The past is more relevant than we think, as exemplified by the application of Stoicism to a modern test like the SAT. Stoicism is a school of thought founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens, Greece in the 3rd century BCE. It teaches people to focus on what they can control, accept what they cannot, and respond to all situations with reason, discipline, and calm. Since human nature has not fundamentally changed in the last 2300 years, I find its tenets to apply to today’s tests.
Focus on what you can control
Students can control their study time, practice quality, sleep, and mindset.
In the preparation phase, students should make a regular plan they can stick to. Some students can spare (or are willing to do) 15 minutes per day while others can (or will) put in an hour per day. Regardless of how much time, consistency is king. Cramming in careless. Student practice should be quality. They should not just keep taking practice tests. Rather, they should review and analyze their mistakes (note patterns and weak areas) and learn from them on one practice test before taking another. Preparing with quality materials is important as well. Students who believe everything they hear on TikTok (unless it is from Jackie and Josh @testpreptips) will be at a great disadvantage. Rather, students should use official College Board tests (ideally proctored) and, if needed, quality instruction. Through instruction, students can sharpen their test taking strategy which includes their pacing, effective guessing, and, in some cases, “tips and tricks.” Sleep, nutrition, and exercise are also important.
On test day, students should arrive prepared and be early. They should be relaxed, focused, and confident (as taught by performance psychologist Dr Ben Bernstein). It is important for students to know the Bluebook App well so they can “mark for review” answers they are uncertain of. Due to their preparation, students should naturally have their timing down and should be able to focus on each subsequent question. The prepared student will also know the directions so they do not waste time reading them, should stay composed when faced with difficult question-types because they have seen them before, and should use the strategies they practiced.
Following these steps will maximize performance.
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