Editorial
Writing on the digital SAT
Eight pieces on the parts of this exam that are commonly got wrong. No tips lists — each one argues something and shows the working.
These articles argue specific positions about digital SAT preparation, with the reasoning shown.
Method
How to work, and why most study routines do nothing.
- Why Your SAT Score Stopped ImprovingA score plateau is almost always a composition problem rather than an effort problem. How to tell which one you have, and why more practice tests deepen it.
- Desmos Is a Skill, Not a ShortcutA graphing calculator on screen for every math question changes which questions are hard. Why treating Desmos as a backup costs time you cannot get back.
- Reading Fast Is Not Reading WellReading and Writing allows about 71 seconds a question. The constraint is decision speed rather than reading speed, and the two are trained in opposite ways.
Format
What the digital test actually is, mechanically.
- The First-Module Mistake Almost Everyone MakesOn an adaptive test, early accuracy is worth more than late accuracy. The arithmetic of module-one routing, and why “move on” is the wrong advice there.
- How to Read a Digital SAT Score ReportSection scores, totals and percentiles each answer a different question, and none of them answers the one students have: what should I study next?
Practice
Getting value out of practice tests and review.
- What a Practice Test Is Actually ForMost students use practice tests as a measuring instrument. Nearly all the value is in the review afterwards, which is why six tests can be worth less than two.
- The Error Log That Actually WorksMost error logs fail because they are lists rather than queues. What to record, what to leave out, and the spacing intervals that make a review stick.
Decisions
The choices around the test rather than inside it.