If you are a student
preparing for the SAT (
Scholastic
Aptitude
Test)
college entrance exam and need math, reading, writing and essay help, then
The Official SAT Study Guide is the single most valuable resource for SAT preparation. It is published by College Board, the organization that administers the national exam in the United States.
If you’re new to the SAT exam and need to know on what subjects you will be tested, the total number of questions for each subject, and how much time is allotted per section – go to Chapter 1. If you need some tips on how to answer those tough Sentence Completion questions – read Chapter 5. If you are wondering what a top scoring essay looks like, review the samples of good essays, bad essays, and essays in between in Chapter 9. Need to brush up on Algebra and Geometry problems? Chapter 16 will give you plenty of practice.
The
Official SAT Study Guide offers eight complete practice tests with answer keys. According to College Board, these are REAL tests from ACTUAL past national exams – not knock-off tests like those provided in the Princeton Review, the McGraw-Hill, or Kaplan study guides (see my Shvoong review on Kaplan's
SAT Prep Strategies for Super Busy Students). Those other study guides also provide fewer tests, which gives an aspiring college student less opportunity to practice the skills needed to pass this important exam. Unfortunately this 889-page paperback does not provide detailed answer explanations about how to work each and every problem or question. Which means students may have the right answer in front of them, but will still need to figure out how to get it. An explanation on the SAT Scoring Process, including a handy scoring worksheet, concludes each test. The only issue I have with this guidebook is that it gives you a huge range for your practice test score, like “540 – 620”. It would be more helpful to know the exact number, especially if your target college requires a minimum SAT score to get in.
A musician would never sign up for an audition without practicing first. An athlete wouldn’t enter a marathon without training before the race. Likewise, a high school student should never plan to take the SAT college entrance exam without
preparing beforehand. The first step is to get
The Official SAT Study Guide by College Board, which I highly recommend. The next step is actually spend time working through the practice tests. I would also suggest a visit to www.collegeboard.com , a valuable resource for students planning to go to a college or university in America, Canada or Puerto Rico (see Relevant Links below).
About the Organization The College Board is a national nonprofit membership association whose mission is to prepare, inspire, and connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 4,300 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. Click on the links below for more information.