What to expect from the May 4, 2024 SAT: Get unique insights and preparation tips following the challenging March SAT.
The next official SAT exam is scheduled for May 4, 2024. This exam, which follows the international rollout in 2023, is just second offering of the new digital SAT, and here is what you need to know before taking it.
The initial reaction to the March 9, 2024 exam was one of surprise and, for many, frustration. The difficulty of the questions was significantly higher than many had anticipated based on the practice materials provided by the College Board.
In response to feedback, the College Board released two additional practice tests (#5 and #6) designed to reflect the tougher question formats. Despite this, students, parents, and teachers are still uncertain whether these new resources can suffice.
We recommend students to seek out the most challenging and relevant practice materials, even if they are old pen and paper SAT questions. As long as the topics are relevant, more difficult questions will help students better prepare.
This is especially true for math, as the fundamental concepts tested hasn't change drastrically with the digital SAT shift, so old materials covering the same topics should work as practice.
Given the experiences from March, students should prepare for the May SAT with the expectation that it will maintain a similar level of difficulty. There has been no indication from the College Board that the test will be made easier, so students should brace for a similarly rigorous examination process.
Exam rules and procedures haven't changed either, so students should also expect the same test conditions as March. This is ideal for students retaking the digital SAT as they are now accustomed to the new format, software and test environment.
Practicing under simulated test conditions, becoming familiar with the digital interface, and focusing on time management will be crucial for success. The ability to handle complex question types efficiently will also play a critical role in achieving a high score.
For more tips and how to prepare for the upcoming exam, check out our 2-week study plan.
The strategy is pretty simple: students need to practice more difficult questions (for both Reading/Writing and Math). Easy questions aren't going to help anymore, and no matter how many of them a student does it will not help on the real exam.
We definitely recommend going through the 2 new practice tests CollegeBoard released (practice test #5 and #6). These are much more aligned with the difficulty of the real digital SAT exam - much more so than the first 4 practice tests.
Test Ninjas also provides extra-difficult practice questions to help students achieve their best score. We've significantly increased the difficulty of our practice tests recently, and we provide full-length fully-adaptive tests as well as individual Reading and Writing and Math practice modules.