Take Heed (I Am)

SAT tutor, Stacey Howe-Lott, left a comment below with some test taking tips that she hadn't mentioned before because she thought everyone knew these things....

Given that somehow they didn't hit my radar for the first 46 years of my life, I'm going to assume that there are probably others out there who also may have been absent on the day these strategies were given out....and I'm posting the whole, worthy, kit and kaboodle comment, as is:

A quick note on keeping time: My digital watch (which has a timer) beeps, so I don't use it for the SAT. I use an analog watch instead. And, at the start of each section, I wind the hands to the top of the hour (it is perpetually 8-8:30 am during the test). By starting each section at 8:00 - it then is very easy to see how long I have left - "Oo. 8:15 - just 10 minutes left)

Why waste brain cells on trying to calculate how much time you have left if it is currently 8:48 and you started at 8:33.

Also - mark your answers in the booklet - I draw a big circle around the answer I chose (including the letter and the answer). I also write the letter (big!) to the left of the question. That way when I bubble in, I can just quickly glance down the left side of the questions and write in my answers (A, B, E)

When I skip an answer, I put a large circle to the left, to remind me to skip that bubble.

And, I don't bubble in after each question - I only bubble in the spread - so if the section starts on the right-hand page, I'll answer all those questions, then bubble those. Then I'll turn the page and answer all the questions on the left-hand and right-hand pages and then bubble in all those before I turn the page to get to more questions.

I especially love the tip about how to keep your own time.  I've ordered myself an analog, beep-free Swatch for the SAT next Saturday (my last one for this project...), which should arrive in today's mail.

Illustrations by Jennifer Orkin Lewis