to spend the right amount of effort, not too much but also not too little.
4. identify the tendencies of question types to understand criteria on how to respond.

I think one company should be okay as they often cover the SAT in a similar fashion. The College Board offers free practice via Khan Academy which may be worth looking into.