The Score, Issue #11: Is "Consistency" Hampering Your Score Gains?
Beyond a Myopic Focus on Plowing Through Practice Tests: How Diversifying Your Efforts Can Skyrocket Your Scores
In my nearly ten-year tenure as a professional ACT and SAT test prep tutor, I've noticed one paramount factor that determines the magnitude of score gains. It's not innate intellect, academic achievement, or subject-matter knowledge; it's consistency.
However, the type of “consistency” I’m talking about is often more of a hindrance than a help. Allow me to explain …
The Illusion of Consistency: 'Churn and Burn'
Many students are remarkably consistent in one particular aspect of test preparation: doing practice tests. Serious test prep students, understandably, are eager to practice. The issue is that practice alone is not nearly enough. The unfortunate truth is that, for many students, doing practice tests amounts to intellectual “busy work” and is just as productive, meaning it’s not at all productive.
To “break through the wall” and achieve their maximum potential score on the ACT or SAT, students need to do more than knock out endless practice tests. I refer to this as “mindless grinding” or "churn and burn,” since all it accomplishes is churning through the limited supply of precious official practice materials, leaving students burning with frustration as their score goes nowhere.
The true essence of deliberate practice lies in the conscious effort to apply the knowledge gained during the study phase.
Prep Smarter
When I started Quiz Hacker Test Prep nearly a decade ago, my aim was simple: develop and promote a smarter approach to exam preparation, a method more effective than much of the hackneyed, superficial pieties that pass for dogma in so much of today’s mainstream test prep discourse.
I’m happy to report that, after much trial and error, I have indeed developed a system that justifies my company’s slogan: “Prep Smarter.”
The Triad of Success: Study, Deliberate Practice, and Feedback
To prep smarter, consistency must extend across three pivotal domains, or phases:
Phase 1: Directed Study
Memorize Relevant Strategies, Tactics, and Data Sets
Though study is the starting point of all effective test prep, it is often neglected. It’s not that students don’t study. The issue is that most students—even academically high-achieving students—do not put nearly enough effort into this part of the process.
The task is to identify the categories of questions you’re missing most frequently, followed by a rigorous study of strategies, tactics, rules, and other information relevant to those categories. What’s more, vague familiarity is not enough. As I mentioned in last week’s issue of The Score, memorization is strongly encouraged at this stage.
For students who are self-prepping, I’ve developed a powerful tool for making fast progress with this phase: the Question Type Inventory.
Phase 2: Deliberate Practice
Hone Skills with Intent
The idea of deliberate practice is to move beyond mere repetition. If you truly want to increase your score, simply going through the motions won’t cut it, no matter how many practice tests you complete. As I discussed in Issue #4 of The Score, deliberate practice is an active, intentional approach to skill development. It’s honing skills with intent.
A shallow review may help you feel that the correct answer “makes sense,” but it rarely offers the deeper insights necessary to avoid repeating the same mistake.
Imagine deliberate practice as a training session that's centered on improving a particular set of skills. In the realm of test prep, it's about mastering the application of strategies, tactics, and rules learned during the study phase. The true essence of deliberate practice lies in the conscious effort to apply the knowledge gained during the study phase.
Phase 3: Focused Feedback
Reflect On and Analyze Your Performance
Feedback, the third essential step, is where you (with or without the help of a tutor) scrutinize your performance on the practice test, in order to identify instances where you failed to apply, or where you misapplied, the strategies, tactics, rules, and other information you studied in Phase 1. This is the most neglected aspect of test prep.
A knowledgeable test prep tutor can be a valuable resource during the feedback phase. However, with the right approach, you can also achieve significant insights through self-analysis.
Consistency is all about appropriately distributing your energy, focus, and time across the three key stages—studying, practicing, and getting feedback.
The key is to be thorough and discerning. More often than not, test prep students only gloss over their errors without delving deeper to discover why they made them. A shallow review may help you feel that the correct answer “makes sense,” but it rarely offers the deeper insights necessary to avoid repeating the same mistake.
In Issue #9 of The Score, I shared a detailed guide for conducting self-feedback on your reading section performance. This article includes specific instructions for getting the most out of both your errors and the correct answers.
If you do it right, you will walk away feeling mentally exhausted. Such is life: no pain, no gain.
In an upcoming issue, I’ll explain how to do self-feedback for SAT Writing and ACT English. For now, remember this: the secret to a more effective feedback process lies in recognizing the root of your mistakes and charting a path to rectifying them.
Effective Consistency: Balancing the Triad
Thus far, I haven’t introduced any groundbreaking concepts. Anyone with basic training in skill improvement is probably familiar with the importance study, practice, and feedback.
Rather, my approach is unique in its comprehensive commitment to helping students embrace true consistency in their SAT/ACT prep journey. If you pay close attention, you’ll notice that all of the material on Quiz Hacker Test Prep — every tactics article, answer explanation, and practice drill — is geared toward the effective distribution of energy, focus, and time across the three key phases.
What are the specifics of said distribution? Particularly in the beginning, you should spend more time on Phases 1 and 3 than on Phase 2. This starts to even out as you gain mastery, but when you’re first getting started with test prep, spend at least twice as much time studying as you do on practice tests. Spend at least three times on feedback/analysis as it takes you to complete a practice test — more if you have a high number of misses.
Spend at least three times on feedback/analysis as it takes you to complete a practice test — more if you have a high number of misses.
People don’t like to hear that, and they really don’t like to do that. I’ll tell you why: it’s hard. Sure, knocking out a practice test can be demanding. However, especially when it comes to doing feedback/analysis, the mental strain involved in the other phases is much higher.
Effectively studying and dissecting your misses requires stronger concentration, greater patience, heightened attention to detail, and more penetrating analysis. If you do it right, you will walk away feeling mentally exhausted. Such is life: no pain, no gain.
Action Plan
Now, you might be wondering how to put this approach into action. Here's what I suggest: For each section you're working on (for example, ACT English or SAT Reading), tackle two different practice tests each week. For example, if you’re working on ACT English, you could tackle the English sections of Official Practice Tests 1 and 2 in one week.
Don't try to cram everything into a single day or two. Break it up: Day 1 is for studying, Day 2 is for doing a practice test section; Day 3 is for conducting feedback and reflecting on your performance. Then, repeat.
What if you're prepping for multiple sections at the same time? I recommend staggering the phases. For example, on Tuesdays you might study ACT English while doing a practice test for ACT Reading or conducting feedback for ACT Science. Mixing things up a bit can help avoid boredom and remain sharp.
Unlocking Your Potential: Here's How Quiz Hacker Helps
Over the years, I've been lucky to see my test prep system open doors for countless students, helping them to achieve their dream scores. And the best part? Now, this system is not just for those who can afford private tutoring—it's here for you, no matter who you are or where you come from.
Quiz Hacker Test Prep is packed with all the tools you need to make self-prep a success, helping you unlock your full potential and achieve exceptional score gains. So what are you waiting for? It's time to start your journey to higher ACT and SAT scores. Subscribe now, and let's do this together!
Until next time, remember to Prep Smarter!
~ Dave Walker