"While most students close their laptops and forget about the digital SAT, they're missing the hidden opportunity that contains valuable data disappearing by the hour—here's how to capture it."

In this article, I'll explain how to do a Post Test Reflection and why you you should write one.

Why is reflecting on our performance important?

Reflecting after a major event helps us put things in context. It helps us make better decisions the next time we are faced with the same or a similar task. Why? Because now our future actions can be informed by the facts we capture right after the event rather than relying on our memory later and losing the opportunity to learn and get better.

How to do an SAT Post Test Reflection:

Doing a Post Test Reflection does not have to take a lot of time, but in my experience it is important to be intentional about setting aside the time and space to do it.

What do I mean? Just thinking about it without writing anything down, or just jotting down some quick notes before rushing off to the next activity is not going to give you the most feedback on your performance.

Set up your space and get ready.

Find a space that’s quiet and that you can spend 15-20 minutes of dedicated time to do actual writing. You’ll want to have a notebook or computer to write clear sentences. Remember, you aren’t writing an essay but you should be putting your thoughts together coherently.

Also, you might be asking yourself, “How much should I write?” It’s always a good idea to try to write more not less. We are trying to learn as much as we can from our experience! A rough rule of thumb should be a MINIMUM of 2-3 sentences for each category

Here are the 4 categories I ask my students to consider for a thorough post test reflection:

Write about your preparation the 2-3+ weeks before the test.

For example, what preparation did you do before the test? Take a class? Work with a tutor? What was effective? Alternatively, now that you’ve taken the test what do wish you had done? Memorized grammar rules? Worked more practice tests?

Write about what you did the week leading up to the test.

How did you get ready moving into the big day? Did you get enough sleep, for example? Maybe you were feeling amazing. Maybe you your allergies were acting up. And what about content? Was everything memorized that you wanted to know for the test? Did you have a set of strategies or tactics that you memorized going into the test?

Write about the morning of the test.

How was test morning? Did you have all your stuff together to head to the test? Did you remember your ID? Did you charge your calculator the night before? Did you have the breakfast you wanted? Were you almost out of gas and had to stop to fuel up? Did you know where the test location was and how to get there?

Write about what happened during the test itself.

How comfortable were you going into the test? How did you handle the timing for each section? Were there any distractions you were not prepared for? How did you adjust? If you had a plan going into the test, how effective was it? What about your plan would you keep? What would you change?

Don’t wait! Do your post test reflection as soon as possible.

The sooner you or your student does their reflection, the easier it will be. Plus the added benefit of remembering more because the ideas and feelings are fresh. Regardless, spending time reflecting on your SAT or ACT test in writing will set you up for success the next time you or your student take a high stakes test.