Does repetition work for SAT math prep similar to math in school/finding good math practice books?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

As of late my main test prep has simply been trying to get my hands on as many solved sat problems to study the step by step solution and drill the problem periodically. However, can this strategy truly work in terms of recognizing problems and the solution? I get nervous since the sat is said to be about twisting the subjects in school into more puzzling formats, but is it okay to simply drill sat problems?
Is it okay to just continue practicing with 1-3 practice tests?

My fear is that if I don’t focus on studying on a deeper level, I will encounter SAT problems I have no idea how to solve despite my drills because they aren’t immediately similar to the problems I have drilled.
However, I’m not sure how diverse the SAT actually makes the problems, if you only had one practice test + answer key to study from, what percentage of the problems would you be able to recognize and solve?

  • how do you find sat problems that give more detailed answer keys and even recommendations on subjects to review in a traditional math book to make sure the knowledge transfers between problems?

  • How much repetition is enough? Is it enough that with enough practice you get the answer right without the answer key? How do you get an in depth repetition with several problems? Sometimes I will encounter problems I forgot, but I guess that just means more drilling following the answer key steps.

  • with problems that may not even have answer keys with written steps, how do you study them to get towards the right answer?

2

Do you know what kind of question you are most likely to get the incorrect answer on? If so, you may want to focus your preparation and practice on that type of question, and/or the math topics underlying that type of question.

3

I got most of the problems wrong because I don’t recognize them or remember how to solve them, So right now I have just been trying to study one practice test at a time, repeating the questions until I can get the whole test right. However I’ve been afraid of simply gaining muscle memory from repeating the question several times after studying the answer key, rather than taking information I can use in similar problems.

4

Just taking tests over and over is not most effective, no.

After each test, look at the problems you got wrong, review those topics, attempt questions focused on the that specific topic until you fully understand how to correct the mistakes you made.

Only when complete with this process for each error should you take another practice test and repeat.

Football teams don’t just play scrimmages every day. They review game tape and execute

1 Like