Key Takeaways
Most test-takers agree that training for the SAT English is challenging because, unlike Math, most rules in language are flexible. That increases the importance of practising SATs because each test takes you toward a better score. The College Board offers eight free practice tests, and using these official practice tests is crucial for authentic preparation.
Scientific American wrote about how testing boosts learning, quoting multiple studies. Research scholars from Australia found that practice tests were directly related to “significantly higher assessment performance.” Another study at South Dakota University reported similar impacts of practice tests.
In this blog, we discuss how to train with Digital SAT practice tests. We begin by understanding practice tests. We then discuss why they are essential and their benefits. Finally, we pick some of the best Digital SAT practices for English, including those provided by the College Board.
Digital SAT practice tests: An introduction
An SAT practice test is a simulated test that accurately resembles the actual digital SAT but whose score will not be reported or accepted for official purposes.
Despite having no official importance, a practice test has tremendous value. It is an essential stage in a student’s SAT prep journey.
It recreates the experience of the real SAT, making it a highly reliable method of evaluating the student’s preparedness for the actual test. Practice tests are an essential part of any SAT prep strategy and help students evaluate their readiness for the actual test.
For instance, Joyce felt confident about her math skills. However, when she attempted the math section of the official SAT practice test, she realized there were gaps in her math preparations. Her friend Martin was scared of the SAT, but when he took the first practice test, he felt confident because he was closer to the perfect score than he had earlier thought.
At Edison, we have created all the mock SATs based on actual SAT questions. We also accurately mimic the difficulty level in the base module and the adaptive module.
Benefits of using Digital SAT practice tests
Training for the Digital SAT English using mock tests and practice questions is one of the smartest ways of achieving your goal of a high score. Utilizing practice questions helps improve your time management skills and understanding of the test format.
Here are the significant benefits of practice tests:
- Improves your time management skills
Think of a practice exam as an additional help for your test prep. Writing mock tests and reviewing them will show you areas where you can save time. You will also find parts where you waste unnecessary time.
- Helps you understand the test
Every time you write a mock test, you learn something about the test. You see how test-makers use question variants to confuse students. You learn how similar looking answer choices can actually be different.
- Hones your test-taking strategies
Taking a sectional test isn’t quite the same as taking a full-length test. With a full-length mock SAT, you’ll need the ability to tell when to take a bit of risk, guess, and move on, and when to stay a little longer to figure out the exact answer. Only practice can help you build effective strategies.
- Ensures you identify your weak spots
Your weak spots are the questions you couldn’t answer right - or couldn’t answer at all due to the time constraints. Your SAT English practice test is a powerful way to reveal your weaknesses that you can mend. That’s the only way to feel confident on the test day.
- Familiarizes you with the interface
The current SAT is digital and its interface is quite simple, minimalist, and intuitive. Its layout changes slightly with different question types. Our free practice test for the SAT will make sure you get fully familiar with the screen layout.
- Sharpens your test-taking abilities
When you keep practicing, you improve your test-taking abilities. You grow more confident while choosing the correct answer and spend less time on other answer choices.
- Clarifies your understanding of scores
The Digital SAT isn’t your regular classroom quiz. Both its adaptive nature and its unique scoring mechanism make it unique. With practice tests, you get to understand better how scores are counted. Here’s a great article on how to calculate the Digital SAT score.
The College Board SAT English practice tests
One of the most reliable preparation resources is the College Board’s official SAT practice tests, which include a variety of SAT practice questions to help students prepare effectively.
The College Board offers four full-length adaptive SAT practice tests. You will need first to download the Bluebook app to have access to these tests.
As you can see in the images below, the passage appears on your left side while the question and answer choices appear on your right.
Each question will have answer choices from which to select your answer. Once the test ends, the College Board will show you the correct answers and a detailed explanation. Remember to study the explanations closely. Understanding fully how the SAT test-makers expect you to think and analyze is important.
Features of our free SAT English practice test
Any test prep help or practice test is only as good as the extent to which it can help you understand and improve your SAT scores. Our free SAT English practice test is designed to mimic the official practice tests provided by the College Board, ensuring an authentic and reliable preparation experience.
