Floor's Journey to Unlock Her Dream SAT Score

The Road to your Dream SAT Score #4 from TestRocker Inc. on Vimeo.

Final exams, prom, May/June SAT tests, group project deadlines - the end of the school year is quickly approaching, and we understand that you’ve got to accomplish more with even less time. Our video blogger, Floor, is going through the same thing at the moment. She studies during pockets of free time, but she’s finding that it is becoming harder and harder to find any free time. We blushed when she told us in the above video that she loves the convenience of preparing with TestRocker, because she can study whenever and wherever she wants. Many students have reached out to us for tips on increasing productivity. So, we put together a few tips that will definitely make things a bit more manageable!

3 Steps to Being More Productive 

1. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture

Many people think that the first step toward any plan or project is to make a to-do list.  We suggest that before you do anything at all, take a step back and figure out the answer to this sort of question: “What’s the point of doing this? Why does this task matter? Or what’s going to come of it?” Tasks are meaningless if they don’t contribute to a greater outcome. Keeping the desired outcome at the top of your mind will make sure you are undertaking the activities that will have the most impact. Lastly, write-down your answer to the question somewhere that you can access it later if you need encouragement!

2. Make a very specific to do list

Let us guess, you have too many things to get done, and not enough time to do them in. You can do it! It’s all about staying organized. A to-do list is essential to staying organized and keeping track of all your tasks. Write out your tasks each day on something you can access later (e.g. Trello, Evernote, your phone, a piece of paper that you won’t lose).  

Prioritize and schedule this list; always start with your most important tasks, even though these are usually the most difficult tasks. Write down deadlines because they will help you plan appropriately. As a high school student, schoolwork should always be one of your top priorities. Schedule the most difficult and important tasks for when you work best and set a limit for the amount on time you will devote to each task. Keep this scheduled list at hand and visible all day long so you can keep coming back to it again and again to mark your progress. 

3. Set Achievable Goals and stick to them

While it is important to create to-do’s and schedules, it is just as important (if not more) to not overschedule. Be realistic in terms of what you can complete in a given day or week. When you take on a task, understand how long it may take to complete it well and make sure you allow yourself enough time.

To achieve theses goals it’s important to identify distractions and get rid of them (or at least minimize them). Are you always texting? Or is Facebook more of your weakness? It’s important to make sure you are using your time as efficiently as possible by not engaging with these distractions. There are a number of apps that can help you, including SelfControl, which is an app that limits access to the sites you list.

Did you enjoy these tips and resources? Be sure to share them with the high schooler in your life! Like us on facebook and follow us on twitter!

Studying for the June 1^st SAT? See how you can Rock the Test with theTestRocker 3 week prep calendar! 

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The Road to your Dream SAT Score with Floor #3 from TestRocker Inc. on Vimeo.

Last Monday marked the end of March Madness. March Madness is the annual college basketball tournament where teams compete for the title of NCAA champion. This year, the Louisville Cardinals had a true Cinderella story. The team was able to move past the gruesome leg injury of one their star guards, Kevin Ware, to go on and win the championship. Sports fans are enamored with their story because it is about more than just winning; there is an important lesson to be learned about how success comes from being prepared for the unexpected and keeping the bigger picture in focus. This lesson is applicable to all areas of life, even the SAT. 

In Floor’s video blog, she touches on some of the unexpected aspects of taking her first practice SAT. While she anticipated some of the content questions, she was not expecting the level of stamina and concentration necessary to focus all the way through a 4 hour test. In spite of this curveball Floor was able to perform because she was prepared for the unexpected.

So what do Floor and Kevin Ware have in common? In addition to being prepared, Floor and Kevin Ware were both able to overcome unanticipated obstacles because they focused on the bigger picture. For SAT takers, this bigger picture is about more than just a good score on the SAT. It’s about being able to matriculate to the college or university of their dreams and a fulfilled life post-college. This bigger picture should keep students motivated as they work towards their dream SAT score. No one takes the SAT because its fun, a good SAT score is a necessary prerequisite for college. Which is where TestRocker comes in, study with us and next year March Madness may be more than just something you watch on television!

Want to learn more about how TestRocker can help you rock the SAT? Sign up for our free trial!

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The Road to your Dream SAT Score with Floor #2 from TestRocker Inc. on Vimeo.

