Imagine receiving an email informing you of a crucial job interview that was scheduled a few weeks in advance. This interview could decide your entire future and could lead to the life you’ve always wanted. If this happened to you, you would probably spend time practicing interview questions, ensure that your interview clothing was well kept and wrinkle-free, and set a few alarms on the day of the interview to make sure you weren’t late.

Taking the SAT® is a lot like the life-changing job interview. The test has the power to change your life by helping you get into the university of your choice. Like with the interview you shouldn’t just sit around until you take the SAT® but instead, you should practice the skills and knowledge necessary to get a perfect score on the test.

This guide exists to help prepare you for the SAT® Reading test. It is one part of the new SAT® and has an important role to play in your journey to a top university. So, let’s get on with it.

How to Get a Perfect Score on SAT® Reading Test

In this SAT® Reading review, you can learn valuable strategies and critical information that can help you conquer the SAT® Reading section. Not only will you find information to help you make the jump from a 740 or 760 to an 800, but you will also find strategies that can help you improve your reading skills for life beyond the test, like the first day of college.

Achieving a perfect score on the SAT® Reading test is no easy feat. Most students will never get near a perfect score. But you are here, which means you are different.

How far are you willing to go?

Getting a perfect score can mean changing your entire test-taking strategy. A perfect score means adjusting the way you think about complex passages. Achieving perfection means putting in hard work and long hours. If you are willing to do that – then let’s take the leap.

Some people question the value of a perfect score on any test. They look at the 800 and think “why would anyone ever need that?”

The truth is that most students don’t; many students will never need a perfect score for the schools that they want to attend. The average SAT® score is 1000, which means many schools settle for scores lower than 1600. However, to get into the best schools you need to be competitive, and that means getting perfect scores on tests like the SAT®.

A perfect score is something that can set a student apart when they are applying to a fiercely competitive school. The goal is to have your score work for you, not to have to work harder to make up for a low score.

Getting 1600 on your SAT® can set you apart and increase your chances of acceptance to those hard-to-reach schools. It only takes one look at the average SAT® scores of students admitted to schools like Harvard and Yale to understand the actual value of 1600 on the test and a perfect score on the SAT® Verbal.

Take Harvard for example. The average Harvard student scores 1540 overall on their SAT®. The 25th percentile score is 1480, and the 75th percentile score is 1600. That means a perfect score would only set you in the top 25th percentile of applicants at Harvard. Just imagine what 1600 could do for applications to other schools!

It is a rough world out there for a student applying to college, but a perfect score on the SAT® can lighten that weight. That is why this guide exists: to help you study and alleviate the burden of studying for the SAT®. By the end, you will know how to get a perfect score on SAT® Reading.

Let’s get started by talking about some general information for the test.

The Redesign

One of the major factors to keep in mind as you read this guide is that the SAT® has been redesigned recently. If you have been studying out of an SAT® book that you bought a few years ago or that was handed down it will no longer apply. The test was redesigned and redistributed in March of 2016, so any materials published before that date will have incorrect information.

The redesign for SAT® Reading focuses on having questions that are evidence-based – meaning that questions will be based on text within the test not so much on prior knowledge of SAT® words or the previous reading of some literary piece. The redesign has changed many parts of the exam, and this guide will reflect those changes.

Three Types of Passages

The SAT® Reading has three types of passages now, and all questions are tied to a passage:

1. One passage on the US and World Literature
2. Two passages on History and Social Studies
3. Two passages on Science

All 52 questions on the SAT® Reading will focus on one of those three categories, and the items are split to be about 10-11 questions per passage.

The SAT® Reading section focuses on your reading skills, not on content knowledge or any understanding that exists outside of the passage. All of the information you need is in the passage, so don’t worry. It is entirely possible to get a perfect score on SAT® Reading–it is all in the test.

Reading Skills Tested

CollegeBoard has specified a breakdown for the specific types of questions given on the test. The breakdown looks like this:

• Words in Context – 10 questions across Reading and Writing and Language
• Command of Evidence – 10 questions across Reading and Writing and Language
• Analysis of Social Science – 21 questions across whole SAT®
• Analysis of Science – 21 questions across entire SAT®

Notice an important point – all of these questions will appear on the SAT®, but there is no clear indication of how many will be on the SAT® Reading on a particular test. The focus of the questions will be somewhat random; therefore you should study for all of the sections.

