The SAT is a test shrouded in myths. One of the most prominent is the idea that woven deep into the very fabric of your DNA is an \u201cSAT gene\u201d, and stamped on that gene is a number as immutable as the number of commandments Moses received up on Mt. Sinai. Those who buy into this idea regard prepping for the SAT as akin to moving Mt. Sinai itself.<\/p>\n
To those people, then, I must be some kind of demigod, for every summer, I move mountains the size of Everest. Of course, I\u2019m just a mere mortal, and this myth is about as true as Big Foot, Elvis sightings, and those green, almond-headed bipeds that abduct us in their flying saucers.<\/p>\n
So here\u2019s the deal. There is something called data\u2014and the data doesn\u2019t lie. Every week, throughout the summer, I watched as my students\u2019 SAT scores climbed up. This year the mean was about 1700 and towards the end of the summer it was around 2000. Take that immutable SAT gene! Of course, the point here is not for me to brag about my accomplishments, but to simply explode a myth that is held so many students back. The truth: the SAT is a totally learnable test and you can\u2014and will\u2014improve.<\/p>\n
Okay, you argue, but you are an SAT teacher and know all these tricks. What about students who just crack open a book or purchase an online program? First off, these so-called \u201ctricks\u201d are very teachable, whether they come from my mouth or are tidily condensed into a book. Secondly, the SAT isn\u2019t all about \u201ctricks\u201d; it tests concepts and ideas that you should\u2014at least ideally\u2014be learning in class. And who ever told you not<\/i> to study in school because you can\u2019t change your grades?<\/p>\n
Finally, an online class with a good tutor is not too unlike a real classroom. You won\u2019t get immediate feedback on your mistakes but your mistakes often are very similar to those of other students, since it is a multiple choice test. Even the SAT Critical Reading (to some the most difficult-to-learn part of the SAT) has common traps that students fall for again and again. Granted, the essay is one area in which a book or online course might not do the trick\u2014but the essay will probably make up only about 100 or so points.<\/p>\n
As for the rest of the test, working with an online program can have a significant impact on your score.<\/p>\n
The bottom line<\/b><\/p>\n
There is only one thing we haven\u2019t talked about, something that explains why the \u00a0average SAT scores of my students went up, and perhaps why some scores went up more than others. Hard work. So whether you take a real classroom, an online class, or open a book or two, the winning formula is hard work. I know, I probably sound like a broken record since you\u2019ve heard this a bunch of times in your life. But, unlike some ominous \u201cSAT gene\u201d, hard work is something you can control. So study for the SAT; it\u2019ll be anything but useless.<\/p>\n