A Massive Collection of Free SAT Practice Tests

A Massive Collection of Free SAT Practice Tests SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Whether you’re building your own SAT prep program or justsupplementing a class, finding SAT practice tests and questions can pose a serious challenge. This article will go through every type of practice SAT test, how to best use them, and, most importantly, where to find them. What You Need SAT Practice Tests For Before we get into the many different sources of SAT practice tests, let’s talk about why you need a deep well of practice material to draw from and the different ways you’ll use these resources. RealPractice Tests A key part of SAT prep istaking full-length practice tests in realistic conditions. Since you want to mimic the SAT experience as closely as possible,you’ll need to use real SATs.Using official testsfor SAT practice questionsalso gives you a better prediction of your score and can help you determine what areas you need to focus on. You’ll want to use at least three tests for this purpose and make sure they’re the most current version of the SAT (from 2016 onward). Question Analysis Official SAT questions have their own style and logic, which other test writers aren’t always great at imitating. Unsurprisingly, then, the best way to understand the SAT is to studywith actual SATs. As part of your testprep,spend some time looking really closely at official SAT questions and thinking about what they’re asking and how each question is constructed.Themore familiar you become with the unique structure and language of SAT questions, the less daunting the test will seem. Subject Practice The final type of SAT prep is practicing with the various types of test questionsto hone your section-specific strategies and grasp of the content.Subject-targeted practice will also ensure that you know how to employ your math and grammar knowledge effectively to answer SAT-style questions. Though official SAT questions are the ideal materials for this type of practice, it's less important that you focus exclusively on real SAT questions. Using unofficial materials to practice general strategies will help you save official SATsto use as full practice tests. Now that you know what you'll need SAT practice tests for, let's go through the different places you can find each type of them- starting with official College Board tests. Instead of a map of the world, you need a map of SAT practice tests. Where to Find Current and Old Official SATs As I described above, there are a number of types of practice that you shouldonly use official SAT questions for. As such, they’re the most valuable type of SAT prep material and you’ll want to build up as large of a collection as possible. I’ve divided these tests up by which version of the SAT they are: Current (2016 and onward) Old 2400-scale format (2005-2016) Very old format (pre-2005) You’ll want to focus mostly on the current tests, but the other versions can still provide helpful extra practice. For more info on how to get the most out of older SAT practice tests, check out our complete guide to old SATs. Most of these materials are free, but I've included the best materials for sale as well. After all, spending $10-$20 dollars on great practice tests can be well worth the investment! Current SAT Practice Tests Below are all the official practice SATs for the current version of the exam. 10 Official Free Practice Tests The College Board has released 10 practice SATs for the current version of the test. You can download them below or take them online at Khan Academy (see next section for more details): Practice Test 1:Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations | Essay Practice Test 2:Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations | Essay Practice Test 3:Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations | Essay Practice Test 4:Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations | Essay Practice Test 5:Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations |Essay Practice Test 6:Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations |Essay Practice Test 7:Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations |Essay Practice Test 8: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations | Essay Practice Test 9: Questions | Answers| Answer Explanations Practice Test 10: Questions | Answers| Answer Explanations Unfortunately, the practice tests in The Official SAT Study Guide, 2020 Edition are the same as those above (except that the book doesn't include practice tests 2 and 4 and does include essays for tests 9 and 10), so these are really all you have in the way of full official new SATs. Plan accordingly! Official SAT Prepat Khan Academy There are a bunch of official SAT practice questions available as part of Khan Academy’s free SAT prep.You’ll need to sign up for an account to access these resources, but it's completely free and tracks your progress over