How Does the Scoring Work?

The SAT® Reading section has 52 multiple-choice questions that you have 65 minutes to complete. If you are doing the math, which means you will have a little over a minute to do each test item not counting time spent reading the passages. Speed will be a must.

The texts themselves reflect a range of academic levels from 9^th grade to the first year of college. The range provides the SAT® with the opportunity to choose from a wide variety of texts, meaning they have more opportunity to create new and different tests.

A key to a perfect score on SAT® Reading is to understand raw scores. To achieve a perfect score on the SAT® Verbal section, you have to get a perfect raw score. Let’s look at the raw to scaled score breakdown.

To earn an 800, you must have a raw score of 51 on the Reading section. A 51 means that you can only miss a single question. Take a look at the chart for how the raw scores on the test translate to scaled scores:

Notice that if you miss two questions, you will drop to a 39 scaled score. The scoring system leaves little room for error.

Note: Let’s talk briefly about how the scaled to final score conversion works. You’ll notice that we included the reading raw -> scale conversion on the chart. That is because the SAT® Verbal score is made up of a combination of the Reading and Writing and Language sections. The combination is new to the SAT® system and just came into effect in March of 2016.

The two tests now combine to form an overall verbal score of 800 which is half of the overall 1600 you can earn on the SAT®. The two raw scores will convert to a 10-40 and then the scaled numbers are added for a possible 20-80 total. The 20-80 is then multiplied by 10 to give you the 200-800 you can receive on the Verbal Section.

The test is unforgiving. There is no place for a mistake. So, how can people get an 800 when there is no forgiveness on the test? An 800 is possible because each question has only one right answer.

There Can Be Only One

At this point, you might be wondering how you can expect to get all but one question right.

We’ve been trained in school to look at reading and interpretation as subjective, but the reality of the SAT® is that there is always a correct answer to the question. The test is designed to be objective so that it won’t discriminate against people based on any factor other than reading ability.

Formal education has taught us that there is never just one answer to a complicated question. In many English classes, there is no single right answer when you analyze a text–that is why we write essays with various viewpoints to construct the best answer because there is no single right answer. That isn’t how the SAT® works.

You can’t get caught up by the idea that there might be multiple correct answers. When you look at SAT® questions, there is a right answer supported by specific evidence from the passage. If you read carefully, you will always be able to determine which of the four choices is correct based on the information from the reading.

The test will seek to fool you, but there is only one option supported by evidence. Three of the four might seem correct, but those answer choices will have serious issues that you can identify by looking into the passage.

If you are ready to crack that system and learn how to get a perfect score on SAT® Reading, then this is the guide for you. Follow these seven strategies, and you will be well on your way.

8 Strategies for “How to Get a Perfect Score on SAT® Reading.”

Strategy 1: Practice, Practice, Practice

If you are seriously wondering how to get a perfect score on the SAT® Reading section, then your first and best tool is going to be practice.

We practice everything from free throws in basketball to smiling in the mirror before a picture, but when it comes to tests, we usually feel that we shouldn’t have to study. We are either smart or not, we can either pass or not, we either know the material or we don’t. But that isn’t true!

Tests, like everything else in life, can be overcome with determination and hard work. Your hone your test-taking skills through the amount of time you are willing to put into taking practice exams and questions. Practicing your test-taking skills will allow you to cut down on wasted time and avoid second-guessing yourself.

If you want to know how to get a perfect score on SAT® Reading, you need to practice.

Part of the reason that this is the first strategy is that it underscores all of the other strategies. None of them will make any difference unless you are committed to serious practice. That means between now and your test you have to commit time, and energy.

Time

Many students don’t spend the amount of time they need to do well on the test. I would recommend that you spend at least 5 hours a week practicing for the various parts of the SAT®.

Those 5 hours a week are a general guideline for improving your score. If you have roughly six weeks to your test date and you need to raise your score by 100 points, you will need to study around 30 hours. If you have more time or need to improve by less, the time commitment will vary.

There is no limit on the amount of time you can devote to practicing, and the better prepared you are for the test, the better you will do. The test affects your future, so make sure you devote the time you need to pass.

