While there are many different SAT prep books, they all have one thing in common: they all claim to be the best. How can you figure out which one will actually help you succeed on the digital SAT?
This guide will give you my recommendations for the best prep books for the Math section of the digital SAT. Some of these books are best for strategies and thinking through the problems, while others are best for practice problems. A few are geared toward top scorers, while some will help you improve a low score fast.
Before delving into the list, I have to make one disclaimer:
Disclaimer
Everyone's learning styles and motivation levels are unique. Thus, I don't believe there's a one-size-fits-all book out there that will help everyone equally. While these recommendations should help a lot of students, they can't necessarily account for everyone's individual differences.
That's why I'm a huge proponent of PrepScholar's online method of test prep. It diagnoses your strengths and weaknesses and customizes the test prep for you and your schedule. Because of this high level of personalization, it's very effective for helping students study efficiently and make big leaps in their SAT scores.
That being said, prep books can be very helpful in reviewing material and giving you practice with hundreds of sample digital SAT questions. It's great that you're already starting to break your test prep down by section by focusing specifically on math.
Since the best representation of SAT questions come from the test makers themselves, I'll start this list with College Board's The Official Digital SAT Study Guide. There are some pros and cons to this book, but perhaps the biggest con is that you can find most of its information for free online! Read on to decide whether or not this book would be helpful to you.
The College Board's Official Digital SAT Study Guide
Price: About $23
Pros
When it comes to the SAT, the best sample questions come directly from the test makers themselves. College Board's The Official Digital SAT Study Guide includes four real practice tests with official answer explanations. Since the College Board makes and administers the SAT, this book contains the best representation of the real test.
However, and this is an important point, the four practice tests included in this book are available for free on the digital platform Bluebook. Not to mention, you'll be taking the new digital SAT on a computer, so taking your practice tests online will get you used to how to navigate the software. Also, as part of its efforts toward greater transparency and equalizing access to test prep, College Board offers free resources via Khan Academy.
The College Board book's main strength is its official SAT questions, since they are the very best practice material. Beyond the practice tests, the book's greatest strengths are its review of the new digital SAT structure and format and its presentation of math concepts.
Cons
Again, the biggest con with this book is that all the practice tests are available for free online, and taking them online is a better way to prepare for the digital SAT. But there are also additional drawbacks.
While the College Board's official questions are helpful and effective practice, their answer explanations are not as detailed as they could be. They explain the answer choices but don't give you much information about how to approach and think through the question.
Since there are a limited number of official practice tests in the book, you might choose to stagger each one throughout your prep as a way to measure your progress and evaluate your approach. The tests could be best used as measuring posts; College Board's official material won't help you as much as some other options in terms of learning and test-taking strategies.
Best SAT Math Prep Book for Instruction
Steve Warner's SAT Math Series
Price: About $65
Pros
Steve Warner offers several SAT math books. The best one for the digital SAT is 1000 New SAT Math Problems.
1000 New SAT Math Problems is one of the best books out there for content review and instruction. He discusses the areas emphasized on digital SAT, such as algebra, problem solving, geometry, and trigonometry.
The book arranges concepts and their corresponding practice problems in level of difficulty, from Level 1 up to Level 5. This organization by level, rather than problem type, is useful, as it allows you to integrate skills and ensure you don't leave out any important concepts.
It also lets students focus on the difficulty level that will help them most improve their scores, with students scoring around a 600 advised to focus on Levels 2 through 4 and students aiming for 700+ directed to the Level 4 and 5 problems.
The lessons are carefully crafted and paired with practice problems to test your understanding. The questions are realistic and come with detailed explanations, which often go over a few different approaches (unlike College Board's single approach explanations). These explanations allow you to carefully understand your mistakes while learning how to approach a similar question the next time.
Cons
One major con to this book is simply its restricted length. Compared to Steve Warner's multiple-issue series on the math section of older versions of the SAT, his digital SAT book doesn't represent the same scope of material that was so useful to students at all different scoring levels.
Not only will future additions be helpful, but they will ideally break down the concepts into even smaller components. This book is a good start (especially because the digital SAT is so new), but students who want to review concepts would be best served with a detailed and specific breakdown of each and every one. If you're using this book, you may want to consult other resources to ensure that you've filled in every gap in knowledge for the digital SAT.
