Top DSAT Strategies: How to Accelerate Your Studying

The Digital SAT may be shorter and more adaptive than its paper predecessor, but it’s still challenging; smart and efficient preparation is crucial to succeed on the exam. Through my time as a tutor I've gathered and compiled the penultimate list of score-boosting tips in the short list below, for your convenience.

Cross Out Incorrect Answers - Don't Go "Answer Hunting"

While it's tempting to immediately select the answer that seems right, especially if you're certain of the answer, it's essential that you recognize that the writers of exams like the SAT purposefully make incorrect answer choices seem right or ambiguous to fool you. While some wrong choices are blatantly incorrect, the rest are written with only one or two small inconsistencies or "mistakes," meaning searching for these details before selecting an answer is paramount to succeeding on the exam. Plus, eliminating one or two incorrect choices before getting stuck on the remaining ones will make your educated guess more likely to be correct. You can use the exam's strikethrough or highlight ability to cross off answer choices or mark potential inconsistencies when you spot them!

Review, Review, Review! Improve Your Logical Process

Many students incorrectly assume SAT prep is about memorizing tricks and shortcuts. Unfortunately, achieving your goal score will not be this easy; you need to refine your logical reasoning through consistent and dedicated review of missed practice problems. However, review alone is not enough; try working through mistakes with a friend, study buddy, or tutor. Reviewing with a partner will challenge your assumptions and beliefs about the exam, help you understand the correct process, and learn new methods to interpret passages or phrases on the test. The point is to train your brain and rewrite your test-taking logic.

Review Realistically - Time Yourself

Ensure that you simulate real test conditions when you review. Don't listen to music or snack while you lazily scroll through math module 2, or you'll be severely overwhelmed on the actual exam. Time yourself accordingly to the real exam (unless it's your first one or two practice exams, I would recommend trying to go for full accuracy initially). Time constrains your brain, ensuring you work towards the high efficiency needed for the actual exam. If you're reviewing problems separately from an exam, try setting a timer accordingly (approximately 70 seconds per reading problem and 95 seconds per math problem).

Take Full Advantage of Desmos

The DSAT allows you to use Desmos, a powerful graphing calculator. This is a massive advantage that you NEED to take advantage of; methods such as regression and even just plotting systems of equations allows you to solve problems in half the time they would otherwise take. Use Desmos for your daily math practice, and check out youtube tutorials or ask your tutor about it if you'd like to learn more.

Keep a Mistake Log: Track Your Performance by Subtopic

Knowing what your mistakes are may not be enough----seeing patterns in your errors can help you figure out what you need to work on with more precision. Keep a log of your mistakes, organized by topic: grammar rules, algebra, functions, vocabulary-in-context, etc. (or even the actual SAT subtopics such as "problem-solving and data analysis----probability" or "information and ideas----central ideas and details"). Over time, this will highlight your weak spots and help you allocate study time more effectively. I recommend students to even rank their mistakes by how confident they were on that specific problem; did you eliminate two answer choices and then make the wrong guess? Did you eliminate the correct choice? This method will allow you to focus on your weakest points of the exam.

Regularly Take Full Practice Exams

Full-length practice exams are essential to your study process. Taking them regularly under real exam conditions will allow you to accurately gauge your progress toward your goal score as well as practice for the real deal. Use CollegeBoard's Bluebook app to access their official DSAT practice exams.