Energy

The energy you put into testing can significantly affect your ability to pull off a perfect score. If you don’t take practice situations seriously by using your full speed and being mentally awake, you will fail to meet your full potential during practice.

That is why you must be serious and engaged in your practice. Don’t go into it half-hearted–commit and use all of your energy. If you don’t put yourself into the mindset that each practice test is an actual test, you will never commit the way you need to grow.

Practice Materials

Practice is only useful if it mirrors the test. You will want your practice materials to be as close to the test as possible. SAT® just redesigned the Writing and Language Section, so they are difficult to find. So difficult that there are no released tests to use. So the next best thing can be found here:

• SAT® Official Reading Practice Questions
• CRACKSAT® Practice Tests

Those tests will be your best shot at finding out accurate scores on the SAT®. They should be used as benchmarks to gauge your progress. You should examine the amount of time you have left until the test, and space the tests out evenly.

The SAT® official practice questions should be something you complete to gauge your skills. Then you can drill the CrackSAT® tests as benchmarks to chart your progress.

Those practice tests are not going to make up the bulk of your study materials. You will need to use other training materials to improve your skills in between the tests. Some excellent materials for the test are on the Albert.io website. You should also check out practice books or articles online for free.

Regardless of the materials, you use to drill the skills you will want to pick materials that are similar to the test. Read reviews before you purchase any books, and find websites that are highly rated by online communities.

Strategy 2: Use Metacognition Effectively

One part of any productive study session is figuring out how you think best. Metacognition is the process of thinking about how you think. You might already have some study habits or techniques that you use for your classes – that would be a good place to start.

As you work through the practice tests and problems on the albert.io website start to think about the skills you are using to learn. There are some important skills that can be essential to earning your perfect score on the SAT®.

1. Decoding

Decoding involves learning how to separate relevant information from irrelevant information. Part of learning how to take the SAT® is learning how to get the best information possible.

To practice Decoding, you will want to begin reading passages and looking for the main identifiers like names, places, dates, definitions, and summaries. Those key identifiers act as markers which allow you to decode the information and find the most relevant information that can help to both understand the passage and answer questions.

2. Operations

Learning operations means that you think through things in a set of steps. This means identifying the steps to solving different problems.

For example with a vocabulary in context question, you will need first to determine which word is being asked about, where it falls in the passage, and what other words are interacting with it.

Every type of learning has an operation to it, from reading a historical text for analysis to completing a math problem. The most important part is figuring out what the operations are for each type of text/learning. Once you have found a process for each type of information, reading for information will be much easier.

3. Primary Goal

Identifying the primary goal of the text is an important metacognitive skill to perfect. Many of the questions dealing with the theme, thesis, or main idea will be difficult to get correct unless you figure out how to identify the primary goal of the text.

A good way to practice this metacognitive skill is to ask yourself if you understood the main point of each paragraph within a text. Many students struggle to read a passage and grasp the full meaning of it because they mostly are searching for the answer within the text. If you can recognize the primary goal in your reading, you will go a long way towards answering many of the questions posed on the SAT®.

Once you have practiced your metacognitive study skills and become better at studying overall, you will be ready to begin to diagnose your specific weaknesses in reading questions.

Strategy 3: Diagnose Your Weaknesses and Fix them

As you identify your weaknesses, you should begin to track a pattern in the question types.

The questions will ask you to focus on six specific parts of reading comprehension. Let’s talk about the six different kinds of problems, and as a bonus, let’s use some of the example questions found on Albert.io.

1. Vocabulary Questions: What is the meaning of this word in the passage?

Vocabulary questions will often focus on the context or meaning of a word within a passage. If you have background knowledge, that can help, but everything you need to answer the question will be in the passage. There is no guessing or outside knowledge required.

If you are weak in vocabulary-based questions, this would be a good place to start practicing. Understanding context clues is a skill you have to practice to develop.

2. Detail Questions: What does this specific detail mean? How does this particular detail change the tone of the passage?

Often with specific detail questions, you will be able to find the correct answer directly in the passage. It is a good idea to understand when the question is asking you for a specific detail, and then search the text for that detail.