time. The lessons and practice questions are all divided by type, so they're very helpful for more targeted studying. While thestrategies and suggestions aren’t super useful for the Reading and Writing sections, there’s a lot of Math content if you want to brush up on any concepts you might have missed or forgotten. You can see a sample question below: Practice Questions on the SAT Website Finally, there are someextra practice questionsavailable on the College Board website: 24 Reading questions with two passages 22 Writing and Language questions with two passages 30 Math Calculator questions 18 Math No Calculator questions Keep in mind that some of these questions also appear in TheOfficial SAT Study Guide. Older SATs Although the 2016 overhaul involved big changes to the format of the test, previous versions of the SAT can still provide you with helpful study material. Free Full Practice Tests There are fourolder practice tests you can download for free: SAT Practice Test (2013-2014)Questions| Answers SAT Practice Test (2012-2013)Questions| Answers SAT Practice Test (2007-2008)Questions| Answers SAT Practice Test (2004-2005)Questions| Answers Unfortunately, these tests don't have explanations for the answers,so you'll have to figure out why the correct answer is correct on your own or ask a friend, family member, or tutor for help. If you really run out of practice materials, you can turn to the pre-2005 SATs: SAT Practice Test (2004-2005)Questions| Answers SAT Practice Test (2003-2004)Questions| Answers SAT Practice Test (2002) Questions + Answers SAT Practice Test (2001) Questions + Answers You’ll notice some question types that no longer exist on the SAT, so make sure that you know which questions to use and which to ignore. The Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd Edition This official book offers10more full official old SATs and can be worth buying if you're studying aggressively and needsome extra practice tests. Just remember that they are all in the old format, so there will be some irrelevant content and question formats. You can usually get this prep book for around $10-$20 on Amazon. Other Resources for Official SAT Practice Tests You might also be able to find official SATs through unofficial channels.Try searching for "old SATpractice test" or a similar phrase on Google and clicking through the results. If you're lucky, you might find some PDFs of previously administered SATs (though they'll likely use the old test format). Be aware that there's no guarantee these are real SATs. One helpful website you can use for this purpose is CrackSAT.net. They offer a huge collection of (what they claim to be) official SATs and practice questions.While the website can be tricky to navigate, it's definitely worth looking at if you want more realistic-looking SAT questions to practice with. X marks the spot- where you can find SAT practice tests. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! Where to Find (and How to Use) UnofficialSATs Sadly, there aren’t a ton of official SAT practice tests available, so if you’re planning 40+ hours of studying, you’ll probably need some supplementary materials. Notethatpractice materials not sanctioned by the College Board can vary wildly in quality: some are very similar to the actual SAT, whereas others don’t even share the same basic structure as the test! I've collected the most helpful resources and provided some suggestions on how to get the most out of them in your SAT prep. This list is extensive but not exhaustive- there are a lot of SAT books and tests out there. Be aware, however, that many of them aren’t very high quality, so use your judgmentwhen deciding whether to incorporate something you find into your prep. Unofficial SAT Prep Books SAT prep books are a good alternativefor extra content review and practice.Their questions aren’t always quite right- for example, they might cover material you don’t really need to know or are easier or harder than those on the real SAT- but prep books can be a great resource for both reviewing concepts and trying out different strategies. I've provided some suggestions for general SAT prep books below. These each cost between $10 and $20, but you might be able to find them for free at your local or school library. Just make sure that they aren't written in before you check them out. Also, note that many of the best SAT books cover only one subject, so buying books can get expensive quickly. Best Book for High Scorers: Barron’s SAT, 29th Edition Barron’s SAT, 29th Edition hasa lot of in-depth study material that's particularly helpful for high scorers looking to fine-tune their test-taking strategies and ensure that they know every concept that might appear on the test. That said, the questions (especially those for Reading) tend to be much more difficult than those on the actual SAT, so this prep book isn't a good choice for students who get easily frustrated. You'll get a total of five full-length