You’ve probably focused most of your test-prep time on increasing the chances that you’ll know the right answer to questions on the SAT. But what about when you don’t know the answer? Is it ok to guess? The answer is a resounding YES! In this post, we’ll look at how guessing on the new SAT works on the test and discuss ways to make it an effective part of your overall test-taking strategy.
No Penalty for Guessing
Until recently, there was a quarter point penalty for guessing on the SAT. That meant you had to be selective in when you decided to risk a guess. Beginning in 2016, however, the penalty has been eliminated, bringing the test more in line with how the ACT is scored. Without a guessing penalty, it now makes sense to fill in a bubble for EVERY question on the test. Even if you get them all wrong you’re no worse off than if you’d left them blank and it’s likely that you’ll actually manage to score a few points in the process.
Eliminate a Wrong Answer
Although the lack of a guessing penalty is liberating, it shouldn’t mean you fill in bubbles at random. When you’re stumped by a question, see if there is at least one answer that you can eliminate as blatantly incorrect before choosing an answer. Getting rid of one possible response ups the odds of a correct answer from 1-in-4 (25%) to 1-in-3 (~33%): a not insignificant advantage!
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Taking Timing into Account
Given enough time, you very well may be able to answer every single question on the SAT. Unfortunately, the test is administered under strict time constraints and spending too much time focused on answering a single question early in a section may mean giving up points later in the section because you’ve run out of time. If you realize a question is going to take a significant amount of time to solve, your best tactic is to come back to it later. See if you can quickly rule out one possible answer then make a guess from among the other answers. Go ahead and fill in your answer sheet (in case you run out of time before you can come back and wrestle with it more), but make a mark in your test booklet so you remember it’s one you want to look at again if you get a chance.
Pay Attention to “Chain Questions”
There are some questions it’s risky to skip over, however. The SAT almost always includes at least a few “chain questions,” especially in the passage-based sections of the test. These types of question are ones which build on each other. For example, in one question you may be asked to draw a conclusion based on something you’ve read, and in the following question you may be asked to point to evidence supporting your conclusion.
Because chain questions are so closely intertwined, if you aren’t able to answer the first one you’ve also just cost yourself the answer to the second one. It’s worth giving yourself a little bit of extra time to untangle the first part of a chain question since twice as many points are on the line. Â
Also, if you notice a chain question pair and find yourself stumped with the first question, go ahead and read through the second question: you may find a clue for the original question based on what’s being asked and what parts of the passage are being highlighted in the second question.
Other Tips for Reading Questions
While there’s no magic recipe for guessing the right answer, there are a couple of tips that might be helpful when you have to make a guess on reading questions. First, avoid answers that sound like absolutes. One of the goals of the SAT is to test students ability to perform college-level analysis, which is generally less black-and-white and more nuanced. Words like “never” and “always” are rarely the correct answer. Second, if the question has to do with how something should be written, guess the shortest answer. A disproportionate number of grammar errors involve adding unnecessary words, meaning that the shortest answer is often correct.
You may have heard that in combat zones the army makes it a point to “never leave a man behind.” When you’re working on the SAT, your mantra should be to “never leave a bubble behind.” With the elimination of the guessing penalty, one of your most fundamental test strategies should be to answer each question, and if you’re using the strategies included in this article it’s likely that you’ll get at least a few of those guesses will be correct.