If you have a weakness in identifying and understanding the specifics of a passage, you will want to work on developing the skill of skimming or searching quickly through passages for the details and evidence that show the answer in the passage. The great thing about clear answers being present in the text is that once you practice finding answers, it will become much easier over time.

3. Inference Questions: What can you infer about the author or character based on the passage? How would the author/character feel about this situation?

Inference questions will always focus on using clues in the text to form an understanding of something not stated explicitly in the passage.

“Wait” you might say, “I thought that all questions dealt with evidence from the text?”

Don’t worry, that rule still holds. Even if the information you are inferring isn’t in the text, the clues that you use are in the text.

If making inferences is your weakness you should focus on finding those clues and evidence in texts that can give you an understanding of the unwritten things that the author, speaker, or characters think.

4. Tone Questions: What word describes the author’s tone in the passage?

Tone is difficult for students to explain, but at the same time, very easy for them to understand because understanding tone relies on the feelings of the reader. Often, students have the ability to read a piece and give a general description of the author’s attitude, but they find it hard to put into words.

If identifying the tone of the passage is your main weakness you will want to begin looking at different types of tone conveyed in writing. There are many resources online that help students learn to identify the various tones that exist and can help you work on finding words or sentences that convey those tones. That type of practice, almost like matching a particular tone to a word or phrase (e.g. the word skinny conveys a different and negative tone when compared to the word thin which is positive), can help you strengthen this skill.

5. Main Idea Questions: What is the main idea of the passage?

Identifying the main idea or purpose of a piece might seem easier than some of the other skills in the reading section, but can be tricky if you don’t know where to look.

Finding the main idea will require looking at various parts of the text to gain a holistic view of the passage. The parts must connect in some way, and how they connect to make a whole is where we will find the main idea and meaning of the passage.

If this is a weakness for you don’t fret. Determining the main idea, primary goal, or purpose of a text is not always easy. You will want to practice reading passages and identifying those key sentences, words, or phrases that show what the author wants the reader to do, think, or take away from their speech/writing.

6. Diction, syntax, and construction questions: Why is the passage put together this way? Why would the author use this structure in their writing?

Diction (word choice), syntax (grammatical structure), and construction (the way the author chooses to arrange the text) all affect the meaning and delivery of the message.

If understanding diction, syntax, or construction is a challenge, then you’ll want to focus on the way in which the words are put together helps to create meaning in the text. Like the use of parallel structure in the example above, the author’s organizational decisions always affect meaning in the text. So, pay attention to how structures can impact the way authors convey their points.

Diagnose Your Weaknesses

You must figure out which of those questions is the most difficult for you to answer. Once you understand your weaknesses, you can work on turning them into strengths.

The time you spend fixing your weaknesses is essential to getting that perfect score on the SAT® Reading. However, other strategies can help you make up for any weakness you still have when the test rolls around—that’s where the fourth strategy comes into play.

Strategy 4: Whittle It Down until You Have the Right One

If you have weaknesses when the test rolls around, don’t panic–there are test-taking strategies that will be helpful for you.

Part of SAT® review is that you begin to understand the best way to take the test. As we mentioned earlier, when you take the SAT® Reading portion there is only onecorrect answer per question. That means that three answers are wrong.

Remember, there is only one right answer. There aren’t shades of correctness. Instead, answers are going to be correct or incorrect. It is therefore up to you to practice a test-taking skill that will make up for any weakness you have after your practice: that skill is the process of elimination.

Whittling down the choices until you have the right answer is not always easy, but it is possible, and it will become easier to do if you practice before your test. Let’s take a look at an example of a short passage question:

“But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.”

Q: What is the primary goal of paragraph 8?

1. To inspire the audience to respond with violence.
2. To list how Black Americans are being withheld their freedom.
3. To ensure a peaceful protest.
4. To remind the audience of their goals with the protest.

There is one correct answer, and there are ways that we can narrow it down to figure out which one is right. Let’s take a look at all of the answers in order and determine why one is correct and why the others are wrong.

Answer Types

Answer A: False Association

This answer is the easiest to rule out, as it is the opposite of what the author is asking people to do. If you read the passage carefully, there is almost no way that this question would trick you. However, if a reader was going quickly, and had little knowledge of the ethics and ideals of Martin Luther King Jr., they might fall prey to a false association.

