Free official SAT practice: Bluebook tests, Question Bank and Khan Academy

The College Board, which makes the SAT, also publishes free practice material. Because it comes from the test maker, it is the closest match to the real exam. Here is what exists and how to use it.

What the College Board offers

Full-length practice tests in Bluebook

• Bluebook is the same app you use on test day. The College Board describes these as full-length practice tests, timed like the real test.
• They are scored. Afterwards you can view your scores in My Practice, review each question and analyze your performance.
• Bluebook also has an untimed Test Preview with sample questions. It gives no score.

Student Question Bank

• Available in My Practice (mypractice.collegeboard.org).
• The College Board says it contains "thousands of real SAT and PSAT questions created by the makers of the actual tests."
• You can filter by section, domain and skill. That makes it the best tool for drilling a weak area.

Official SAT Prep on Khan Academy

• Free. The College Board says it "will make a study plan for students, giving them the preparation that will benefit them the most for test day."

Other free options

• Paper (non-adaptive) practice tests.
• A daily Question of the Day.
• Free small-group SAT tutoring through Schoolhouse.world, which the College Board links from its practice page.

A plan that matches the real test

1. Start with a diagnostic

• Take one full-length test in Bluebook under real conditions: 2 hours 14 minutes, with the 10-minute break.
• Write down your Reading and Writing and Math scores, and the domains where you lost the most points.

2. Drill by domain, not at random

• Reading and Writing has four domains: Information and Ideas, Craft and Structure, Expression of Ideas, and Standard English Conventions.
• Math also has four: Algebra, Advanced Math, Problem-Solving and Data Analysis, and Geometry and Trigonometry.
• Use the Question Bank filters to spend most of your time on your two weakest domains.

3. Practice with the module timing

• The real test gives you 32 minutes per Reading and Writing module and 35 minutes per Math module.
• Practice sets of the same length (27 Reading and Writing questions, or 22 Math questions) under those limits.

4. Learn the built-in Desmos calculator

• Bluebook has an embedded Desmos calculator with graphing and scientific modes.
• Practice using it on algebra and advanced math questions until it is faster than solving by hand.

5. Take a full test every 2-3 weeks

• Then spend at least as long reviewing it as you spent taking it.
• For every wrong answer, write down why: you didn't know the content, misread the question, ran out of time, or made a careless slip.

How many full tests?

The College Board doesn't say on its practice page how many full-length tests Bluebook has, so check the app itself. Save one or two tests for the final weeks before your test date, so you get an honest final check.

Where the app fits

The UCSAT app is organized around the same sections and domains, with lessons and practice for each one. It fits between official full-length tests: use Bluebook to measure where you are, and use daily practice to close the gaps.