Don’t face the SAT unprepared.
The SAT is a tough test. Success requires quick analysis and mental stamina. However, because it’s standardized, it’s predictable, and because it’s predictable, it’s beatable with the right kind of dedicated practice and error analysis. Lonestar Education seeks to guide students towards the right kind of practice and analysis to help them improve their SAT scores and succeed on the SAT.
We are offering live-online, synchronous 6-week SAT courses in conjunction with the UTSA Department of Professional and Continuing Education, UTSA PaCE. Adam Johnson will teach the workshops. Sign up at the UTSA PaCE website. Contact us if you have any questions.
What it takes to improve your score
These classes are intense. There’s a lot to learn in the limited time we have together. We’re going to be learning new techniques for the reading, math, and writing sections and practicing them in class. We’ll devote about half the class time to talking about techniques and reviewing content and the other half to practice and going over sections. This class will point you in the right direction, but the big score improvements will come from the practice and analysis that you do at home. Believe in yourself. With the right effort, you can learn the skills you need to beat the test!
- Learn the grammar, logic, and math content. The SAT tests reading, logic, and math. Before you can improve your score, you must become very comfortable with the content. We’ll review some of the content in class but will spend more time on application and practice. You are responsible for reviewing content you’re having trouble with on your own. Once you master the content, you can focus your energy on problem solving.
- Change the way you take the test. In order to improve on the SAT, you must become a more active test-taker. In class, you’ll learn techniques for analyzing the questions before going to the answer choices and techniques for process of elimination. These techniques may slow you down at first and be difficult to master but you must persevere. Change is hard, but if you learn to apply the techniques taught in class, your score will go up.
- Do the assignments using the techniques. The only way to internalize these techniques is consistent and focused practice. Keep on practicing each question type until you get it down. Think of yourself as an athlete training for the Olympics or as a professional musician trying to master a new instrument. Set aside at least an hour a day for practicing SAT questions and analyzing the results.
- Analyze what you missed and why. Spend as much time going over the problems as you spent doing them. Try to figure out exactly why you chose each wrong answer and how you can approach the problem differently to get it right. Every missed question is a lesson. If you learn those lessons from your assignments, you’ll be able to apply them on the day of the test. Look for patterns in your wrong answers in order to identify your strengths and weakness. Once you’ve found a weakness, keep working on it until it becomes one of your strengths.
- Master pacing and stamina. After you’ve mastered the techniques, focus on pacing and stamina. The SAT is a long, grueling test and the time pressure is brutal. In order to score well you have to balance accuracy and pacing and stay focused for all 4 sections. Don’t worry too much about timing until you’ve mastered the techniques, but in the final weeks before your test, practice for extended periods moving at realistic testing pace (roughly Reading: 1min15s/q, Writing: 45sec/q, Math: 1m20s/q).