The topic of violence comes up in the section, and the speech talks about violence at different points. This might lead the reader to falsely associate the idea of violence with the passage itself and pick answer A. If you are reading carefully during the SAT®, this should be the easiest type of wrong answer to rule out.

Answer B: Transference

Answer B is also easy to rule out as long as you reread paragraph 8. If a reader is hasty, they might assume that paragraph 8 does list the ways that black Americans’ freedoms are withheld. The reason for this is that the idea comes up in other paragraphs of the text.

Paragraphs 3 and 4 of the passage both talk about both the freedoms withheld and the way that those freedoms are withheld. The idea of transference is that the test seeks to trick a reader who has read the whole passage but neglects to reread the particular paragraph in question, by having them substitute the ideas found in one part of a test for another.

The test is trying to get the reader to substitute their knowledge from a different part of the passage to the idea in that specific paragraph. The substitution is not correct; there is no list in paragraph 8, but if a reader accidentally injects ideas from paragraphs 3 and 4 into paragraph 8 without actually reading it, this question could trick them.

Answer C: Correct Answer

Answer C is the correct answer. The primary goal of the passage is to ensure that the protest is peaceful. There is specific and explicit evidence within the text that supports this answer.

If you look closely and reread the paragraph before you answer, this answer will jump out. If we look at the end of the paragraph, Martin Luther King Jr. says “We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.”

The italicized text from the passage shows why Answer C is correct. In particular, MLK contrasts the idea of physical violence with peaceful protest. He uses words like “dignity”, “discipline”, “creative”, and “soul” to describe their “struggle” and explicitly asks that the protest not “degenerate into physical violence.” It is clear from rereading of the paragraph that answer C is correct.

Answer D: Too Broad

Answer D has the problem of being too broad as an answer. The goals of their protest as a whole are explained throughout the entire passage, but they are not specified in this particular paragraph.

The answer takes too broad a scope, ignoring the specific points of MLK’s insistence in this paragraph. If a reader were to reread the paragraph they would find that MLK is not reminding the audience of their protest goals in that paragraph but that is answer D is one of the goals of the entire text.

Don’t Be Tricked

Hopefully, you are starting to get the idea.

Every question has only one right answer. The examples above show that there is always a reason why an answer is wrong.

If someone didn’t know how to eliminate questions, they might think that every answer is possibly correct, but you are prepared. You know that there is only oneanswer that is 100% correct.

If you practice the test-taking skill of eliminating answer choices, you will be better prepared for the test and well on your way to getting that perfect score on the reading section.

If you are looking for more information on how to get a perfect score on SAT® Reading, keep reading–we still have four strategies left.

Strategy 5: Determine How You Read Best

In school, everyone learns some test taking strategies. Some teachers teach students to read the text first and take detailed annotations. Other teachers will say, “Read the questions first and pay attention to what you need in the passage”. Another teacher might tell you to read a question, and then find the answer right away.

The reality is that any of these strategies can be effective, depending on how you, as a reader, best approach tests. Let’s walk through each of them.

Read the Text First and Take Detailed Notes

The idea here is that you only need to go through the text a single time. If your annotations are good, then you will not need to go back and reread the text because you will either remember the answer from your detailed reading or you will be able to look at the short notes you took on each section of the passage.

Possible Benefits: If you have a great memory or are good at summarizing quickly this could be a great strategy for you. If you do it right, it could mean maximizing your points on each question, while minimizing the time you spend on rereading passages to find answers.

Risks: This is a dangerous way to go about the test if you struggle to read quickly or if you are not very good at remembering the things you have read. There is a great chance that you will spend too much time reading the passages and not enough time getting the answers you need.

If you are not particularly adept at remembering what you have read, you might end up needing to reread anyways.

Modification: The best way to modify this strategy is to simply skim the passage, take in the key points, and write those down at the end. Skimming will give you an excellent overview of the article without spending too much time on the reading itself.

When you look at the questions afterward, answer any that you can, and mark any that reference a specific line. If there are any that you don’t know, mark and come back to them once you have answered all the questions that you can answer quickly.

This will save time off your reading and answering, giving you a chance to spend any extra time on questions that are particularly hard to find answers to.

Read the Questions First and Mark the Text for Answers

This strategy was developed to save the reader time. Instead of reading the entire text and looking at the questions afterward, the reader only skims for relevant information in the passage after they have looked at the questions.

