1. The College Board Official SAT Study Guide
Buy this book and have your child take several timed SAT sections for all components of the test; math, critical reading and writing. By doing timed practice sections, your child will familiarize him/herself with the test format and the caliber of questions. Knowing what to expect on the exam always helps a child gain confidence on test day.
2. Word Smart 1 and 2 by Princeton Review
By using this book, your child will learn hundreds of high-voltage SAT vocabulary words that appear on the SAT. There are also plenty of helpful drills and quizzes at the end of each chapter to reinforce learning.
This free website contains many real SAT Practice Test questions.
Your child can further strengthen his/her SAT vocab by taking Free Rice’s multi-level multiple choice vocabulary quiz. For each question answered correctly, Free Rice donates 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program.
5. 10 Things You MUST Know About the Digital SAT
Effective March 2024, the SAT will go to a digital format. Here is a helpful slideshow on 10 things you should know about the digital SAT. Alternatively, you can download the full slideshow as a PDF file.
Recommend other essential SAT resources? Which one of these five SAT resources have you found useful?
Post your questions/comments below.
i would recommend Direct Hits 1 and 2 rather than Word Smart. Research has shown year over year that more words from Direct Hits have appeared on the SAT than from any other source.
Thanks for the tip Lisa. I ordered Direct Hits Books today-both Core and Challenging SAT words. I’ll take a look.
College Confidential’s SAT prep forum is another invaluable resource. It’s full of kids helping kids, and I’m always impressed with the level of sophistication there. Of course, there’s a fair amount of hand-wringing, too, as you’d expect from a bunch of anonymous high schoolers worrying about their SAT’s, but I still recommend it.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/