How to Study for SAT Math, Part 1: Students Who Can Prepare on Their Own

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Every so often I come across a post claiming that SAT Math is easy, that any student who is solid in middle school math could walk in and score an 800. I’ll be honest: posts like that make me angry. They do nothing for the students who are preparing for the test, and nothing for the parents watching them prepare.

From the outside, whether the test looks easy or hard doesn’t matter. What matters is how it feels to the students actually taking it. According to the College Board, the average SAT Math score for the class of 2025 was 508. More than two million students sat for this test, and their average was 508 out of 800. For them, it is anything but easy.

Some students can prepare for SAT Math on their own. Others can’t.

With solid fundamentals, SAT Math is a test a student can prepare for alone. But there is a catch: a long run of A’s in school math does not prove the fundamentals are solid. In some math classes, a student can earn an A by memorizing solution patterns and working hard. I have taught many students who never earned anything but A’s in school and still could not break 600 on the SAT.

Let’s start with the students whose fundamentals really are solid. Here is how they can prepare on their own.

1. Take Bluebook Practice Tests 9, 10, and 11, the three most recent tests the College Board has released. Each one ends with a score report that shows where you are weak.
2. To close those gaps, nothing beats the College Board’s Question Bank. SAT Math has four areas (Algebra, Advanced Math, Problem-Solving and Data Analysis, and Geometry and Trigonometry), and the score report shows exactly which skills in each area need work. Pick those skills and go after them.
3. Once you have worked through the Hard questions in the Question Bank and your scores start to climb, sharpen your skills on harder problems. Our website also has a free SAT Math practice test you can try.

The most important thing through all of this is to avoid hollow studying. Many students solve a problem, read the explanation for the one they missed, and mistake that brief moment of “oh, I see” for real understanding. Hand them a similar problem, and they miss it again, for the same reason. They never understood it in the first place. So a student has to be strict with themselves. After reading an explanation, solve the problem again the next day without it, and ask honestly whether you understand it well enough to explain it to someone else.

And if the fundamentals are not solid? If a student has spent years learning math by memorizing it, I recommend getting help.

So how can you tell whether your child needs help or can prepare alone? We wrote 50 questions for exactly this purpose.

This test is not about the score. It is built to show whether a student truly understands the essential ideas or relies on memorization to get through most problems. That is why it includes core questions: questions that any student who thinks math through, rather than memorizing it, should be able to answer.

Here is how to read the results.

• Ready for self-study: a total of 38 or more out of 50, at least 13 of the 15 core questions correct, and 60% or higher in all four areas
• Self-study works; guidance will make it easier: anything in between
• Guidance recommended: a total of 27 or less, 10 or fewer core questions correct, or two or more areas below 50%

Missing core questions is a sign that a student has likely been leaning on memorization rather than understanding. Those students should get help now and turn toward studying for understanding as soon as they can.

In the next post, I’ll write about how students who need help should prepare.