The idea is that you cut down on time spent reading the information you don’t need.

Possible Benefits: The most obvious is that you don’t have to read irrelevant information in the text. This will save major time if it works out. It can also help manage stress because you won’t become overly focused on irrelevant details or literary elements.

Risks: You might miss some important information in the text that pertains to a specific question. This could mean being stuck searching the passage for the answer to the question. If you practice this, it will become easier to find the answers in the text, but there is always a possibility that you will spend extra time trying to find the answer to that one question.

Read a Question and Find the Answer Right Afterward.

This strategy is a different take on the idea presented in the second reading strategy. The idea is that you can cut down on time by finding the answers one at a time and do even less reading than you would if you were looking through the whole text for answers.

The idea is that you won’t read most of the text, instead only looking for the answers that you need.

Possible Benefits: This strategy could drastically reduce the amount of time you spend on reading. By focusing on each question, you are only spending as much time reading as you need to find the specific answer.

Risks: This is one of the worst strategies available – it has the extreme potential to spend too much time on a single question. The idea of reading without context leaves you vulnerable to the possibility that there will be numerous questions that you don’t understand. That can lead to a large amount of time wasted looking for answers.

With that risk comes the possibility of reward, but unless you are an extremely gifted reader and very lucky with questions, it is not recommended that you use this strategy.

You Decide

You will need to determine which of the strategies is best for you. Either of the first two strategies offer benefits with lower risks. You must determine which of the strategies suit your particular strengths.

It would be best to try both strategies on a practice test and see which one yields better results. Then, practice that strategy until you begin to master it.

Strategy 6: Work on Your Bubble Magic

So, you still want to know how to get a perfect score on SAT® Reading? Well, as you are using the strategies above you might find that you are not completing your practice tests in the allotted 65 minutes. There could be a number of reasons why you are not making it in time, but one way to improve your speed is your bubbling technique.

One important part of test taking that very few people talk about is the actual physical process of taking a test. When your hand moves to make a mark, or when your eyes switch between the test booklet and your answer sheet, you are taking up valuable time. All of these small movements have an effect on the overall time it takes you to finish your test.

One of the easiest ways to cut back on wasted time is to practice how you bubble and change your technique. Many students bubble in an answer immediately after they figure it out; this is the simplest way to do it, and the method taught in the school system.

However, that is not the most efficient way to bubble. This method wastes precious seconds switching back and forth between the test and the answer sheet. Think about it, if it takes you 5 seconds to move your pencil, find the correct bubble on the answer sheet, and double check that you have bubbled the right one for each question, that adds up to over 3 minutes spent just bubbling your questions.

The minutes you waste going back and forth could be used to answer questions. A better way to use your time is to simply circle the answer on the test document and fill in the bubbles all at once at the end. This way you are only dealing with the one document during most of the test. Those precious seconds are not spent switching back and forth between every question, and you can quickly remember a series of answer like A, B, D, B, B for a page.

There is only one potential pitfall to this plan: if you run out of time, you might not manage to fill in any of your answers. It is imperative that you keep track of time so that you have at least a minute to fill in your answers at the end. Hopefully, using these strategies, you will have more than a minute at the end of the test – but just keep track in case.

Strategy 7: Keep Calm and Double Check

When you walk into the testing center, the full weight of the test will descend on you. You will become nervous, and that can lead to mistakes. To make sure you avoid those mistakes you have to keep calm.

The calmer you are, the more in control you will be. Practice calming down. It is easy to let panic overtake you when you are staring your academic career in the face, but here are some ideas for how you can keep calm during your test.

1. Remember that You Can Do It! The first step to getting a perfect score on SAT® Reading is to realize that you can get a perfect score. A perfect score is entirely possible to achieve.

Many students psych themselves out with negativity or doubt about their abilities. They count themselves out before they have even taken the test. That is not something you will do. Remember that you have studied for this test, and you are ready. You can get a perfect score on the SAT® Reading section.

2. Quit Cramming. Many students don’t realize this, but you don’t need to keep studying or refreshing your memory right up to the exam. The reality is that you should stop studying the night before the exam. If you haven’t already learned something, you aren’t going to learn it in the precious hours you have to sleep, or the time you have in the morning before the test happens. You have prepared yourself so don’t sweat it.

