![]() ![]() It works incredibly well for a particular student, but it’s misguided to expect that everyone will love the Black Book. I’ve come to believe that the Black Book is overpraised. Depending on these factors, the Black Book can either become a comprehensive, one-stop-shop for all your test prep, or collect dust as a thirty-dollar reference book. Whether the Black Book would be useful depends on how much study time you have, what your learning habits are, and if you’d enjoy learning all there is to know about the SAT. Purchasing the Black Book for Bailey could be a cheap but effective way for her to prepare for the SAT. She is self-motivated, does well in school, likes to learn independently, and has more than enough time to read through the Black Book. She’s not the opposite of Arthur per se, but she better fits the type of student that I think would thrive, and maybe even enjoy, reading the Black Book. Unlike Arthur, I think that Bailey should buy the Black Book. What about Bailey? Would Bailey benefit from using the Black Book? She prides herself on learning all there is to know about the subjects she studies. Bailey’s parents and teachers find her self-motivation exemplary, and she’s one of the most driven students in her class. She wholly enjoys school and earns high grades in all her classes she even reads a few books outside of school. ![]() Let’s say that Bailey has six months to prepare for her SAT. Arthur’s relatively short study duration and low self-motivation convince me that the Black Book might not be the best fit for his personality or his study plan. What type of student would enjoy, or benefit from, that type of instruction? From the students I’ve tutored, only a few of the most highly motivated have been able to get through - and learn from - the Black Book. It’s mostly content and the Barretts’ own answer keys to four of the College Board’s published exams. New practice questions are scant in the Black Book. The text is single-spaced and pressed up against the physical edge of the page, making it feel claustrophobic. The pages are stuffed full of information. The SAT Black Book is a monstrous tome of a prep book. Martin or Leo Tolstoy, writers famous for their sprawling, epic novels, published an SAT prep book, I suspect that they’d author something like this. It might even be an understatement to state that the Black Book is “dense.” Had George R. I worry that the writing might also be too dense to appeal to his learning habits. Arthur just doesn’t have enough time to take in everything from the Black Book and maintain a balanced, healthy schedule. Like tackling dental plaque, you need to work through the Black Book periodically and methodically to accumulate a meaningful understanding of the SAT. I hesitate to compare it with cramming, because studying over two months is not cramming, but such a “short” amount of time won’t allow you to appreciate the complexity of the Black Book. That’s almost like saying you won’t floss your teeth before your dentist appointment and then flossing twelve times the night before. I don’t think anyone can read the 629-page Black Book in fewer than two months and actually learn from it. Would the Black Book help Arthur improve his score? I doubt it. While Arthur procrastinates a healthy amount, he still finishes most of his assignments on time. He does well in school and earns good grades, but he doesn’t excel in all of his classes - only the ones he really enjoys. Let’s start with Arthur.Īrthur scrambled to get any SAT testing site that would take him, but luckily, he was able to register for an SAT in one month. I find it most useful to unpack the usefulness of the Black Book by presenting scenarios that follow two hypothetical students: Arthur and Bailey. ![]() The authors describe the book’s content as the “most effective SAT strategies ever published.” So is it, well, any good? It depends. This popularity has transformed the Black Book into something of a Bible in test prep. Excluding the College Board’s own book, the Black Book is the second result when you search “SAT” on Amazon. Plenty of parents and students have asked for my opinion on this book, so I figured that I’d test my critical chops and write a bona fide book review!įor readers unfamiliar with what the test prep community has dubbed the “Black Book,” the Barretts have become an overnight sensation. Right now, the most popular SAT Prep Book is Mike and Patrick Barrett’s SAT Prep Black Book: The Most Effective SAT Strategies Ever Published. I do, however, own a test prep company, and I wanted to share my informed opinion. Disclaimer: Neither I nor Curvebreakers Test Prep have any affiliation with the SAT Prep Black Book: The Most Effective SAT Strategies Ever Published or Mike and Patrick Barrett. ![]()
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