If you’ve been watching the recent Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo, you’ve undoubtedly been impressed by the many feats of human strength. But we bet you’ve never noticed how many similarities exist between the Olympics and standardized tests like the SAT and ACT!
Today we present to you a few of your favorite Summer Games events that perfectly summarize your standardized testing experience (*cue Olympic theme song*).
On the Field
We start our Olympic tour at the track and field arena, where each question is a new hurdle to overcome. You’ve put in long, hard hours of training, so you sail through the problems with ease as you make predictions, identify traps, and use the process of elimination to find the right answers.
As you continue through the test, you may feel as though you’re race walking — the perfect pace is one that allows you to finish all the problems but still read carefully enough to avoid falling for any traps. This testing pace may feel awkward at first, but after a little practice, you’ll be gliding through the sections like a wiggly angel.
All in all, the experience of taking a standardized test may feel like an insurmountable obstacle. However, with patience, practice, and a solid game plan (and possibly also a 14-foot-long pole), you’ll emerge victorious from your test center on test day.
In the Pool
Now we head over to the natatorium, the next stop in our Olympic journey. When it comes to standardized testing (and artistic swimming), it can sometimes feel like you’ve got to deal with many moving pieces. You’re balancing pacing, strategy, and your foundational knowledge of reading, English, math, and data interpretation. With so much going on mentally, it’s important to hone your skills and fine-tune your personal testing procedures to keep your thoughts synchronized during your official test.
Stamina is yet another important key skill in standardized testing. Without preparation, it’s way more likely that your body and mind could both fail you on test day when pushed to the max during a ~three-hour-long early morning exam. Find your ideal pace and work to maintain it throughout the four sections of the test. And don’t forget to breathe!
Now, occasionally, the unthinkable can happen. You choke up. A passage slows you down and you don’t even get to finish the section. Your answer to that math problem you’ve been working on for five minutes doesn’t match any of the options. It seems that all hope is lost.
Remember, the mark of a good athlete (or scholar) is resilience — the ability to get back up on your feet after being knocked down and continue to give 110% percent. If any section on your standardized test goes badly, don’t let that hold you back in the remaining test sections (in the case of the ACT, the ability to superscore can help that belly flop of a section to disappear completely)!
In the Gym
Preparing for a standardized test can feel like a balancing act. It can be hard to prioritize SAT/ACT prep when you’ve also got schoolwork and extracurriculars on your mind (and don’t forget about self-care)! But once you find your sweet spot of sustainable, consistent, and intentional practice (even for just a few minutes each day), you’ll build that level of testing finesse that will wow both yourself and the colleges that receive your scores.
Closing Ceremony
We hope you’ve enjoyed these ACT/SAT Summer Games. Like a gold medal, a high test score requires preparation, a personalized game plan tailored to your strengths and weaknesses, and the willingness to self-reflect and learn from your mistakes. Once these puzzle pieces all fall into place, you’ll be walking out of your official test with as much pep in your step as a horse in a dressage competition.
And last but not least, this will be your coaches’ reaction when they find out how well you did and that all your hard work finally paid off.
Want a coach of your own that will get this hyped about your testing performance? Schedule a call with one of our Student Success Advisors and get started with your customized Testive program today!