Taking SAT practice tests with Bluebook

In this article, we’ll explore how to use College Board’s Bluebook app to take practice SATs, how to view and interpret your practice test scores, and how to pair these practice tests with Khan Academy’s free SAT prep course.

College Board's Bluebook™ is a free digital testing application that allows students to take official practice SATs. You can download and run the Bluebook™ testing app on a Windows or Mac device, an iPad, or a school-managed Chromebook.

Using the Bluebook™ app is straightforward. Once you open the app, you’ll see a “Practice and Prepare” section right on the homescreen. Here you can choose between a “Test Preview” or “Full-Length Practice”.

Clicking “Test Preview” will allow you to preview the format of the SAT, the directions, and the question types without being timed. It will also show you the in-app tools available during the test (including useful things like annotation, marking questions to come back to later, and crossing out choices, among other features). We recommend clicking through the Test Preview before taking a practice test.

“Full-Length Practice” is where you’ll find all the official practice tests. When you take a practice test on the Bluebook™ app, the app will time you and simulate the actual testing environment.

To get the most out of your SAT prep, it’s a good idea to use both the Bluebook™ app and Khan Academy's SAT prep courses together. While the Bluebook™ app is a great resource for taking practice tests and getting used to the digital format of the SAT, it’s not designed to teach students the content that is covered on the SAT. This is where Khan Academy comes in!

Once you’ve taken a full practice test on Bluebook™, that practice test will become available under “My Practice” on CollegeBoard’s website. Once you sign into your CollegeBoard account, you can click the arrow to the right of your practice test score to see your score details, including a question-by-question breakdown. At the top of the score details page, you’ll see a link to “explore every question on Khan Academy.” Click that link to get to Khan Academy’s Official Practice Test Review for that practice test, which includes detailed explanations for every question, as well as links to our lessons for each question type (all completely free)!

Additionally, you should use the results of your practice test to identify the areas where you need the most help. Once you’ve identified these areas, you can use Khan Academy’s SAT prep lessons and exercises to focus on those areas and improve your performance on test day.

For more, check out our article about how to prepare for the SAT using Khan Academy.

Happy prepping!