Why Studying More Isn’t Raising Your SAT Score (And What to Do Instead)

I recently started working with a new student who told me he had been studying two hours a day on his own. Despite all that effort, his practice test scores weren’t improving at all.

During our initial consultation, I asked him how he had been studying. He explained that he would sit down and complete 30–50 practice questions a day. On the surface, that sounds great. But then I asked a crucial follow-up question:

“What do you do when you miss a problem?”

His answer revealed the real issue. He said he would mark it and move on.

This is the mistake I see most students make.

Missed Questions Are Opportunities—Not Failures

Most students fail to recognize the opportunity that missed questions provide. When a student gets something wrong, that’s not the end of the learning process—it’s the beginning.

Students sometimes look at me funny when I get excited about missed questions. But there’s a reason for it. Every missed question gives us valuable information about why they are struggling. And unless you understand why you’re getting questions wrong, your scores won’t change.

My goal isn’t simply to help students answer the question correctly. My goal is to figure out what went wrong so we can prevent the mistake from happening again.

Breaking Down Mistakes the Right Way

For English questions, we ask things like:

• Did the student misunderstand the question?

• Did they misinterpret the passage?

• Did they misunderstand the answer choices?

• Did they get stuck between two seemingly good options?

• Were they unfamiliar with the grammar or punctuation rule being tested?

For Math questions, we look at:

• Did they misread the question?

• Did they forget a key concept or formula?

• Did they not know how to start the problem?

• Did they make a simple calculation error?

Each of these mistakes requires a different strategy going forward.

Why This Matters

Once students understand why they missed a question, they know exactly what to focus on next—whether that’s content review, strategy adjustments, or slowing down and reading more carefully. This targeted approach is what leads to real score improvement.

Simply doing more questions isn’t enough. Studying smarter, not harder, is what actually moves the needle.

A Student Success Story

One student I worked with came to me after months of studying on his own with no score improvement. He was trying the brute-force approach—completing dozens of practice questions a day but rarely reviewing his mistakes.

Once we shifted his focus to carefully analyzing why he missed questions, he began learning from his errors and adjusting his approach. That's when his scores began to climb. Over eight weeks, his SAT score increased by 130 points, even though he spent less total time studying. The difference wasn’t effort; it was strategy.

Ready to Change How You Study?

So ask yourself: How have you been studying for the SAT? Are you ready to study smarter, not just longer? Are you ready to finally see your practice test scores go up?

If so, schedule a free 30-minute consultation, and let’s get you on the path to your goal score.