Recommended SAT Books
We've put together a list of SAT books that we recommend. This list should keep even the most voracious of SAT test takers busy. In order to design the most effective SAT prep program for yourself, we recommend mixing and matching many of the books on the list. Any good program should center around the use of the Official Study Guide, which is the gold standard of SAT prep books.
The Official SAT Study Guide, Second Edition By College Board
Useful for: Real SAT practice questions.
Avoid: Tips and Strategies sections.
This book includes 8 official practice tests from the College Board, the maker of the SATs. It is the only guide on the market that has real SAT questions and is, in our opinion, the best guide to which to practice and prepare for the test.Grade: A
Useful for: Supplement to the Official Study Guide, Strategies and tips.
Maximum SAT is designed to be the unofficial companion guide to "The Official SAT Study Guide" by the College Board. This book analyzes the different types of questions in the Official Study Guide and helps student recognize patterns in problems that come up. It also provides a structured way of studying through the Official Guide.
Grade: B-Useful for: Solutions to the Official Study Guide.
The College Board's Official SAT Guide is unquestionably the best guide out there since it has real SAT questions. However, although it provides answers to their questions, it fails to provide a thorough explanation on how the answers were derived. This unofficial guide has step-by-step solutions to those questions and will help students understand how to determine the "best" answers.
Grade: B-Useful for: Math and Writing sections, Building concepts.
The Gruber's SAT book, which we utilize on our prep courses, is known for having great review sections, especially for grammar (the writing section) and for math. This is probably one of the best books for actually learning the concepts and material. It also include 5 practice exams, but they tend to be more difficult than those in the College Board book.
Grade: B+Useful for: Math, Writing, Word list, Building concepts.
Avoid: Practice exams tend to be more difficult.
This is a solid guide for the SAT. It provides tactics and strategies to familiarize students with SAT tricks, vocabulary flash cards to increase word power, 6 full practice tests, and reviews in critical reading, grammar and math. The Barron's also includes a lengthy 3500 word list for building your vocabulary.
Grade: A-
Useful for: Advanced tips and strategies, Math concepts.
This book is geared towards students who are already are scoring in the 2000+ range. The book bypasses the standard test prep drills and offers advice and strategies for tackling the hardest questions. The book does a particularly good job in its Math section.
Grade: B
Useful for: Strategies and Tips, Critical Reading and Writing, Great Word List
This relatively new book is considered one of the best SAT preparation books on the market. Written by Adam Robinson, an SAT expert, it combines effective techniques, study strategies and most importantly, motivates students to succeed. It also has a quality 300 word list, which is second only to the Direct Hits vocabulary list.
Grade: A-
Boot Camp for Your Brain: A No-Nonsense Guide to the SAT
"The comprehensive material in this book, honed by years of actual results, can help you significantly improve your composite score."
Grade: A-
Kaplan SAT: Strategies, Practice & Review
Your standard fare SAT prep book. The questions and examples in the Kaplan book tend to be easier than those in other prep books like Princeton Review and Barron's.Grade: C
Kaplan 12 Practice Tests for the SAT
"Over 1.6 million students in high school in 2012 have taken the SAT at least once. As college acceptances become more competitive, students must set themselves apart from the competition with a high SAT score. There is nothing like practice to help one build the necessary edge and Kaplan 12 Practice Tests for the SAT 2014 provides more practice exams than any other guide on the market. This guide is designed to help students increase speed and accuracy with all of the different SAT question types."Grade: B
Princeton Review SAT
Another standard fare SAT prep book. The book includes strategies, full-length practice exams and a "Hit Parade" vocabulary list.Grade: C+
Princeton Review 11 Practice Tests
Useful for: Ample practice questions
Avoid: Critical Reading sections tend to be more difficult than the real thing.This book should provide enough practice questions for your SAT preparation. However, we strongly recommend exhausting all College Board resources for real SAT questions first, which includes the Official Guide (8 tests) and the Online Official Course (6 tests).
Grade: C+
"McGraw-Hill's SAT, 2014 Edition is a complete SAT coaching program that focuses on building your reasoning skills as the best preparation for the exam. Packed with targeted instruction and hundreds of problem-solving exercises, it also offers full-length practice SATs in print and online, with complete explanations for every question."
Grade: B+
This book is the only other guide that offers real SAT practice questions created by the test makers, the College Board. The only problem is that the tests are for the old SATs, which only tests the Critical Reading and Math section. Also, the analogy type questions have become obsolete in the new SAT. However, it does provide good practice for the reading passages and for math. This book is no longer published, but it is still available for sale used (in new condition) on sites like Amazon and Ebay.
Grade: B
Outsmarting the SAT is the next best thing to having a private session with Elizabeth King, one of the country's top SAT coaches. Trained by one of the College Board's original SAT prep material authors, Elizabeth takes the SAT annually, consistently achieving an aggregate score in the 99th percentile.King's tried-and-true innovative strategies are proven to help high schoolers boost their SAT scores higher than they thought possible. Designed for students of all levels—from those who simply need to brush up on sentence completion skills to dire cases who need a crash course on algebraic functions or a school year's worth of geometry—King's down-to-earth coaching approach tackles test material in concise, easy-to-follow lessons that prepare any student to master the SAT.
Grade: B+
Complete Solutions to the College Board's Official SAT Study Guide (Testmasters)
"Are you taking the SAT? To prepare, the best book to purchase is the College Board's The Official SAT Study Guide. This book contains ten SAT exams with actual SAT questions. Working through the tests in this book is one of the best ways to prepare for the SAT (That and taking a Test Masters SAT Course.) However, this excellent book has two problems: 1) It does not provide solutions to any of the contained exams. How do you know the proper way to work a missed problem? After all, learning from your mistakes is one of the best way to improve your score."
Grade: C
Perfect 800: SAT Verbal: Advanced Strategies for Top Students
"The book allows students to perfect their vocabulary and editing skills by completing the activities on more than 100 practice sessions and quizzes. By offering important information on word parts, origins, grammar, and other necessary knowledge, Perfect 800: SAT Verbal gives students the opportunity to increase their understanding of the vocabulary commonly seen on the SAT test."
Grade: C+
Perfect 800: SAT Math: Advanced Strategies for Top Students
"Covering areas including arithmetic concepts, algebra, geometry, and additional topics such as probability and weighted average, the book offers exposure to a wide range of degrees of difficulty in a holistic approach that allows students to experience the "real thing," including the impact of time constraints on their performance. By emphasizing critical thinking and analytic skills over memorization and trial and error, this book ensures optimal usage of time and maximizes the pace of progress as students prepare for the all-important test."
Grade: C+
Direct Hits Core Vocabulary of the SAT
The Directs Hits word list is compilation of 190 vocabulary words from the most recent SAT exams. Although a short list, the words on the list have the highest frequency of appearing on the SAT than any other word list currently available.
Grade: A-
Direct Hits Toughest Vocabulary of the SAT
Volume 2 is an extension of the Direct Hits vocabulary, with an additional 176 words. Volume 2 includes more advanced vocabulary including words pertaining to subject areas and words with multiple definitions.
Grade: A-