practice tests (including one diagnostic test) with this book. Best Book for Low Scorers: Kaplan's SAT Prep Plus 2020 Kaplan's SAT Prep Plus 2020, as well as its other SAT prep books, are better for students who need a basic foundation on what to expect on the test and how to approach it.The questions skew easier, so it doesn't provide great preparation for the more challenging aspects of the exam. This book is a good place to start if you have a low baseline score and want to increase it by a lot,since it will let you save official tests and more challenging practice for later in the process. This book offers five full-length SAT practice tests(two in the book and three online). Free Online Practice SATs from Test-Prep Companies Since these tests are free, they’re often (though not always) of a lower quality than the tests in books. If you really need more free practice materials, stick to using these for untimed content review and don’t worry if something seems weird or unusual. If you’re a high SAT scorer, trying to figure out how the test is different from an official SAT can be a good exercise and will help you understand exactly what makes the real thing tick. Ivy Global Ivy Global offers two free SAT practice tests, which are pretty decent in terms of quality. As you can see in the example below, both tests mimic the style of the official test very closely. Given the scarcity of materials for the current version of the SAT, these practice test PDFs could be a helpful addition to your prep- as long as you keep in mind that neither are official resources. MajorTests.com This website has a large selection of SAT practice questions divided by type. They're in thesame basic stylesas oldSAT questions, though the online format is less streamlined than that of the College Board or Khan Academy websites. You can see an example below: These SAT questions are best used sparingly- to test knowledge of math and grammar content and to practice general strategies (such as plugging in answersor numbers). Keep in mind that they might contain some errors. Varsity Tutors The format on these SAT practice questions isn’t especially accurate, and they sometimes ask about concepts that aren’t tested on the SAT. I generally wouldn’t recommend using them, but you can if you really want more questions to help test your general SAT knowledge. Here's an example of a question: Other Free Unofficial SAT Practice Tests Big test-prep companies, such as The Princeton Review and Kaplan, often offer a free practice test if you register for an account on their website. Sometimes you can even sign up to take the practice SAT at one of their test centers. As always, keep in mind that the qualityof the practice SAT will vary wildly, and the companymight aggressively pitch you their services. You'll probably end up using a mix of books and online resources for your SAT prep. Making an SAT Study Plan: 3 Essential Tips Now that youknow where tostart compiling the materials you'll need to prepare for the SAT, let's discuss how best to use these resources in a study plan. For more details on how to plan your SAT prep, check out our guide on how to build a prep plan that fits your schedule. #1: Find Your SAT Baseline Score Make sure to take a real SAT to determine your baseline score- unofficial diagnostic tests won’t give you a realistic sense of what the SAT is like or what your actual strengths and weaknesses are. Take the test in a quiet room without any distractions, and be sure to follow the official time limits. #2: Practice Skills and Review Content With Supplementary Materials Because there’s a limited number of official SATs available, you should supplement these tests with practice materials focused on specific subjects or question styles, including the official questions on Khan Academy and the SAT website, as well as those from unofficial sources. Making strategic use of these materials will allow you to try out new strategies and drill specific skills without having to worry about how many full official tests you have left. #3: Focus On Using Official SATs as Full-Length Practice Tests Again, because your supply of official SATs is limited, you want to use them judiciously. Don’t waste these tests by taking them in bits and pieces or while you’re distracted or stressed out. Instead, use most of the official SAT practice tests as full-length practice tests under real testing conditions: timed, all in one sitting, in a quiet room, etc. Once you’ve taken a test, take time to carefully go over the questions you missed and the ones you guessed on, analyzing why you got each one wrong and how the question is actually solved. Rememberto also save one or two official SATs for the end of your prep schedule! What's Next? Taking an SAT practice test is only the first step- you also need to go over your answers.Make sure that you know the best wayto review your mistakes. If you want to focus on a specific SAT section, check out our guides to the best practice materials for Reading, Math, and Writing. Want to improve your SAT score quickly? Try our 20-hour SAT prep planor our one-month SAT study plan, depending on how much time you have left before test day. Want to improve your SAT score by 160points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes your prep program to your strengths and weaknesses. We also feature thousands of practice questions, official SAT practice tests, and personal feedback on your essays from an expert instructor. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Top 10 Obsolete Grammar Rules - by Guest Blogger Steven Sawyer

