8 Week SAT Study Plan
What to do every day of every week, using Bluebook tests and Mathchops.
This 8-week curriculum describes which materials to use every day of every week. It guides you through 8 practice tests, comprehensive review, and targeted skill practice.
What You’ll Need
The College Board’s Bluebook app (free, download here).
A trusted resource for math and grammar practice. Of course, I recommend Mathchops and Grammarchops (paid, sign up here). But there are other good ones out there.
3 hours per weekend and ~45 minutes per weekday.
The Ideas Behind This Plan
The same skills show up over and over on standardized tests. You won’t see the patterns if you only take a couple tests. You won’t even see the patterns if you take a lot of tests without reviewing them correctly. That’s why it is essential to redo fresh versions of missed questions. If you take lots of official practice tests and master the ones you miss, the test makers will run out of questions to ask you. At that point, you’ll recognize 90%+ of the material, just like on a regular school test you’ve prepared for.
Your Goals
Earn a score on a practice test that you’d be happy with on a real test.
Master every question from every test you take. This doesn’t mean you remember the answer – it means you understand the logic of each question, know how to solve it quickly, and feel comfortable answering similar variations of it.
Achieve your goal score on Mathchops and Grammarchops. This means not only reaching that overall score, but also achieving the Category Challenge badges at that level. For example, if your goal is a 680, you should hit that score and earn all 9 of the level 680 badges.
WEEK 1
Saturday/Sunday: Take SAT Test 4 all at once at 9am. Make sure it is strictly timed! It’s okay to take 5-10 minute breaks between sections.
Monday: Review all of the missed questions.
I’m not going to write it every time, but you should always follow this process when you review: 1) Hide the answer. 2) Try to figure out why three answers are wrong and one answer is right. 3) Check the answer. 4) Either understand the logic of the answer or mark it so that you can ask someone to explain.
Tuesday: Take Module 1 from PSAT 10 Test 1. There is a “Save and Exit” option in the upper right corner of the app.
Wednesday: Take Module 2 from PSAT 10 Test 1. Review your missed questions from Modules 1 and 2.
Thursday: Take Modules 3 and 4 from PSAT 10 Test 1. Review your missed questions from Modules 3 and 4.
Friday: Math practice. Obviously, I recommend mathchops.com, but you can use any math resource for 45 minutes. If you do use Mathchops, complete the three games in your onboarding checklist at the top of your screen:
Then get your level up as high as you can. This two minute video will show you how to use it going forward. You can also view this one-page PDF.
WEEK 2
Saturday/Sunday: Take SAT Test 5 at 9am. Do not take any unscheduled breaks!
Monday: Review all of the questions you missed from SAT Test 5.
Tuesday: We need to start redoing your wrong answers, which means we need to have them all in one place. Create a spreadsheet with the following columns: Test, Module, Question, Redo #1, Redo #2… In the future we’ll note whether you got these right or wrong when you redid them. After you’ve been using the sheet for a while, it will look something like this:
Now fill the sheet with every missed question from the three tests you’ve taken so far. If you guessed, put that on the sheet too.
**Optional, but highly recommended: Add a column for the image of the question. Take a screenshot of the question, click on the cell, then click the Insert > Image > Insert Image In Cell. Put the answer in a column way to the right, so that you can’t see it when you retry the question.
Wednesday: Redo 10 R/W and 10 Math questions from your spreadsheet. Start with the ones from your first test. Make sure that you answer the question without seeing the right answer or what you answered before.
I am aware that you probably hate redoing missed questions and think it is a total waste of time. Trust me: it’s incredibly important. This article explains why. Make sure to note the result in the sheet – we’ll be coming back to the ones you miss.
Thursday: Add SAT Grammar to your Mathchops account (or find a R/W resource). Play the Level Challenge until you have matched or exceed your R/W scores on practice tests.
Friday: Free choice target practice for 45 minutes: Mathchops, Grammarchops, or redos.
WEEK 3
Saturday/Sunday: Take SAT Test 6 at 9am. Do not take any unscheduled breaks!
Monday: Review all of the questions you missed from SAT Test 6. Mathchops for 10 minutes. Grammarchops for 10 minutes.
Tuesday: Take Module 1 from PSAT 10 Test 2. Mathchops for 10 minutes.
Wednesday: Take Module 2 from PSAT 10 Test 2. Review your missed questions from Modules 1 and 2.
Thursday: Take Module 3 from PSAT 10 Test 2. Grammarchops for 10 minutes.
Friday: Take Module 4 from PSAT 10 Test 2. Review your missed questions from Modules 3 and 4.