Earlier this month we had the pleasure of introducing our readers to Floor. Floor is one of the early adopters of our program, and we will be following her journey to her dream SAT score. While Floor’s last video focused on how she was feeling going into her practice SAT test, this week’s video focuses on the results of those tests, how she found it to be a “reality check” and how she plans to use her practice test results along with her customized study plan as she works towards the May 4^th test.

Within the SAT prep realm a lot of time is spent discussing the value of using practice test results to inform your study plan. So instead of telling you what you should do with these results, we bring you our 5 Ways Not to Use Your Practice SAT Test Results:

1. Don’t neglect to review your performance on specific questions

It’s easy to just look at your score, decide that it’s good or bad and move on with your day. Instead look closely at all of the questions, think about which ones took you the most time. Look in detail at the content and question types that you got right and wrong. Understand why you got these questions wrong, this will help inform your study plan.

2. Don’t use your practice score as an excuse to stop studying or preparing for the actual test

In line with our previous advice it is important to be as prepared for the SAT as possible, even if you are an amazing test taker. A good score is great, but don’t let that stop you from continuing to study until you match your true potential.

3. Don’t use your practice score as an evaluation of your intelligence or self-worth as an individual

You should plan to use the test as a general benchmark of how you will perform on the actual test. It’s no secret that more goes into doing well on a standardized test than being an intelligent person.

4. Don’t focus solely on content when reviewing your performance on the SAT

While being comfortable with the content and question types is an important part of the SAT you must also be comfortable with the more qualitative aspects of the test. Have you developed the stamina and focus necessary to sit through a 4 hour test? Are you comfortable answering questions in under a minute? Are you spending the appropriate amount of time on each question? Do you understand the concepts the test focuses on? You eventually want to get to the point where your answer to all of the following questions is “yes!”.

5. Don’t ignore your areas of weakness

A lower math or critical reading score in most cases indicates where an individual should be focusing their attention. A low critical reading score indicates a need to work on vocabulary or comprehension. Low math scores indicate a need to work on your quantitative skills. Low writing scores may mean you need to work on further developing your understanding of grammar and the other elements of good writing.

Bonus tip: Don’t take only one practice test

We get it, the SAT isn’t the funnest thing on your list of to-dos. In most cases neither is preparing for it (unless you’re using TestRocker, of course!). That said, taking more than one test will help you get more comfortable with the test’s content and get used to its question types. 

If you enjoyed these tips be sure to share this article! Is there anything you would add?

P.S. To all of our readers in New Delhi, join us at our “Road to Your Dream SAT Score” Event taking place on April 6^th and 7^th. Additional details and RSVP here: http://bit.ly/XWJrFe

The Road to your Dream Score with Floor #1 from TestRocker Inc. on Vimeo.

TestRocker's Advice on How to Get Started on your own SAT Journey

The hardest part of any challenging endeavor is knowing where to start. For many high school students who are preparing to take the SAT for the first time and dreading it, it is not clear how to begin. As a result, many just jump in blindly.

This was the dilemma one of our newest TestRockers, Floor, faced as she embarked on her journey to her dream SAT score. Floor is a high school junior, living in Singapore. Not only does TestRocker want to take the anxiety out of test-taking, TestRocker also wants to help you study smarter. So we advised Floor to start with our diagnostic test, for those of you who haven’t signed up with the TestRocker program start with a practice SAT exam. At TestRocker we advise you to start with a practice test for a number of reasons:

Provides a performance baseline

In order to assess whether you are studying smarter you must first establish a baseline. Taking this initial test (if you haven’t already taken the PSAT) will help you figure out how far from your dream SAT score you are. It also gives you something to compare your performance on future tests to, so that you can make sure you’re studying effectively and seeing the kind of score of improvement you were hoping for.

Sets test expectations

The SAT is not like any of the tests you may have taken in school. For many students it is the first time they are sitting down to take a test of that length (4 hours!). For this reason when taking the practice test you should try as much as possible to replicate actual test-taking conditions.

Identifies areas of strength and weakness

It is also important to have a clear understanding about your areas of strength and weakness. It helps you study smarter by allowing you to figure out how to allocate your time. For example if you struggled with geometry, but did fine on averages, you of course want to spend more time on questions that apply to your ability to understand geometry problems. In fact, after you take the TestRocker diagnostic test, we create a customized study plan that prioritizes our modules, recommends an amount of time you should spend on each topic, as well as recommending a difficulty level for each module.