Top 10 Obsolete Grammar Rules - by Guest Blogger Steven Sawyer Article by Steven Sawyer. Edited by Brenda Bernstein, The Essay Expert Following The Essay Expert’s post about using the â€Å"singular they,† some writers in one of my LinkedIn groups were talking about breaking English grammar rules. Several of us spent a few hours discussing the merits, or de-merits, of using â€Å"they† as a singular pronoun. We were essentially divided into two camps:   purists, who would never break a time-honored English grammar rule, and progressives, who know all the rules – and delight in breaking them.   By the end of the heated discussion, purists were still purists and progressives remained progressive. Purists love the predictability of our language and the grammar rules that govern it. They still remember how to diagram a sentence.   They can spot a dangling modifier at 50 yards and pick out a subject-verb agreement error faster than you can say â€Å"comma splice.† If you went to their houses you might find that they iron their underwear and alphabetize the canned foods in their pantry. (I know a couple of purists who do that.) Progressives, on the other hand, believe that breaking rules connects writers with the masses, who stopped thinking about grammar rules decades ago. (If you dont believe me just ask any passerby to locate the verb in a sentence.) Just last year, a group of Ivy League English language purists lobbied to have â€Å"Thou shalt not break English grammar rules† added as the 11th commandment. But language mavens, dictionary writers and even influential linguists are relaxing many writing standards. Some experts are equating this usage shift to the Great Vowel Shift that took place in England in the 15th century. So, my Purist grammar friends, what will you do? Will you suck it up and go with the changes in the language as they evolve?   Or are you determined to maintain pristine prose? Its really okay if purists remain purists. I believe theyll dwindle over time until they become an extinct species, but they do have their place in our culture today. Purists, heres what youre going to have to swallow if you want to keep pace with our ever changing language. Top 10 Obsolete Or Seldom Enforced Grammar Rules Don’t split infinitives. Who would want to shamelessly do that anyway? Active voice verbs are preferable to passive voice verbs. I will never part with this one. I have  encrypted  this rule in my memory’s hard drive. Passive voice will forever be stricken from my writing. That makes me a purist for this rule only. Never start a sentence with â€Å"And† or â€Å"But.† And why not? It gets easier every time you do it. See 5th paragraph, second sentence. Never start a sentence with â€Å"There is† or â€Å"There are.† There are many occasions when starting a sentence with â€Å"There is† or â€Å"There are† is perfectly acceptable. Boring, perhaps, but acceptable. E.g., There is more Canadian bacon in the United States than in Canada. It would be difficult to change the wording in that sentence without starting with â€Å"There is†. Never end a sentence with a preposition. Now that’s a rule we can all live without. Always use â€Å"more than† instead of â€Å"over† with numbers. Okay. Whatever. Math’s not my gig. But truly, either one is acceptable use today. So, purists, get over it. Data is plural, so the verb must always be plural. So data is what data does? Or data are what data do? If they say so. Anyone with a good ear for English knows the answer to this one. Don’t start a sentence with â€Å"This.† The grammar gurus now say that you can start a sentence with â€Å"This.†Ã‚   But (Ooops, there I go, breaking rule 3. See how easy that was?)   I believe that [practice] is okay and this [guideline] is perfectly acceptable. Don’t use â€Å"free† as an adjective.   E.g., â€Å"Can I get that laptop free?†Ã‚   Nay, nay, writing comrades. That’s purist speak. Feel free to use â€Å"for free.† E.g., â€Å"Can I get that laptop for free?† Don’t use â€Å"fun† as an adjective.   You purists make me giddy.   You’ve always used â€Å"fun† as a noun.   E.g., â€Å"We had fun at the game today.† But we progressives like to use it as an adjective. â€Å"It was a fun weekend reunion with my family.† English is an evolving language. A new word gets added to the language every 98 minutes, according to the Global Language Monitor. That’s 14.7 words per day.   