Math Study Guide

Unlike the vast majority of SAT study guides on the market, our program doesn’t waste your time on concepts you already understand. We employ a novel pre-test design that quickly measures a student’s level of expertise with each new concept. If you pass the pre-test, you’re free to skip the corresponding lesson. This focuses your efforts in the areas that are most important to you, fully optimizing your study time. As an added bonus, once you know where you need the most work, you can drill down into those concepts with our dynamic video tutorials and guided practice. In summary, our SAT math study guide offers a powerful combination of diagnosis and instruction that will completely prepare you for your SAT in the absolute minimum amount of time.

"We are huge fans of Math Help and have used it with success with all three of our kids. Our high school junior needed some extra help with SAT prep. The site has been invaluable. Keep up the good work!"

—  JOHANNA

Is the SAT math hard?

The SAT math can be challenging, but a recent update to the exam has made it difficult for an entirely different reason than before. Under the old system, students had to think about math concepts in new ways, which could present stumbling blocks. Thankfully, the new version of the SAT presents problems in the same way that students are used to seeing them in their high school math classes. However, the difficulty now stems from the complexity of the material. Students are compelled to synthesize their understanding of various formulas and concepts within each question, particularly in the Algebra problems.  Therefore, a strong foundation in a broad assortment of math topics is required to answer the questions on the test.

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What kind of math is on the SAT 2020?

You’ll see a wide variety of math concepts on the SAT, but everything will fall under the major categories of high school mathematics: Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Statistics. Only an SAT math study guide that offers a thorough review of all five of these subject areas (including the major formulas used within each discipline) will truly prepare you for your exam.

What math do I need to study for the SAT?

The primary focus of the math on the SAT — about 35 to 40 percent — is in the “Algebra and Functions” area. These problems can extend all the way through the first semester of Algebra 2, but the bulk of the questions will come from Algebra 1, covering such concepts as quadratic equations, absolute values, and direct or inverse variation.

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How do I study for the SAT math?

The following is a list of tips that will maximize the effectiveness of your preparation.

1. Use a practice test to gauge your weaknesses and to track your progress. Until you’re able to ace your practice test, you won’t be ready for the real thing.
2. Focus your review on the primary math subject areas covered on the test, such as Algebra.
3. Memorize the important formulas so that you can quickly recall them when needed.
4. Practice until it’s second nature.
5. Stay vigilant to eliminate careless mistakes.
6. Work on improving your speed so that you have no issues finishing in the allotted time.

Good luck on your exam!

Kyla Blaze

The ALEKS went so well!! I placed exactly into the college math class I needed, skipping algebra 1-3 and into statistics!! Without this course through mathhelp.com I would have had to take 4 math classes before this class I needed for my bachelor’s degree! I loved the details in the instructions and mini practice quizes and the different types of problems. In high school I remember the teacher showing only one example then the test would have a different type of problem and I didn't know how to do that type of problem such as reciprocals and negative on the bottom instead of the top and so much more! The explanations of why the problem is wrong on your tests helped tremendously as well. Your course was amazing.

Tamara

I honestly have only good things to say about the experience! I was aiming for anywhere above 61 on my ALEKS test and scored a 64. I found it really helpful to have practice questions and quiz questions so the user has a feedback loop on their progress and confidence in the topic. Also, the ability to toggle between the practice/quiz questions and the associated lecture if you get a question wrong was very helpful. Most importantly the clarity of your explanations and example questions were right on point! Thank you very much!

Mohamed Abdalla

The best course I had. I scored 86 on the ALEKS test thanks to this class. The most helpful content for me was the simplified videos and the quizzes.

Jillian Barrette

I loved your teaching throughout this program! Thank you for all the hard work you put into compiling and teaching such a stream-lined curriculum. I only needed to test into MAT142 at Arizona State University to continue my education but it’s been 15 years since my last math course and as a nurse, I use some basic math for drug dosage calculations or area under the curve for chemotherapy calculations but this program was a great refresher for everything in between. I had super limited time to view the program, so I had to skip some on the more advanced trig, calculus and statistics sections and go ahead and take the ALEKS test so I could enroll for spring semester but I was able to test in to the math class I needed, so I consider it a success. I wouldn’t have felt anywhere near as confident going in if I hadn’t completed the program first.

I definitely think every section was very well thought out. The practice questions and the test questions were a definite bonus. It gave me plenty of chances to try out problems without guidance and the ability to review the written out solution for each answer was phenomenal. I was also grateful for the ability to skip around, to see my progress and scores and to be able to speed up the audio for each section. The reminders and pointing out the common mistakes that students make was a great touch! It made me think about what could trip me up later on and those little tidbits will stick with me.

I sincerely appreciate your help and I may be back later on if my course doesn’t provide the caliber of teaching that this program did.

Sarah Poynter

The ALEKS test went as well as it could for somebody that’s been out of the classroom for 25 years. The MathHelp site actually helped me a ton to prep. I don't have to take remedial math thank goodness. The ALEKS prep broke out the subjects beautifully and allowed you to build on it if you needed to. I hopped around a bit myself, but overall super easy to navigate either way you do it. Thanks!

Byron Miller

Thanks to Mathhelp I scored three levels above where I needed to be on my Aleks test. Fantastic course. I really liked how you could change the speed of playback - I would usually watch at 1.5x speed. If I could have done that when I was taking math in high school I wouldn't have been so bored. The tests and review units were all really well done and everything helped. Thanks so much for all the work you put into this, it's really great!

Kevin Santos

The ALEKS program was very helpful with the perfect balance of instruction and practice.

Macie Burkholder

The ALEKS test went great. I hadn't taken a math class for over 5 years so I was a little nervous to take the test so I wanted to be as prepared as possible when taking the test. It was really helpful in refreshing my memory and teaching me things I never learned. What I found most helpful was the video lessons as they helped walk me through everything. The program was really helpful.