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How to Keep Up With Test Prep: Ways to Stay Motivated during COVID-19

During a summer filled with uncertainty, SAT and ACT testing adds yet another layer of complexity parents and students must navigate in the age of COVID-19. The College Board - the company that administers the SAT - has continued to push for in-person testing starting in August. The ACT, on the other hand, is still administering the test, though capacity constraints are causing a bottleneck for registered students. 

At the same time, these organizations are pushing colleges to be flexible with how they receive test results - urging them to accept test results later in the application cycle and to be more lenient with other rules.  

While all of this can feel daunting, here at Kyo Prep our best advice is for you to keep up with test prep. Although everything else seems to be thrown off course, we urge you to keep your test prep on schedule . While it may be tempting to take a break, our stance is that it is easier to maintain a high score than it is to improve a score. Once you have reached your target score, it’s vitally important you maintain your level skill by taking a weekly test. 

The immediate future of testing 

While it is possible for the SAT and ACT to follow the GMAT’s lead and switch to computer-based, at-home testing, all signs point to a continuation of in-person testing. 

How to stay motivated while studying for the ACT/SAT. 

There are many conveniences to studying at home, but most students, and adults, note a drop in productivity and struggle to keep up with test prep. So how do you stay focused? If you have a tutor or you’re in a test prep class, then there is a certain level of accountability, but if you’re doing this alone then we suggest doing a few things:. 

• Create a concrete test prep schedule.
• Join an online test prep study group - either on an online forum or with your friends
• Schedule practice tests

Creating a concrete test prep schedule can be daunting. What do you need to prepare? What areas do you need to work on? Are you lacking in content or strategy? If you’re not sure, we suggest you schedule a practice test with us. Email us at [email protected] to schedule an online practice test. Our score report will tell you which areas you will need to work on. 

Once you know where to start, then create a daily schedule. For example:

• Monday - One Reading section. Keep track of how long each passage takes but take your time. Your goal is to be accurate, not fast. 
• Tuesday - One English section. Keep track of how long each passage takes but take your time. Your goal is to be accurate, not fast. 
• Wednesday - One Math Section- Focus on getting the “Easy and Medium” questions correct. Keep track of your time but take your time. 
• Thursday - Break
• Friday - Break
• Saturday - Take Practice Test
• Sunday - Review Practice test. 

If you’ll notice, this schedule is focused more on accuracy and less on speed. In order to improve, you need to learn how to answer the questions correctly. Once you’re doing so then we can work on speed. 

Joining a test  prep group

Chances are, you have friends who are in the same boat as you facing issues with keeping up with test prep. We recommend that you guys get together on a Zoom call and study together. This way you can ask each other for help or just vent. We recommend the study time being no more than an hour and a half. This is important because we don’t want you to burn out. 

Schedule a practice test

All the work you’re doing needs to be measured. The best way to see how you are improving and make sure that you’re keeping up with test prep is to take a practice test. Email us at [email protected] to schedule an online diagnostic test. If you email us, we will proctor you online. 

If you would rather have a more familiar proctor, then ask your parent to monitor you. Set a time and day to keep yourself accountable. 

If you get a question wrong, don’t look for the right answer, but look for why you did not like the right answer.

The circumstances are certainly far from ideal, but colleges and testing organizations are trying their best to navigate these waters in a way everyone can manage.. Again, our number one advice is to keep up with test prep and not let your skills get rusty. Testing day will be here in no time. Good luck!

By Patrick Choi, Kyo Standard