Additionally, at $65, the book is quite expensive, especially for a prep book that only covers half of the SAT.
Best SAT Math Books for Practice Questions
Dr. Ela Sharma's Digital SAT Math Manual and Workbook
Price: About $37
Pros
If you're looking for SAT math practice problems, you'll find over 800 in the Digital SAT Math Manual and Workbook. Content review and explanations are short and to the point. Students, especially those who get overwhelmed with long paragraphs and dense writing, particularly praise the "Key Points" part of each section which succinctly covers the main topics you need to know.
However, the book's real strength lies in the sheer number of practice problems. Question types are arranged by topic and difficulty level, so you can break them up and customize your math practice depending on your needs. The book is divided into 87 categories so you can focus specifically on the math topics you need to study the most. Since timing yourself, answering questions, and analyzing your mistakes is a key part of your preparation, this book could be a very effective study tool.
Not only are the practice questions abundant, but they are realistic. This book is well customized to the concepts, format, and rules of the SAT. Additionally, there is a lot of helpful information on how to use the new Desmos calculator tool on the digital SAT. This is new technology for students, and it's easy to be intimidated or confused by it. This book goes over how and when to make use of this tool so you can feel prepared on test day.
Cons
As mentioned above, this book is most useful for its abundance of practice problems. It's less ideal for students looking for thorough content review. It also is not the best source of test-taking strategies, like time management. Furthermore, its answer explanations are not all that varied, so you won't gain a ton of insight into different approaches you could use to solve a problem.
The Digital SAT Math Manual and Workbook is useful for students at all levels, but you'd probably want to supplement it with a book that provides more in-depth instruction, strategies, and explanations. While the above books cater to students at various scoring levels, the two books below are best for strong math students aiming for top scores.
Barron's Math Workbook
Price: About $21
Pros
Barron's Math Workbook has hundreds of practice SAT math questions covering all math topics on the SAT, all with detailed answer explanations. The questions are divided by content area and concept, so you can learn about a specific skill and then drill with relevant problems.
In addition to all of the practice questions, there is a full-length practice test at the end of the book. You'll also get some test-taking tips, but the real strength of the book lies in its abundance of practice questions.
Cons
Students have noted some typos and spelling errors in Barron's, as if the company rushed to get the book to print without thorough copy-editing first. It doesn't seem to have substantial mistakes, but these little typos can be distracting, especially as you're going through the detail-oriented work of SAT prep.
As a traditional SAT book, it's written in a straightforward style that can get a bit dry and boring. If you're looking for a more engaging, personable, or funny writing style, you won't find it in Barron's. Of course, since the book is more of a workbook full of practice questions, you should look elsewhere for in-depth lessons and content review.
Best SAT Math Books for High Scorers
PWN the SAT Math Guide
Price: About $32
Pros
PWN the SAT is geared towards high achieving, motivated students aiming for a top score in SAT Math. The book is written in an engaging, irreverent style, which helps students stay engaged with the material.
The new 6th edition is fully updated for the new digital SAT. The book breaks down each SAT Math category into its component concepts.
It has realistic practice problems are good matches of the types of questions you'll see on test day. Each chapter also provides a list of official questions of a certain type to help you drill specific skills.
Finally, you can register on the PWN SAT website to get bonus material, as well as watch video answer explanations that walk you through practice problems, step by step.
Cons
The main con of PWN the SAT Math Guide is that its target audience is limited. It will help top scorers with strong math skills, but it won't be as accessible to students who struggle with math.
If you're looking for foundational knowledge, then PWN the SAT isn't the book for you. It won't be the best resource to raise low math scores. Rather, it's better for bringing already strong scores into the top percentiles.
Dr. John Chung's Digital SAT Math
Price: About $27
Pros
Once you get past the dated wallpaper-looking cover, Dr. Chung's Digital SAT Math is one of the most comprehensive prep books currently out there in terms of content and practice questions.
This book is best for strong math students and top scorers. It doesn't go over the fundamentals and assumes its readers have a stable foundation in math concepts. It advertises itself as "designed for students to get a perfect score" and provides useful examples and practice questions to this end.