Thousands of students and coaches rely on our free SAT practice tests. Here are the three of the several reasons why:
- Our practice tests are complete with 154 questions, exactly like the SAT. This is required for the SAT’s adaptive nature.
- Immediately upon the completion of the practice test, you get the scores. As a result, you know where you stand. It is important to refine your study plan constantly.
- Detailed explanations follow the tests. That means you’ll be able to review your performance after you take the test. This, in turn, will help improve your scores after each test.
How to get the best out of the Edison SAT English practice tests
The closest you can come to writing an actual SAT without an admission ticket is taking Edison’s mock SAT. If you wish to understand the rationale behind this claim, our CEO’s post explaining how Edison created the most accurate mock SATs is a must-read.
Effective SAT prep is crucial for achieving a high score. English forms half of your scores (800 points out of the maximum 1,600). Hence, you want to devote a great deal of attention to the English section of the SAT.
Here are six specific, actionable steps you need to take to better prepare for SAT English through our mock SATs.
1. Know the composition of the test
You should know the basics of the section very well. Total time, total questions, kind of questions,… The Digital SAT won’t surprise you, so use the practice tests to understand everything about the SAT. Your first step isn’t studying the subjects in detail; it’s getting a comprehensive understanding of types of questions by using practice questions.
2. Treat it like the actual SAT
Here’s how you can take the practice test like the actual SAT
- Single sitting: Take it in one go, with only as much break as the SAT allows. Incorporate SAT practice questions to simulate the actual test experience.
- No distractions: Put your cellphone on Silent mode, disable notifications, and choose a comfortable position where you can sit all through the test.
- No cheating: This is non-negotiable.
- Adaptive test only: While the printed test might help somewhat, it can never substitute the adaptive Digital SAT. The Digital SAT isn’t just a new version of the original test; it’s significantly different.
3. Pay more attention to your mistakes
In most cases, you’ll see that your mistakes can be boiled down to one of three reasons: lack of knowledge, unnecessary haste, and applying the wrong concept. Identifying and addressing these mistakes is a crucial part of any SAT prep strategy.
- You didn’t know a certain phrase or were unaware of a particular rule of the language.
Remedy: You need to pay attention to learning.
- You knew the relevant stuff but misread the question or missed a particular word.
Remedy: You need to slow down a bit and make sure you don’t make any silly mistakes.
- You knew the relevant stuff but applied a completely different concept.
Remedy: You need to reinforce your understanding of which concept is applicable when.
4. Realize that English isn’t quite like Math
In Math, you can apply a formula to a certain question. There’s no ifs and buts.
English is different because it’s a language that’s constantly evolving. Its set of inviolable rules is rather limited. Words have multiple meanings; ‘fine’, for instance, can mean ‘nice’, ‘tiny’, or ‘penalty’. A slight change in the question’s wording can turn the question 180 degrees. So widen the kind of things you read. While you can’t read everything that might appear on the SAT, extra reading aims to understand a new topic faster and reduce your discomfort. Practicing with a variety of practice questions helps students understand the nuances of the English section.
5. Know the gap: How far are you?
When you prepare for a journey from A to B, you begin by finding out the distance from A to B. It’s hardly any different with SAT preparations. Find the gap between where you currently are and where you wish to be. If your target score for English is at least 670 and you’re presently scoring around 550, it means you need to cover at least 120 points - not something you can take lightly. Using SAT practice questions helps identify the gap between current and target scores, ensuring you focus on areas that need improvement. Preparing without a specific goal isn’t a good idea.
6. Decide if you need help
If your performance in the practice test is substantially below expectations, you likely need help. This help could be in the form of additional practice tests, coaching, or extra course material to work with. And once that is clear, take swift action, as additional resources and strategies are an important part of any SAT prep plan.
A higher score in Digital SAT English: Start here
Getting a perfect score in the SAT English section is not unheard of. Every year, you see many students getting impressively high scores. So, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t do well on the SAT. Once you determine to focus on good performance and have the right course material and practice tests, make sure to take advantage of the free practice tests available from the College Board to start your preparation.
In case you are unsure, we recommend you familiarize yourself with the SAT sections first. Our free mock SAT is available to all students, so why wait? Set aside the time for it, register for free, and start practicing.
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