Stress isn’t necessarily a new feeling for high school students, but taking a standardized test like the ACT or SAT can bring its own set of challenges.
These college entrance exams are somewhat unfamiliar settings for many students and come at a time in their lives when they haven’t developed many strategies to cope with the pressure, says Ginger Fay, a consultant for Green Apple College and Guidance, a college admissions consulting firm.
No matter how much test prep a student has done, test day can be a struggle.
“It’s helpful for students to recognize that this is a high-stakes moment,” Fay says. “It will come with stress, just like the beginning of a race. There’s a lot of stress in that moment. Hopefully it helps you burst into energy and helps you do your very best. But it can sometimes get in your way.”
Experts say the SAT’s move to a digital format should help students feel more at ease, since many are already comfortable with technology, but preparing for the test and maintaining perspective can also go a long way. Here are eight tips that can help students perform well on test day.
Take Practice Tests
Success on test day is all about preparation and knowing what to expect. One of the best tools for that is a practice test, experts say.
It can be especially beneficial for students taking the new digital SAT for the first time, says Michelle Hunt, a college admissions exam prep teacher at Kaplan, which provides prep for standardized tests and other educational services.
[Read: ACT vs. SAT: How to Decide Which Test to Take.]
Test takers can log in to the College Board’s Bluebook app to take a practice SAT test that will mirror what they’ll see on test day. This will help minimize any “surprises” and familiarize test takers with certain test functions, such as the built-in graphing calculator, she says.
The new digital, adaptive SAT is two hours and 14 minutes, while the ACT lasts two hours and 55 minutes. Doing a few practice questions is better than nothing, but experts advise taking a full-length practice test for each to best prepare, especially for the ACT, Hunt says.
“We know the (ACT) overall is longer, but even the individual sections are very lengthy,” she says. “Having that mental endurance is a different type of prep than they’ll have for the SAT.”
Get Plenty of Mental and Physical Rest
While it might be tempting to cram or study the night before, experts say that time is better used relaxing and getting to sleep early enough to feel refreshed the next morning.
“You should have already done just about all of the heavy lifting over the past three-to-four months by focusing on any academic weakness prior to the test,” Pierre Huguet, CEO and co-founder of admissions consulting firm H&C Education, wrote in an email. “Students should focus on lowering their stress level as much as possible at this stage. That isn’t accomplished by actively focusing on ‘not stressing’ but rather by proactively engaging in activities that will take your mind off the test.”
Huguet says any prep the day before rarely has a significant impact on students’ scores. Instead, he recommends students go for a walk, read a book or play video games, as long as none of those activities keeps them up late.
Eat a Good Breakfast
Going to sleep at a good time makes it easier to wake up early enough to eat a good breakfast, which preferably would include protein, Fay says.
“Eat it before you go to the test site, so that you’ve had a little bit of time to digest it,” she says. “So all the blood and energy is not targeted on your stomach, because you want it back in your brain.”
Pack Essentials the Night Before
Getting items ready the night before and having them by the door can ease the process on the morning of test day and alleviate feelings of stress and anxiety, Fay says.
Items that experts recommend bringing are water, snacks with protein or a little bit of sugar, several No. 2 pencils, a small pencil sharpener, a sweater in case it gets cold and a calculator that’s fully charged or has extra batteries if it requires them.
Experts also stress that students remember to take their test ticket and photo identification. Students with accommodations should print out the letter from the College Board or ACT that describes the accommodations and make sure it’s packed as well, Fay says.
“Preparation will help build your confidence,” she says. “When you hit a stressful situation, what you really want to think is, ‘I’ve got this,’ rather than, ‘I’m not ready for this.’ Every chance you have to go in feeling more confident and more prepared is better and will help you do whatever you’re capable of on test day.”
Focus on One Question at a Time
The timed aspect alone of each test can cause stress for many students, experts say, and it can be tempting to rush through questions, not read them thoroughly or misunderstand them. Some questions may even be designed to trip test takers up.
The adaptive nature of the new SAT may add another layer of stress, since how students do on an early set of questions determines the difficulty of subsequent questions.
“A few early mistakes can really hurt your overall score, especially because the test sends you to the easier second module, with a cap on your score ceiling, if you miss too many,” says Carl Foreman, a master tutor for education consulting company IvyWise. “That means that if you’re choosing between being thorough and being fast, choose thorough more often than not.”
[Read: How Important Are SAT, ACT Scores in College Admissions?]
It’s important to be aware of that, but test takers shouldn’t concern themselves with which tier of questions they fall into, Hunt says. She says the digital version, where students click a button rather than fill in bubbles, may help some students get through the test quicker.
“Students like to try to predict and second-guess themselves,” she says. “Focus on what’s on the screen in front of you. Live in that question and then you move on.”
If the pressure starts to feel overwhelming, some breathing exercises may help, Fay says. Counting down from 10 or another similar counting method paired with a focus on inhaling and exhaling can help calm nerves.
Complete Questions You Know First
There’s no rule that requires test takers to complete questions in order, so if time is a concern, experts suggest skipping the hard questions and completing the easier ones first.
“There’s no value in spending five minutes on one question when you could answer five questions in the same minute,” Fay says. “If you get stuck, you are better off moving on than overdoing answers. If it’s taking you longer than a minute to work out a math problem or to figure out where the comma goes in a sentence, then it’s probably in your best interest to move on.”
When test takers encounter a difficult question, they should select an answer but make a note to return to it. The digital SAT includes a review module to remind test takers of questions they flagged. This needs to be done manually on the ACT.
There’s no penalty for a wrong answer, so experts suggest that test takers guess if they’re unsure. Strategically, it’s best to guess the same letter for every question that stumps you, Fay says.
[Read: When to Take the SAT, ACT.]
Take Advantage of Breaks
The SAT offers a 10-minute break between the reading and writing section and the math section, while the ACT offers a 15-minute break following the math section and an additional five-minute break before the optional writing section.
Test takers should use these breaks to recharge and regroup. These breaks allow test takers to use the restroom, stretch their legs and eat a snack.
“Getting that hit of a little bit of sugar or a little bit of protein can help you remain focused,” says Amy Hubbard, head of college counseling and readiness at educational technology company Knovva Academy.
Remember That Test Results Don’t Define You
The ACT and SAT are only part of the college application. Most colleges are test-optional, and some — including the entire University of California system — are test-blind, meaning they won’t consider test scores even if a student submits them.
It helps to remember that it’s just a test, Foreman says, and if students perform poorly they can always take it again. Many schools allow test takers to “superscore,” meaning a student’s highest scores from each section on all test attempts are combined to create a new composite score.
“Just assume you’re going to do better next time anyway,” Foreman says. “This is just to see how it is. Just do your best.”
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How to Perform Well on SAT, ACT Test Day originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 02/13/24: This article was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