The book includes numerous descriptions of concepts like linear function, exponents, transformations, and average speeds, paired with a few examples and practice problems to reinforce your understanding.
Cons
Dr. Chung does not give you much in the way of review, lessons, or concept reinforcement. The book mostly assumes you have a strong foundation in math. It's a "no-frills" kind of book that essentially looks like a list of practice problems; you won't find much in the way of introduction or narrative. It's not a book you can fully rely on for your test prep, and it's probably not the best one to start out with, either.
Some students have also noted some typos in Dr. Chung's various editions, as if the books were rushed to publication without proofreading for all the errors. While it's great that this book has so many practice questions, it seems like there may be some careless mistakes throughout the material.
Best SAT Math Book for Low Scorers
If you're planning to devote only a few hours to studying for the math SAT, your prep book should give you a general overview and introduction to the concepts you need to know.
Princeton Review's SAT Level Up! Math
Price: About $17
Pros
Princeton Review's SAT Level Up! Math is a traditional prep book that reviews concepts and provides corresponding practice sets. It includes new concepts, like trigonometry, and has 16 practice sets and over 300 practice problems, organized by difficulty level so you can start at the correct stage for you.
Princeton Review's book also breaks down the new format and structure of the digital SAT Math section and contains 36 drills so you can build up your content knowledge in areas where it's weaker.
Cons
Princeton Review's practice questions tend not to be the best written. They're not always realistic or phrased in the same way that the SAT is, and many students say they're slightly easier than actual SAT Math questions. In the beginning of this guide, I emphasized the importance of taking official practice tests, since they're the best representation of the questions you'll get on test day.
Doing well on the SAT math isn't just about understanding the concepts, but also about understanding the SAT and being able to apply those concepts to the SAT's uniquely worded questions. Without this practice, you won't be as prepared as you could be for the SAT's unique phrasing and tricks.
Doing well is also about strategy. Princeton Review has some helpful strategies, but they're not that helpful for breaking away from a score of around 600. This book gives a basic overview, but it's not the most helpful resource for students looking to make large score improvements or understand the material in depth.
Is Studying From Books the Best Option for You?
While books used to be the main test prep method for the SAT, now there are lots of other approaches. This gives you a lot more choice in finding a method that fits best with your math level, study style, and goals, not to mention how much money you're able and willing to spend on digital SAT prep.
Books can be affordable, but as you can see from the pros and cons mentioned above, you probably want to use more than one book to truly prepare. This can add up to hundreds of dollars.
As more and more test prep companies focus their attention on providing online resources, you might have to go online to find answers, answer explanations, and other supplementary materials. This is especially true now that the SAT is fully digital and the best practice tests will be those taken on a computer.
Books can be very comprehensive and informative, but you'll only access all the information you need with the self-discipline to take time to study and learn from your mistakes.
PrepScholar's method of online test prep for the digital SAT attempts to address and make up for these weaknesses in a number of ways. One, it's an all-in-one program that incorporates the best practices from all these books, while also customizing the test prep based on what you already know and what you need to study further.
It addresses the accountability and self-discipline issue by planning out your study schedule for you in the way that's been proven to be most effective. It also takes away the time-waster of self scoring, since it will give you instant feedback on your performance. On a similar note, you can visually see your progress, how far you've gone in the material, and how much you have left to conquer.
By incorporating the "pros" of every test prep book—high-quality questions, comprehensive explanations, diagnostic tests, and expert test-taking strategies—and making up for the cons with personalized motivators and progress reports, PrepScholar is an affordable, accessible, and highly effective method of convenient online prep for the digital SAT.
Just as you should diagnose your strengths and weaknesses to best prepare for the SAT, you'd be smart to reflect on your learning style and what method of test prep, whether through books or online, will best meet your needs and allow you to excel on all sections of the SAT.
What's Next?
Are you aiming for perfection? This perfect SAT scorer describes all the strategies and techniques he used to achieve a full score on the SAT, and what exactly you need to do to reach that perfect score.
Besides studying, planning exactly when you're going to take the SAT is also a key consideration for maximizing your performance. Read all about when you should take the SAT as you design your schedule.
Before delving into content and strategies, you should familiarize yourself with exactly what's on the SAT. Read our complete guide to the digital SAT to learn more about the new test.
These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.
