A 4-Week SAT Math Study Plan

What the SAT Math section looks like now

The SAT is taken on a laptop or tablet in the College Board's Bluebook app. Math is the second section. It comes after Reading and Writing and a 10-minute break, so you start it a little tired. Plan your practice around these facts:

44 questions in 70 minutes, split into two modules of 35 minutes each.
The test adapts by module. The first module mixes easy, medium and hard questions, and how you do on it decides whether your second module is harder or easier.
Within each module, questions run from easiest to hardest.
You can use a calculator for the whole Math section. Bluebook has a built-in Desmos calculator with graphing and scientific modes, or you can bring your own approved handheld calculator. Calculators with a computer algebra system (CAS) are not allowed.
Bluebook includes a reference sheet of common math formulas.
About 75% of questions are multiple choice with four options. The rest are student-produced responses, where you type your own answer. Some of these have more than one correct answer, and you enter just one.
About 30% of questions are set in a real-world context, so expect plenty of word problems.

Bluebook also has a Mark for Review flag, an Option Eliminator for crossing out answer choices, and a Question Menu that lets you jump back to any question in the module. Use all of them during practice so they feel normal on test day.

What is tested, and how much of each

The College Board sorts Math questions into four content domains and publishes a question range for each:

Algebra, 13 to 15 questions: linear equations in one and two variables, linear functions, systems of two linear equations, and linear inequalities.
Advanced Math, 13 to 15 questions: nonlinear functions, nonlinear equations in one variable, systems of equations in two variables, and equivalent expressions.
Problem-Solving and Data Analysis, 5 to 7 questions: ratios, rates and units, percentages, one- and two-variable data, probability, sample statistics and margin of error, and evaluating statistical claims.
Geometry and Trigonometry, 5 to 7 questions: area and volume, lines, angles and triangles, right triangles and trigonometry, and circles.

Algebra and Advanced Math make up most of the section. That shapes the plan: a shaky grip on linear equations costs far more points than a gap in circle facts, so fix the big domains first.

Set up three things before day one

Bluebook on the device you will test on. Open the test preview so the screens and tools are familiar.
An error log. A notebook or spreadsheet with six columns: date, where the question came from, domain, what went wrong, the fix in one sentence, and a retry date.
A fixed daily slot. Same time, same place, phone in another room. Consistency beats long weekend cramming.

For the "what went wrong" column, use four labels: concept (you did not know how), careless (you knew how but slipped), misread (you answered a different question), and time (you ran out or rushed). After a week, the labels tell you what kind of practice you need.

Your daily time budget

A typical 60-minute weekday session looks like this:

5 minutes: redo two questions from your error log without looking at your old working.
35 minutes: focused practice on this week's domain.
15 minutes: review every question you missed or guessed, and log it.
5 minutes: practice one Desmos skill, such as finding where two graphs cross.

If you only have 30 minutes, cut the practice block, never the review. Most improvement happens when you understand why an answer was wrong. Keep one weekend morning free for full tests or long timed sets.

Week 1: find out where you stand

Day 1: take a full-length practice test in Bluebook under real conditions. One sitting, timed, with the break, using the calculator you plan to use on test day. Take the whole test, not just Math, so you feel how tired you are by the second section.
Day 2: review every Math question you missed or guessed. Log each one with a domain and a label.
Days 3 to 5: count your log by domain and by label. Start work on the domain with the most concept errors.
Day 6: a mixed set of 15 questions, untimed, to check the first fixes are sticking.
Day 7: rest.

Here is how to read the log. Say you have nine Algebra misses: four concept, five careless. The concept errors need relearning, so go back to the method and work slowly through examples. The careless errors need a habit, such as underlining what the question asks for and checking units before you answer.

Week 2: Algebra and Advanced Math

Linear equations and systems: solve by hand, then check by graphing both lines in Desmos and reading the intersection.
Linear functions: be able to move between an equation, a table, a graph and a sentence like "a plumber charges $60 plus $45 an hour".
Equivalent expressions: expand, factor and simplify until it is automatic.
Nonlinear functions: quadratics and exponentials are the most common. Know what the numbers in each form tell you about the graph.

Practise in sets of 10 to 15 questions from the domain you are working on, then review. The College Board says some Math questions are better solved without a calculator even though one is allowed. If you can solve a question in three lines by hand, do that; use Desmos when graphing saves real work.

Week 3: data, geometry and timing

Problem-Solving and Data Analysis: percent change, unit conversions, reading scatterplots and lines of best fit, mean versus median, and what a margin of error does and does not tell you.
Geometry and Trigonometry: area and volume, angle facts in triangles, sine, cosine and tangent in right triangles, and the equation of a circle. Open the reference sheet during practice so you know what is on it and what you must remember yourself.
Timing: 70 minutes for 44 questions is about 95 seconds each on average. Because questions get harder through each module, the early ones should take well under that, which banks time for the hard ones at the end.
Timed sets: three or four sets of 22 questions in 35 minutes, the same pace as the real test.
End of the week: a second full-length practice test in Bluebook, under the same conditions as the first.

Week 4: review, retry and rest

Days 1 and 2: review the second test and update your log. Compare the labels with week 1. Fewer concept errors and the same careless errors means the habits need attention now.
Days 3 to 5: retry every question in your log. Anything you miss a second time gets a fresh explanation and goes back in for another retry.
Day 6: a light mixed set and a final look at the reference sheet and your Desmos skills.
Day before the test: no new material. Check that Bluebook is updated and your device is charged, follow the College Board's test-day checklist, and sleep.

How to review a mistake properly

Take this question: if 3x + 7 = 25, what is the value of 6x + 14? Many students solve for x, get 6, and type 6. The question asked for 6x + 14, which is 2(3x + 7), or 50. Nothing about the math was hard. The fix is a habit: reread what the question asks for before you enter anything.

Rework the question from scratch without looking at your first attempt.
Find the exact line where your working went wrong.
Write the lesson as one rule in your log, in your own words.
Do one similar question straight away.
Retry the original three to five days later.

Using the free official practice well

Bluebook full-length practice tests are adaptive, like the real test. Save them for checkpoints: one in week 1, one at the end of week 3, and any others as later checkpoints.
My Practice shows your practice results so you can review questions and explanations after each test.
The Student Question Bank holds thousands of real SAT and PSAT questions. Use it for domain practice in weeks 2 and 3.
Official SAT Prep on Khan Academy is free, listed by the College Board as official practice, and creates a study plan for you.

A practice score is a snapshot of one day, not a prediction or a promise. Judge your progress by the error log instead: fewer repeat mistakes, fewer concept labels and fewer rushed questions at the end of each module.

If you have more or less than four weeks

Two weeks: take the diagnostic, spend the rest of week 1 on Algebra and Advanced Math only, and use week 2 for timed sets, one more full test and log retries.
Eight weeks: give each domain a full week, repeat the timing week, and space three or four full tests evenly.
Taking the test again: start from your old log. Your repeat mistakes are the plan.

If you want timed SAT practice papers where weak topics flow into daily practice, Eurekami's Exam Prep does that alongside the official tests; its predicted score is always labelled as an estimate. Whatever you use, the method is the same: test, log, fix, retry.

A 4-week study plan for SAT Math