CEEAE's Review of The Official SAT Study Guide

Prep. Book Reviews

The Official SAT Study Guide
1/11/06 - Composite Review

REVIEW SUMMARY
CONCLUSION
"This is still THE book for SAT preparation, but it does have weaknesses"

RECOMMENDATIONS
We unequivocally (equivocations will follow) recommend that The Official SAT Study Guide should be integrated into any preparation plan for the SAT, BUT it should be supplemented with another book that features effective test strategies and tips. If you are studying by yourself (without someone to effectively provide explanations), we also STRONGLY recommend a subscription to the online course, if only because the online course provides explanations to all questions on the practice tests in The Official SAT Study Guide.

THE GOOD
-- It's a no brainer: if you are preparing for the SAT,
    complete the tests from this book
-- The practice test questions are made by the people who
    write the test (Is it still John & Pam?)
-- 8 tests in the book (none on CD)

THE BAD
-- No explanations provided for the Practice Test Problems
-- No "juicy" strategies
-- Some inefficient strategies are presented
-- Questions tend to be a little easier than those on the
    actual tests

FULL REVIEW
THE LEGACY
The Official SAT Study Guide, just like its predecessor 10 Real SATs, is the standard by which all other SAT preparation books are measured. We do not know of a single tutor, educator, or college admissions professional that does not know of and recommend this book. Indeed, anyone who knows even a scant amount about SAT preparation will tell you that 10 Real SATs was the standard for preparation for the old SAT. The Official SAT Study Guide appears to continue this tradition as THE book to use for effective preparation for the NEW SAT.

FIRST HALF OF THE BOOK - STRATEGIES?
The best way to use this book is to tear out the first 376 pages (the so called strategies sections) and "commit them to the recycling bin". Now the book will be much lighter yet still contain the truly valuable portion, the 8 exams made by the test makers (rumor has it that these tests were administered in the development of the NEW SAT).

Although we metaphorically recommend that you tear out the first half of the book, it was not uncommon for tutors or teachers to actually instruct students to physically remove the first half (strategies section) of 10 Real SATs in order to cut down the weight of the book. We do not anticipate any different treatment for The Official SAT Study Guide.

BOTTOM HALF OF THE BOOK
While it is true that the strategy section has been vastly improved, it still leaves much to be desired. Some of the strategies are very basic "Remember the instructions - choose the best answer". Umm, really? Do we really need to be told to choose the best answer? However, some of the strategies are useful, and should help the reader get more questions correct. Oddly, we found a few of the strategies to be incorrect, or at best inefficient. Therefore, do not rely on the strategies in the book, but trust us that this is THE book to use for SAT preparation.

The second half of the book is why you should give yet even more money to The College Board. This half contains eight "real" tests. We place real in quotation marks since no versions of the NEW SAT had been administered before The Official SAT Study Guide was published. However, everyone expected the "Real" test to be very similar to these eight exams and there appears to be much truth to this expectation (Read Test Takers comments here). We recommend that you try to complete at least five of the eight practice tests, but if you need more practice, there are still three more tests to complete. Answers to the exams follow the tests themselves, and are organized by subject area and then section. There is also a form to convert the raw scores into scaled, or SAT, scores.

EASIER QUESTIONS THAN THE REAL SAT ?
One caveat: test takers on the NEW SATs have resoundingly reported that The Official SAT Study Guide test questions tend to be a little easier than those on the real exam. Whether this is truly the case or merely an artifact of the stress of taking the actual exam may never be answered, but you should be aware of the perception shared by a large number of test takers.

EXPLANATIONS - DONDE ESTA ?
One of the biggest concerns with 10 Real SATs was that although there were answers in the book there were no explanations. Simply put, lacking explanations severely curtails the learning experience. It is great that you can determine which questions were incorrect, but you may not be able to determine why you missed those questions. We thought that The College Board would remedy the situation when it released The Official SAT Study Guide , but astoundingly they have not.

There are solutions to this quandary, but almost all of them will increase the amount you must spend on SAT preparation. If you have only a few questions, then you may want to ask a current or former teacher. Usually they will be pleased that you considered them sufficiently knowledgeable to assist you. If this no-cost strategy doesn't work, or you have many questions that need to be answered, you may need to look into hiring a tutor in order to augment your understanding of the practice questions. Any tutor you hire should also be able to provide some "juicy" strategies to assist your preparation in addition to merely being able to effectively explain any practice questions that elude your understanding. However, tutors are probably the most expensive option.

An intermediate option, in terms of cost as well as assistance, is to subscribe to The College Board's Online SAT Course. Subscribing to this site will provide you with explanations to each of the practice tests as well as some solid test-taking strategies, but is not cheap at approximately $70. The cost of preparation seems to be ever increasing, but you have come this far, so it may be worthwhile, though a little painful, to hand over yet more of your money to The College Board.

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