3. Take a Deep Breath. When you sit down to take the test, you might be a bit nervous. The testing rooms are always packed with nervous energy, and many students can pick up on that the moment they enter the building.

Realize that you have prepared, then close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. The act of deep breathing helps the body calm down by inhibiting stress-inducing hormones. So make sure you remember to breathe!

4. Focus on the Exam. Everyone has a life outside of school and tests, but it is important to realize that the testing room should be like a fortress of solitude. You leave your other worries and your life outside the door. When you are in the testing room, the only problem that you need to face is in the exam booklet. Don’t stress yourself out by worrying about other things. Clear your head and focus.

Those are four ways that you can calm yourself down and make sure that you don’t stress during the test. If you are successful, the calm that comes over you will allow you to answer the questions with clarity and purpose.

That clarity and purpose will translate into correct answers. Keeping a calm head will mean that when you go back to double check your answers, you are more likely to notice mistakes. If you are nervous, and your thoughts are scrambled, it will be more difficult to accurately assess if your answers are correct.

So, keep your cool and check your answers over.

Our last strategy for how to get a perfect score on SAT® Reading is next, so keep reading.

Strategy 8: Get Rest and Eat Right 

You probably won’t find this strategy on many testing guides, but it is crucial – you must get rest and eat a balanced breakfast before the test. The value of these activities cannot be overstated.

It is critical, as explained in the previous strategy, that you end your SAT® study session at least a day before the test starts. Spend the day before the test relaxing, taking it slow, and ensuring that you will be ready for the test the next morning.

Get some rest before the test. Don’t stay up late; it can be tempting to stay up late and use your time to relax by binging on video games or television. It is very easy to get caught up in an interesting story or to play one more round of a game, but you’ll benefit from getting to bed early.

You will want to focus the day before on doing things that are not too stressful. Most students take their tests on a Saturday, so after school on Friday go home early. Don’t stay at school doing homework or projects – those are excellent ways to stress yourself out with extra pressure.

Activities that might help you feel relaxed and clear your mind include going for a walk outside, taking a bath with music, reading a favorite book, or indulging yourself in something pleasant. You can watch a show or play video games if that is how you unwind, but the key is to set a limit for yourself. Regardless of the activity you choose to do, make sure that you eat an early and nutritious dinner and get to bed early.

If the test starts at 8 A.M. the following morning, you will want to make sure you are ready for bed at 8 P.M. the night before. That way if you end up staying awake because of nervousness or wake up later than you had planned, you will still be well rested in the morning.

To make an 8 A.M. test time you will want to get up with plenty of time to get ready in the morning. 6 A.M. will give you plenty of time to take a shower and get dressed, prepare and eat a nutritious meal, and get to the testing center with time to spare.

It is extremely important that you prepare a breakfast for yourself that will keep you satisfied during the 4-hour testing window. The worst thing you can do is have a gnawing hunger distracting you while you are trying to get a perfect score.

A balanced breakfast is recommended before the test. Think eggs, cheese, toast, and juice. A balance of protein, which lasts, and carbohydrates, which give immediate energy, will help keep you awake and satisfied during the test.

Getting to the testing center with time to spare is also very important. The earlier you get there, the less stress you will feel about finding the right room or making sure you have everything you need. You will feel pressed for time during the test, so, don’t make yourself pressed for time before the test. Plan ahead.

You Are Ready!

That is how to get a perfect score on SAT® Reading. It seems simple, but don’t forget that you have to do the work. Remember to focus hard on practice; there is no magic wand that we can wave to get you a perfect score.

The next step in your journey is to set up a study schedule. Hopefully, you have plenty of time before you take the test to work towards your goal. A schedule should include all of the time you will need to address your reading weaknesses.

Review these eight strategies as you go to remember the specific requirements of the test, the types of questions it will ask you, or what you can do to keep yourself prepared for the test on the day before.

You’ve got this. Don’t stress. Keep these strategies in mind, and the perfect score on the SAT® Reading will be yours. Now it’s time to start studying.

Do you have another strategy that you are using for your studying? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Looking for even more SAT® Reading tips? Check out this list of 125 SAT® tips.

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