As words get added, usage rules undergo changes as well. Will you adopt the new â€Å"rules† of grammar? Your answer determines which camp you’re in. Steven Sawyer is a blogger, author, editor and online English teacher and writing consultant.   Read his blog at https://stevensawyer.wordpress.com/. Category:Grammar Writing TipsBy Brenda BernsteinMay 15, 2011 14 Comments Penelope J. says: May 18, 2011 at 4:28 pm The above post on progressives vs. purists was both fun and enlightening. I agree that in some cases, we have to be open to change rather than stick to the more correct language usage. I agree with the above comment. Using Where you at? and got instead of have (or in many cases, buy) have become widely acceptable, but I cringe every time I hear them uttered. Things like/such as What you got? really get (to) me. Anyway, what does get to me actually mean? Also, using a word to express the opposite feeling, You kill me or Thats a killer has become the norm rather than the exception and is taken to excruciating heights on programs that my grandchildren watch such as American Idol. But the English language is evolving and devolving to such an extent that, at 14.7 new words a day, purists must be having a hard time making or expecting others to stick to the rules. However, is it too much to ask that some rules not be broken such as misuse of verb tense and pronouns? Log in to Reply The Essay Expert says: May 31, 2011 at 11:45 am Penelope, Im so glad you mentioned Where you at! When living in Brooklyn, if I were asking for directions on the street I would always say Do you know where such-and-such street is at? Im also guilty of using got instead of have. Its funny the things that still bug me, vs. the things Ive adopted. Im sure these things differ for each of us. Fun as an adjective still grates on my nerves. And I dont think its too much to ask to keep some rules in place but whos to decide which ones? I certainly have my opinions! Log in to Reply The Essay Expert says: May 31, 2011 at 12:00 pm Thanks Lynn. We all have our own pet peeves dont we? Mine are different from yours! (And lets not even start on different from/different than.) I have articles on its/its and lose/loose which I invite you to read and share! https://theessayexpert.com/blog/2011/05/31/the-day-my-dad-didnt-make-it-home-from-work-by-marianne-worley-business-writing-consultant-at-the-essay-expert/ and https://theessayexpert.com/blog/2009/09/13/common-spelling-mistakes-lose-vs-loose/ respectively. Log in to Reply The Essay Expert says: June 13, 2011 at 3:57 pm Thanks for your comment Rick. I agree! Log in to Reply Marion Suarez says: June 3, 2012 at 1:29 pm I feel as though proper usage of fewer/ less is almost entirely obsolete. I cant find anyone who still understands the distinction or honors it. Log in to Reply The Essay Expert says: June 3, 2012 at 3:34 pm Thanks for your comment Marion. Its funny, I see 10 Items or Fewer now in many grocery stores, and I almost want them to change it back to the wrong way! Log in to Reply Mary Kent says: August 30, 2016 at 12:25 am Should we follow the rules regarding using the possessive form of nouns and pronouns with gerunds or is it a truly lost cause? Log in to Reply Brenda Bernstein says: September 2, 2016 at 10:20 pm Great question Mary! Ive been fighting for this one since I learned the rule at the age of eight. Im terrified by the number of times people correct me on this point when I am using correct grammar! Log in to Reply John T Mon says: August 7, 2017 at 11:02 pm Im mid-60s and I always wonder what happened to the use of A and An? Log in to Reply Brenda Bernstein says: August 8, 2017 at 6:55 am Do mean in spoken speech, John? It does seem like a lot of people say a when an would be grammatically correct. Log in to Reply Rebecca says: June 4, 2018 at 11:43 am I’m not a pure purist! Quirky, and especially regional, â€Å"impurities† make such entertaining conversation and writing. Still, why has the subjective compound pronoun become so accepted when used in the objective case? In speaking, I realize we all get tripped up, but I’ve seen it in writing and heard it from journalists. Log in to Reply Brenda Bernstein says: June 4, 2018 at 1:15 pm I’m right there with you, Becky. Drives me up a wall and the correct grammar seems so logical. Thanks for your comment! Log in to Reply Susan says: June 29, 2019 at 6:50 am The increased misuse of I and me when referring to another person and oneself is my beef. I am now hearing even professional speakers such as news announcers, pastors, etc. making statements such as, The taxi picked up my friend and I. In fact, I came across this article when again doing a search to see if this rule has changed. Log in to Reply Brenda Bernstein says: June 29, 2019 at 10:05 am Im with you, Susan. What did you find? Anyone saying the rule has changed? I think its more that very few people understand correct usage. Log in to Reply