Digital PSAT Tips and Tricks

If you’re the parent of a high school student, you might have heard that the SAT will “go digital” in the U.S. in 2024. But many parents and students don’t realize that the October PSAT will also be delivered in a digital format.  The computer-based format, however, isn’t the only change that 10th and 11th graders will encounter next week.  As an SAT tutor since 1991, I’ve seen this exam go through many changes in 30 years.  This new test represents its most radical incarnation.  Here are some of the tips that I’m sharing with my students.

SAT Tutor Tip #1: Prime the pump. 

Students must warm their brain up by doing practice exercises before the exam begins.  Here’s why.  The digital tests are split into two sections. Reading Writing comes first; Math follows.  Each section is then split into two modules.  Every student receives the same questions in the first module of each section.  However, the second modules change based on student responses in the first.  A student who gets more difficult questions correct in the first module will receive a harder second module.  This student thereby “unlocks” the ability to score in the highest range on that section.  By contrast, a student who misses many difficult questions in the first module puts a ceiling on their entire score because they receive an easier second module.

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Many people take a while to achieve their maximum cognitive output – especially if they’re teens at 8am on a Saturday!  As an SAT tutor, I see this all the time in the practice tests that students take at home.  Many students earn fewer points in the first section of a test because they’re just getting warmed up.  But students hoping for high PSAT scores can no longer use the first ten or so questions of an actual test as a warm-up.  More than ever on the new “adaptive” digital tests, every question counts.  So, to be able to hit the ground running, as an SAT tutor, I’m advising my sophomores and juniors to take about 10 Reading, 10 Writing (grammar), and 10 math questions with them to the testing site.  Get there as early as possible.  Do those practice questions as close to the start of the test so that your brain is firing on all cylinders as soon as the test starts.

SAT Tutor Tip #2: Practice first with old tests, then new. 

Unfortunately, College Board has published only four practice tests for the digital SAT and only one for the D-PSAT. 

Students should always aim to practice with real exams, but the scarcity of real digital exams makes this difficult.  As an SAT tutor, I’ve been using paper versions of the “old” SAT with my international students.  (The SAT went digital outside the U.S. at the beginning of 2023.)  When they’re closer to their actual test date, we then transition to the digital versions. 

Part of my job as an SAT tutor is also helping students to devise a practice testing gameplan. We try to space the remaining actual practice tests about two weeks apart until their second exam.  (If there are too many weeks in between actual exams to use a full digital practice exam, I’d substitute in old paper exams.)  In the case of the D-PSAT, students should save the College Board’s only published exam until after they’ve taken at least one other paper exam.

When taking the digital practice exam(s), students should familiarize themselves with the variety of digital tools available to them.  Students should feel comfortable using the online calculator, hiding (or showing) the countdown timer, and manipulating the annotation and highlighting tools well before test day.

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SAT Tutor Tip #3: Use scratch paper. 

On the old paper tests, students could underline reading passages or multiply fractions in the blank spaces inside the testing booklet itself.  Without a booklet, I fear that many students will revert to doing mental math or not annotating passages at all.  (Since COVID, students’ reluctance to write calculations down has unfortunately skyrocketed.)  And while the online tools mentioned above are helpful, they don’t necessary help offload important concepts or computations.  Holding so much information inside the brain stresses students’ working memory.  At best, this stress slows a student down.  At worst, this stress causes the student to feel even more anxious while taking the test.  Both effects may negatively impact a student’s final score.

As Erica L. Meltzer, author of the popular The Critical Reader SAT prep books has written, “Writing things down keeps you focused, reminds you what you’re looking for, and prevents you from getting distracted….” (SAT Reading, p. 20).  An SAT tutor herself who scored an 800 on her own SAT Verbal test, Meltzer knows what she’s talking about!

 SAT Tutor Final Thoughts

Sending our kids to do something we’ve never done ourselves can seem scary. If you’re nervous for them, remember this: the exam is an hour shorter than it used to be! (College Board says that the adaptive nature of the test allows them to pinpoint a student’s score with many fewer questions.)

And of course, if you think your family might need specialized help to navigate these and other challenges on the way to college, don’t hesitate to reach out!