When we help families construct their students' 4-year roadmap, we remind them that the optimal test approach involves taking the SAT in August between the 10th and 11th grades, and the ACT in September, both ensuring readiness for the October PSAT-11, which qualifies students for National Merit Scholarships.
Families have heard us talk about taking the "Test Trifecta" in the "prior-prior" year of high school graduation.
Trifecta Services: The two-step test preparation strategy
Practicing is a two-step process: You sharpen the knowledge and skills required by practicing the content of the tests; and then, you sharpen your test skills by practicing on the tests themselves. These two are related activities but wholly different.
Step 1
You can practice content on your own by exploiting free resources: The Khan Academy, the College Board, and the ACT Academy are outstanding resources for practicing content – free, and official! Even tutor-learner online sessions are free, thanks to Schoolhouse.world, launched in Jan 2021.Or, we can create a tailor-made one-on-one tutoring support plan for practicing content. You decide the level of our engagement.
Step 2
To practice test-taking, both the SAT and ACT offer numerous free official mock tests, tests that were previously administered. Review the Taking Practice Tests section in our How do you prepare for the SAT/ACT? post for useful links to test content.We would start backwards from the big test day, always a Saturday for the SAT. There are seven official mock tests offered by the College Board, and nine offered by the ACT. The following schedule is assuming that you have 10-12 weeks left before the test. If you have a tighter schedule, we can adjust the sessions accordingly. [This step typically requires you to buy a five or ten-hour package, one for English, and another for Math].
For the SAT, your first session with us would be about eight weeks before the test date, and for the ACT, it would be about ten weeks before the test date.
Week 1: You would take the first official mock test and send us the results, including the detailed answer explanation. During the first session, you would sit with our tutor to forensically diagnose where you went wrong.
That is, when reviewing the detailed explanations for wrong answers, you would track if you had more than one wrong answer in a topic area, such as Congruence and Similarity (Math), or Possessive Determiners (English Grammar). If yes, our tutor will take you back to the impacted section and review the content with targeted instruction to close any gaps in learning.
Many students are too eager to believe that their foundational knowledge is so strong that a remedial review is unnecessary. For well-designed tests such as the SAT/ACT, which pry on tricking students, such over-confidence could impact test-day scores.
Your tutor is trained to zero in on the problem, collaboratively work with you to detect knowledge gaps, help close them during the session, and give you additional homework and practice exercises if necessary so that you are better prepared.
Your tutor is trained to zero in on the problem, collaboratively work with you to detect knowledge gaps, help close them during the session, and give you additional homework and practice exercises if necessary so that you are better prepared.
Week 2: You would take the second official mock test, send your results, and appear for the second tutoring session. The tutor will again forensically diagnose your answer responses, and apply instructional training to close knowledge gaps. You get the idea.
Week 3-7 (SAT); Week 3-9 (ACT): Repeat the above regimen.
Then, take the official test.
Example 10-week SAT Test Prep Schedule: Test Date June 6
Here is a clean 10‑week SAT plan, including 10 sessions of SAT English Prep and 10 sessions of SAT Math prep.
SAT test date: June 6
Session 10: June 3 (English) and June 4 (Math)
Session 9–3: Each week has
Saturday AM: Practice Test
Saturday PM: Math Review
Sunday AM: English Review
Skip May 2–15 (AP exams)
Resume on May 16
Sessions 1–2: content practice on Sat PM + Sun AM
Work backward exactly 10 weeks
A Note About Rao Advisors Premium Services
Our promise is to empower you with high-quality, ethical and free advice via this website. But parents and students often ask us if they can engage with us for individual counseling sessions.
Individual counseling is part of the Premium Offering of Rao Advisors and involves a fee. Please contact us for more information.
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