Finding the best sat prep materials

Finding the Best SAT Prep Materials

by Dr. Steve Warner This PDF will be focused on SAT math since that is my area of expertise. But much of what I say here can be applied to SAT verbal materials, and in fact educational products in general.

With so many products available for standardized test preparation it can be quite an arduous task to find the best SAT math prep book.

Let me begin with a “must have” for anyone taking the SAT - the College Board’s “Official SAT Study Guide.” Make sure you get the 2nd edition since this is the only version that has three previously administered SATs. In fact, this book can be your primary source for SAT preparation if it is used correctly. For example, when I began tutoring for the SAT many, many years ago I used only College Board materials. I would have my students save the first 3 or 4 tests to use as full timed practice tests, taking approximately 1 full test per month.

I would then have them cut and paste (physically with scissors and tape) all the

problems from the other sections and reorganize them by topic and difficulty level. This would allow them to focus on the SAT practice questions (math) that would help them to raise their score in the shortest amount of time possible.

Now there are some fundamental problems with the College Board’s book. These include the following:

The advice that the College Board gives is not very good. For example the College Board claims that students should prepare for the SAT by doing well in school.

They say that there are no shortcuts and coaching specifically for the SAT will not necessarily improve scores. This is false. I strongly recommend that you use the College Board book ONLY for the SAT practice questions in math that come from the tests.

There are no solutions to problems given in the book itself, and the College Board’s solutions that are available are too “on the nose” for my taste. They do not implement strategies that are specific to the SAT. Therefore their solutions are more time consuming, more difficult to apply, and often lead to “careless” errors.

The bottom line is that you do want to supplement the Official Study Guide with at least one more book. Here are some pointers to help you find the best SAT math prep book: If you do want to use only College Board questions, I recommend getting a solution guide for the Official Study Guide written by an independent author.

You should really have a separate SAT math book that emphasizes SAT strategies and gives lots of practice problems.

Look carefully at the credentials of the author of any book before making a purchase. Ideally you want a book written by an educator who has many years of SAT tutoring experience so that the methods in the book have been thoroughly tested.

Do not try to save money by getting a single book that includes math and verbal (unless each part is written by separate authors, each an expert in his or her own field). At best you will be getting a book that is strong in one of these subjects, but more likely it will be average in both subjects.

Choosing the right materials is an important decision. So please take a little extra time to do your research before making any purchases. This way you will save precious time during your SAT preparation. For more information please visit: http://satprepget800.com