WHAT 15 YEARS OF TEACHING THE SAT HAVE TAUGHT ME

I first started teaching the SAT in the year 2000. Bill Clinton was president, your cell phone wasn’t “smart”, and Bryan Cranston was starring in Malcolm in the Middle. Even the test has changed since then, and in 2016 it will change again. But some things never change.

Here are three things test-takers can always do to enhance their scores:

1. Treat The Test Like a Physical Marathon

The SAT is 3 hours and 45 minutes long in its current incarnation. That is longer than Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. It is a challenge for anyone to stay acutely focused for that length of time. Test-takers should build stamina by training as they would for an athletic event.

Starting a week beforehand, get a minimum of 7 to 8 hours sleep each night. The morning of the test, eat a breakfast that will stay with you. Include protein and some whole grains for slow but steady release of energy. Good ideas: a cheese omelet with wheat toast, cream cheese and salmon on a wheat bagel, or—for the gluten free—Irish oatmeal and yogurt. Bad idea: a sugar fix that will leave you crashing.

Pack a power bar or half a peanut butter sandwich for one of the three short test breaks. During each break, stretch your arms and legs and breathe deeply. Do some neck rolls to relieve built-up tension.

2. Give it a Second Shot

According to the College Board. 55 percent of juniors taking the test improved their scores as seniors. Since the vast majority of schools now superscore (i.e. take your highest scores from each section across all test sittings) you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by testing twice, maybe even three times. (After the third time, I typically see diminishing returns).

Start early. Taking the January SAT sitting in junior year, or March at the latest, will give you an early benchmark you can work to improve.

3. Do Timed Practice with Test Maker Materials

Obviously, practice improves performance for the first and subsequent go-rounds. But the offerings of test prep services that purport to replicate SAT materials are, in my opinion, not as effective as materials from the actual test maker. Use the College Board’s Official SAT Study Guide (available at all bookstores and online) and sign up for the SAT Question and Answer Service (available for January, May, and October tests) that will enable you to review the very test you took, see what you got wrong, and figure out why.

In addition, practice should always be timed so you can acclimate to the pace of the test. My recommendation: for 30 days leading up to the test, do one timed section each night. Sometime in the two weeks before test day, take a full timed practice test.

A Last Word

In addition to these three tips, let me leave you with these last thoughts: No matter how many time the SAT changes, ultimately it tests only one thing: how well you take the SAT. Thinking outside the box is not rewarded in this scenario. Stay inside the box. Break the test down; understand how questions are crafted and how to eliminate “trick” answers. And remember that you are more than a “score report.” Don’t personalize the test—after all, it doesn’t personalize you!