I just got the Black Book, and one of the first things I was noticing is that he continuously stresses that a student shouldn’t use practice tests made by College Board, but is that really true? I had already finished the Blue Book before I found out about the Black Book, so what more should I use to practice? I also got the Barron’s SAT book before the Black Book (haven’t started it yet) but in the book he says that Barron’s isn’t good. What else can I use for practice then?
I would use the previously administered SAT tests or buy the SAT online course.
Did you leave out a “not” between “tests” and “made” or something? Because he definitely doesn’t recommend avoiding CB-made tests…
lol, I guess you didn´t read correctly that part about taking test from CB
I find it hard to believe that he said NOT to use practice tests by CB.
On the contrary, if I were you, I would use EVERY test made by CB. Go and look for the released SATs and practice. And sometimes practice tests NOT made by CB can be misleading, especially for the Critical Reading section, because those books’ authors can’t teach you the logics of SAT makers.
BTW, do you read Harry Potter? Cuz your screen name is…
I obviously didn’t proofread as closely as I thought I had. But yes of course he says to use CB tests, I was just wondering if it were beneficial to use tests made by other companies.
The Black Book author’s point is that the other companies put together tests that have the basic look and feel of a real CB test, but the questions haven’t been through the same rigorous review/editing/testing/approval process and therefore may be a poor substitute for the real thing. I tend to agree with him.
In the CB Blue Book, only the first three are actual exams. The other 7 were never administered. It’s natural for people to start with Exam 1 and work forward, but I would advise using tests 4-10 to practice and then use #1-3 as actual tests. FWIW, my son found the practice tests in the blue to be a bit on the easier side compared to the actual tests. The online SAT course from the collegeboard has some more practice tests. We found some of them to be a little “off” - many were never administered. It does have one that has been administered (Online test #6).
My son wanted extra practice to simulate pacing and test taking stamina. We found the Princeton Review to be good for that. The math sections in the PR tests are a little more challenging than the CR sections.
well how reliable is Barron’s?
The latest you can take the current SAT is January and there is more than enough CB released tests to last 4 months of studying. I would personally only move on to other companies tests after exhausting the CB tests because most others do not accurately replicate the test.
You don’t need any other tests. If you can answer - and teach - every problem in the blue book and the online course, you should do ok on the real test. If not, go back and learn those problems and related concepts better instead of looking for more tests.