Can a Simple Writing Exercise Boost Your SAT Scores and Combat Test Anxiety? (Image: Pexels)
Administered by the College Board, the SAT consists of two main sections: Each of these is score d on a scale from 200 to 800, for a total possible score of 1600. Since 2023, the SAT has transitioned to a computer-based adaptive format known as the Bluebook App, which adjusts the difficulty of questions based on the test taker’s performance. The test duration is about 2 hours and 14 minutes and the purpose of the SAT is to provide colleges with a standardised measure to compare prospective students’ academic skills and predict their potential success in college. The SAT has evolved over time from its origins in 1926 to better align with high school curricula and the Common Core standards, aiming to test skills students have learned rather than innate aptitude alone.
The stress associated with SAT testing is indeed real and significantly impacts student performance and a 2010 study published through Georgia Southern University , concluded that “high test anxiety negatively affects verbal SAT performance”, indicating that the students with high anxiety scored lower. Originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test but now known as the Scholastic Assessment Test, the SAT is a standardised college admissions test that is widely used in the United States and around the world to assess a student’s readiness for college by testing their skills in reading, writing, language comprehension and mathematics. The SAT is typically taken by high school juniors and seniors and is designed to measure how well students analyse and solve problems, which are skills that are necessary for academic success in higher education. It complements high school GPA and other factors in college admissions decisions. It plays a significant role alongside other aspects of a student’s application to universities primarily in the US, Canada and other countries.
A 2011 landmark study in Science , found that a brief expressive-writing assignment that occurred immediately before taking an important test significantly improved students’ exam scores. The researchers ran two lab and two randomised field experiments and noted that asking students to write about their testing worries immediately before exams significantly reduced the negative effect of test anxiety on performance, especially for students who were habitually anxious. The intervention’s power is practical: a short, low-cost activity done right before a test produced measurable score gains in real classroom exams.