Personalizing Your SAT Prep Using Khan Academy

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Research has shown that students succeed when information is presented in various ways and in ways that reach their individual learning styles.  We should prepare our students for standardized assessments, such as the SAT in a similar way.  Most test preparation programs have students complete practice problems from a book in a set amount of time and then the answers to the test questions are reviewed.  This method doesn’t engage students, and it doesn’t cater towards students who have other study preferences.  Using a web based program easily adds engagement and personalization to a student’s study program.

Khan Academy is a web based, free program that provides students with a variety of study methods.  However, using a program that offers many approaches may require some trial and error.  Khan Academy (2017) suggests giving students “at least three months to prepare for a standardized assessment so that they are comfortable with the test content and so that they can experiment with a variety of different study approaches.”  Khan Academy’s approach to studying for the SAT is similar to utilizing a “coach to 5K” app in which you tell the app when your race is and which days you would like to run.  The app then customizes a running schedule for you based on your preferences.  Khan Academy’s test preparation program is very similar.  You are able to choose which days you would like to devote to studying, and based on your test date, it lets you know how many full-length practice tests you should take.

Khan Academy gives several sample schedules that students can use to plan out their time based on the amount of time they will have to prepare for their test.  An example of each of the plans can be found below.  The full list can be found here.


The benefit of using a web-based program like Khan Academy when study for the SAT is it easily provides students with the customization that they need.  When students are studying from a traditional test prep book, they are limited to the practice problems and explanations provided by the book’s author.  Khan Academy provides videos to explain the concepts and additional practice problems that students need to work on.  Students can also focus on the concepts that they are weak in rather than working through a general set of problems.  Khan Academy also grades the full length test for the student and provides the student with an analysis on which concepts they need to spend more time on.  Again, not only does Khan Academy say “you need to work on solving linear systems”, but it provides the student with a direct link to a video showing them how to complete a linear system problem with sample problems for the student to practice.  Using online test preparation tools is the best way to help our students prepare for standardized assessments, such as the SAT, because of its ability to personalize the learning experience and seamlessly provide additional resources.

More information on linking your College Board and Khan Academy accounts to further personalize the studying experience can be found here.


Bibliography

Corcoran, B. (2016, July 10). How Khan Academy is Shaking Up the SAT - EdSurge News. Retrieved July 13, 2017, from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2016-04-01-how-khan-academy-is-shaking-up-the-sat
Full length SATs to take online. (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2017, from https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/sat/full-length-sat-1/online-sat-tests/a/full-length-sats-to-take-online
Planning your SAT practice. (n.d.). Retrieved July 13, 2017, from https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/sat/new-sat-tips-planning/new-sat-how-to-prep/a/planning-your-sat-practice-with-khan-academy
SAT Practice on Khan Academy. (2017, June 06). Retrieved July 13, 2017, from https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/practice/khan-academy

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