WEEK 4
Saturday/Sunday: We now need to make sure that you’ve mastered all of the easy/medium questions that have appeared on your tests and Mathchops/Grammarchops. Today, you need to redo all of your missed questions through SAT Test 6, including SAT Test 4, SAT Test 5, and PSAT Test 1. In other words, you should have redone all of the missed questions from every test (except PSAT 10 Test 2) at least once. This is going to take some time.
Monday: Get Mathchops up to the highest score you’ve achieved on a practice test. If you’re already there, or if you can’t beat the Level Challenge at your current level, earn 3 category challenge badges at your current level.
Tuesday: Get Grammarchops up to the highest score you’ve achieved on a practice test. If you’re already there, or if you can’t beat the Level Challenge at your current level, earn 3 category challenge badges at your current level.
Wednesday: Redo the missed R/W questions from SAT Test 6. Beat “Break the Bank” on Mathchops. You can find this in the “Suggested Activities” feed, which is below the Level Challenge game card.
Thursday: Redo the missed Math questions from SAT Test 6. Beat “Break the Bank” on Grammarchops.
Friday: Free choice target practice for 45 minutes: Mathchops, Grammarchops, or redos.
WEEK 5
Saturday/Sunday: Take SAT Test 7 at 9am. Do not take any unscheduled breaks!
Monday: Review all of the questions you missed from SAT Test 7.
Tuesday: Redo 20 missed math questions from your spreadsheet. You should now be on “round 2” of your redos! Focus on the ones you missed when you redid them the first time. The goal is to know how to do every question from every test you’ve taken. When you get them wrong again, go back to the explanations, or seek help from smart friends.
Wednesday: Redo 15 missed R/W questions from your spreadsheet. Remember to note the ones you miss on the sheet and figure out how to do them. Grammarchops for 15 minutes.
Thursday: Mathchops or other math practice (45 minutes). Get your level as high as you can, then work on Category Challenge badges at that level.
Friday: Free choice target practice for 45 minutes: 20 math or grammar redos, Mathchops, Grammarchops.
WEEK 6
Saturday/Sunday: Take SAT Test 8 at 9am. Do not take any unscheduled breaks!
Monday: Review the questions you missed. Make sure you understand why the right answers are right and the wrong answers are wrong.
Tuesday: Redo 15 missed math questions. 30 minutes of Grammarchops.
Wednesday: Redo 15 missed R/W questions from your spreadsheet. 30 minutes of Mathchops.
Thursday: Mathchops or other math practice (45 minutes).
Friday: Free choice target practice for 45 minutes: 20 math or R/W redos, Mathchops, Grammarchops.
WEEK 7
This is an important week! The redos are especially important. Prepare for your test like you’re studying for a final. Make sure that if there is any question that is at all similar to ones you’ve seen on your practice tests, you will get it right.
Saturday/Sunday: Complete “round 2” of your redos. In other words, every question on your sheet should either be marked “correct” once or “incorrect” twice. Identify the questions you can’t figure out on your own. Seek help for those ones.
Monday: Take 45 minutes to get Mathchops up to the highest level you can. If you’re already there, or if you can’t beat the Level Challenge at your current level, earn 4 category challenge badges at your current level.
Tuesday: Take 45 minutes to get Grammarchops up to the highest level you can. If you’re already there, or if you can’t beat the Level Challenge at your current level, earn 4 category challenge badges at your current level.
Wednesday: Redo the missed R/W questions from SAT Test 8. Beat “Break the Bank” on Mathchops.
Thursday: Redo the missed Math questions from SAT Test 8. Beat “Break the Bank” on Grammarchops.
Friday: Free choice target practice for 45 minutes: Mathchops, Grammarchops, or redos. I recommend focusing on redos if there are any questions you can’t answer on the sheet.
WEEK 8
It’s important to get a good sleep every night this week, waking up at the time you’ll wake up for your real test. If you only get a good sleep the night before but have terrible sleeps the other nights, you’ll be groggy on the day of the test.
Saturday/Sunday: Take SAT Test 9 at 9am. Do not take any unscheduled breaks!
Monday: Review the questions you missed. Try to understand why the right answers are right and the wrong answers are wrong.
Tuesday: For each of the first four tests you took, pick 10 questions from the “important spots” of the math modules. What’s important will vary from student to student, but I would generally recommend looking at the last 3 in module one and the last 7 in module two. You’re looking for questions that you should get right but are in danger of getting wrong. Play Predict Your Score on Grammarchops.
Wednesday: Pick 10 random grammar/transition/notes questions from your sheet and see if you can get them right. Play Predict Your Score on Mathchops.
Thursday: Final review of your redos sheet. Quiz yourself on random questions. Make sure you know every question from the sheet.
Friday: Play Predict Your Score on Mathchops and Grammarchops. Review your sheet one more time. I think it’s fine to study in the early part of the day – just don’t burn yourself out.
Test Day: Good luck!!
Do you have a similar plan for the ACT?