Welcome to the fifth and final installment of my series on busting common SAT Reading myths. In previous posts, I’ve tackled why tips and tricks fail (Part 1), placed important qualifications on the idea that academic success is the best SAT prep (Part 2), explained why “I struggle with science passages” is almost always a misdiagnosis (Part 3), and made the case that even a few weeks of the right kind of preparation can make a real difference (Part 4).

SAT scores came out yesterday, and I know that for many families, the news wasn’t what they were hoping for. If your student didn’t hit their target score, I want to address something that might be running through your mind right now—a common concern that, while understandable, often does more harm than good: the belief that a strong student should be able to reach their full potential on the SAT in a single attempt.

After more than a decade of working with high-achieving students, I can tell you plainly: that’s not how this typically works.

The “One and Done” Expectation

It’s easy to see where this expectation comes from. If your student earns great grades, excels in rigorous coursework, and has a track record of rising to academic challenges, it feels reasonable to assume the SAT should follow the same pattern. Study hard, sit for the test, hit the target. One and done.

But the SAT doesn’t work like most school exams, and the gap between a strong student’s first attempt and their actual potential is often wider than families expect. In fact, the majority of my students come to me only after trying once or twice on their own and finding themselves stuck at a score that doesn’t reflect their ability. I’ve had tremendous success helping these students break through—but even with expert guidance, it sometimes takes two more attempts to get there.

This isn’t a sign of failure. It’s the norm.

Why Multiple Attempts Are Often Necessary

Several factors make “one and done” unrealistic for most students, even very capable ones.

Nerves. Sitting for an actual SAT administration is a markedly different experience from taking practice tests in the comfort of your own home. The unfamiliar testing environment, the time pressure, the weight of the moment—these all take a toll, and some students are affected by it more than others. The pressure is compounded when a student is banking on hitting their target in a single attempt. Ironically, the “one and done” mindset itself can become a source of anxiety that makes achieving that goal less likely.

Overconfidence. At the other end of the spectrum, some students—particularly high achievers—walk in assuming the SAT will yield to the same approach that works in school. For many top students, that approach amounts to what I’d call “brute forcing”: relying on raw intelligence, cramming before the test, and bearing down with intense focus on test day.

This can work just fine in many high school courses. It does not work on the SAT, which rewards strategic precision over intellectual horsepower. Sometimes it takes a humbling first score for a confident teenager to grasp that the SAT demands a fundamentally different kind of preparation. That “reality call” isn’t pleasant, but it’s often the catalyst for real progress.

The demands of memorization and deliberate practice. This is perhaps the most underappreciated factor, and it’s closely related to the overconfidence problem, but distinct enough to warrant its own discussion.

Achieving an elite SAT Reading & Writing score calls for a heightened degree of strategic rigor. Students must learn to identify specific question types and subtypes on sight and then execute the step-by-step procedures—the strategies—that maximize their chance of success on each one. This starts with genuine memorization: knowing the question types cold, knowing the steps, knowing when and how to apply them.

This may sound obvious, but many students—yes, even high-achieving ones—are simply not accustomed to having to memorize test-taking strategies in a structured, deliberate way. They’ve gotten by on quick comprehension and general intelligence combined with a few superficial “tips and tricks”, and they expect the same to carry them through the SAT. It rarely does.

And memorization is only the first step. The strategies must then be internalized and habituated through deliberate practice. This skill building step is where many sharp students fall short. Merely grinding through practice questions in an ad hoc fashion and hoping the patterns will absorb through some form of intellectual osmosis doesn’t cut it on this test. Practice is largely wasted unless it’s deliberate: consciously identifying the question type, recalling the relevant strategy, and applying it step by step during practice.

Deliberate practice is arduous. It’s mentally draining. It’s exactly the kind of work we naturally seek to avoid. But it is the only reliable path to reaching your full potential.

Building these habits takes time, and it’s one of the primary reasons that even well-prepared students often need more than one sitting to achieve their highest potential SAT score.

A Disappointing Score Is a Starting Point, Not an Ending

If your student’s score came back yesterday and it wasn’t what you hoped for, I’d encourage you to resist two temptations: the temptation to panic, and the temptation to give up. A below-target score doesn’t mean your student lacks ability. More often, it means they haven’t yet had the right kind of preparation—the kind that builds strategic rigor through expert diagnosis, structured memorization, and deliberate practice. That’s a solvable problem.

The May SAT Doesn't Have to End the Same Way

My SAT Reading & Writing Score Accelerator program is specifically designed for students in exactly this position—capable students who know they can do better but need a structured, expert-guided system to get there. The program is optimized for everything I’ve described in this article: building strategic fluency through systematic instruction, structured memorization, and the kind of deliberate practice that actually translates to test-day performance.

The next cohort is a 4-week program for the May 2nd SAT, beginning Monday, April 6th. Sessions are live, small-group Zoom classes led by me—the program creator, a 13-year SAT specialist, and someone who has helped hundreds of students get unstuck and achieve scores in the 90th–99th percentile range. Enrollment just opened and space is limited. The full course is available immediately upon enrollment, so your student can start right away.

For my readers, I’m offering an exclusive discount: $75 off enrollment with code 75OFFMAY2. This offer expires tomorrow, Sunday, March 29th at 5:00 PM PT / 8:00 PM ET. It will not be offered again.

Bonus for early enrollees: If you enroll using the discount code before the Sunday deadline, I’m also including a complimentary score assessment and pre-course homework assignment—a service I normally charge $95 for. Simply email me a copy of your student’s score report after enrollment, and within 24 hours I’ll respond with two targeted homework assignments to complete before classes begin, based on my assessment of the report. It’s a head start that puts your student’s fresh score data to work immediately.

Click below for all the details and to reserve your child’s spot:

→ Walker Prep’s SAT Reading & Writing Score Accelerator Program

I look forward to helping your child achieve their highest potential on the May SAT!

~ Dave

Note: This post was originally published on the Walker Prep website, where you can find more SAT Reading & Writing resources.