How much should I practice?
You should practice as much as you can.
Thank you! Goodnight!
Oh. You wanted something more specific? Well, ultimately, how much you should practice depends on your goals.
The ACT and SAT sort of test your ability to answer questions about Math and Grammar concepts. However, mostly what they do is test your familiarity with the test. You might feel confident about your understanding of the circle equation, but the first time you see a “completing the square” circle equation question on the SAT, your brain will panic a little bit.
x2 + y2 + 6x + 8y – 11 = 0
The equation of a circle in the xy-plane is shown above. What is the radius of the circle?
A. 6
B. 8
C. 9
D. 11
But after the tenth time you’ve seen a question that looks exactly like that, just with slightly different numbers, you’ll instantly recognize what’s going on and try not to laugh that the lazy test writers have included yet another of these questions on their stupid test.
I get it. I’ll practice. But how much should I practice?
As much as you need to.
Thank you! Goodnight!
Okay, okay. You should be completing independent practice for at least an hour or two every week. If, like many of our students, you’re aiming for a perfect or near-perfect score, you’ll probably want to practice even more.
You don’t want to be surprised on test day. The more you see—and the more often you see it—the more likely you are to instantly recognize the problem type and execute the fastest solution on test day.
If you don’t complete a lot of independent practice and, instead, just bank on us magically appearing in your test center to whisper what the question is really asking, you will be disappointed.
What kind of practice should I complete?
It depends on where you’re at in your prep.
If you’re just starting out, I’d recommend diving into full Math and Grammar sections so you can get a feel for how long they are and the pacing of each section. We like for students to wait to practice the Reading and Science sections because those are almost entirely strategy based. We don’t want to waste your time having you complete practice using strategies you won’t actually use on test day. Once we have talked about those sections once or twice together, you’re encouraged to dive in.
If you’re in the middle of your prep, I’d recommend focusing on short bursts of categorized practice. We offer KYBO Club member students practice categorized by skill level as well as content type. This practice will help you challenge yourself with a “just right” difficulty level and reinforce content and strategies we talk about in lesson.
If you’re at the end of your prep, I’d recommend focusing on full practice sections and tests. You want to go into test day with the stamina and knowledge of exactly how you’ll feel at the end of each section.
Thank you! Goodnight!
Now that you know how much practice you should do, have you decided which test to take?
Read this post to learn about some general factors to consider before choosing a test to focus on. Please share this post with someone else who may find it useful!
