Hacking the SAT

Rob Cohen, a former math teacher who now runs a test preparation business, argues that multiple-choice standardized exams have predictable weaknesses that can be exploited. He starts by stating his disapproval of these tests and recalls a tutoring session in which he realized a student could reach the correct answer without understanding the underlying concept.

He then walks through several techniques. Past exams are public, and some state laws require releasing questions, so studying the most frequently tested categories is an efficient starting point. Other approaches include spotting grammar rules such as dangling modifiers, reading linear equations in word problems, plugging simple numbers into abstract algebra, and using a graphing calculator, whose supplemental software the test does not restrict. He also covers answer elimination, guessing patterns, and the advantages extended-time accommodations can give, which he considers unfair to students without them.

He closes with the shift toward test-optional, test-flexible and test-blind admissions, and the College Board's plan to move the SAT to a digital format. He is skeptical that a redesign will make the test harder to game. The main takeaway is that many multiple-choice questions can be answered without mastering the material, which matters for anyone who relies on those scores.