Lessons from the 2025–2026 test administrations, and how they shaped MEK’s Spring 2027 SAT and ACT prep.
Every season, our students come back from test day and tell us what they saw. Some come back proud. Some come back shaken. We listen to every one of them. Their stories are the reason Spring 2027 looks different at MEK.
This is not a course catalog. The catalog tells you when classes meet. This post tells you why we teach the way we do, what we saw on the 2025–2026 tests, and what we changed so your student walks into test day ready for anything the test puts in front of them.
What’s new this Spring
Four changes come straight from what our students faced this past year.
- Wednesday Math and English clinics for SAT Foundation. Our starters now get a second day each week to practice strategy and drill core skills.
- Science reading drills in SAT 1500 and SAT 1500 Advanced. Our top students now train on the dense science passages that caught many test takers off guard.
- A refined SAT Vocabulary Clinic and SAT Math DQ Clinic. Both clinics are polished around the exact questions students met on recent tests.
- A Test Day Boot Camp for every test administration. From December through June, every SAT and ACT date now has its own three-day boot camp.
Each change has a reason behind it. Here is what we saw.
What we learned from the 2025–2026 tests
Two patterns stood out across this year’s administrations.
The first was reading. Passages grew heavier and denser, and science passages appeared more often. Many students who felt strong in Module 1 met a Module 2 full of passages that looked nothing like what they had practiced. They were well prepared, yet they were intimidated.
The second was Math. Module 2 brought harder and more complicated questions than many students expected. Some of these were question types students had never seen before.
Neither pattern is a reason to worry. Both are reasons to prepare differently. A skill-adaptive test rewards the student who has seen the unexpected before test day, not on it.
SAT English: it is not the length, it is the complexity
SAT Reading and Writing passages are short, usually under 200 words. Length is not the problem. Complexity is. A student has to find the context of a passage almost instantly, and the key that unlocks context is vocabulary.
We saw this coming. From the start of the digital SAT, we pushed vocabulary expansion so our students would be ready. By Spring 2026, science passages were showing up alongside the heavier social science passages. This Spring, we meet that change directly.
Science reading in SAT 1500 and 1500 Advanced
Students placed in SAT 1500 or above are already scoring around 700 or higher per section. They are confident in Module 1 and comfortable with easy and moderate Module 2 questions. Now they are ready for the polishing round. In class, they will work through science reading passages and learn a clear, repeatable strategy for solving them. When a science passage appears on test day, it will feel familiar instead of foreign.
Vocabulary power, the right way
There is a second way to hold a score steady and cut the time lost searching for context: vocabulary power.
Many families ask for a list of popular SAT words. I understand why, but I don’t believe in that approach. The test is skill-adaptive. No one can predict which words it will use. The only reliable path is to master how words are built, using roots, prefixes, and suffixes as context clues for words a student has never seen.
Studying a printed list also does not transfer to test day. Students can memorize a list and still freeze in front of an unfamiliar word. What works is a proactive approach. The student asks how a word is working in its sentence, investigates it, finds the answer, and settles that word into their own vocabulary for good.
That is exactly how the SAT Vocabulary Clinic runs:
- Bring the inquiry. Students bring the words and questions that slowed them down in practice.
- Find the meaning. Together we practice uncovering each word through its parts and its context.
- Expand the asset. Students practice applying that skill to new words, so their vocabulary keeps growing after class ends.
The thinking behind this clinic comes from our SAT English teacher, Iulia Boboc, in her post “5 Power Habits That Turn Mistakes Into Points.”
SAT Math: ready for the questions you have never seen
On test day, there will be math questions your student has never learned. That is how the digital SAT works. Do well on Module 1, and Module 2 gets harder. Do very well, and Module 2 pours on the hardest questions the test has. Is your student ready for that?
At MEK, students meet these difficult questions, which we call DQ, long before test day. They see them in class and in their assignments. The SAT Math DQ Clinic adds one more source of practice. Confidence comes from experience, and the harder questions a student has worked through, the calmer they will be when one appears.
One caution. Some students tell me the math felt easy, and then their score comes back in the mid-600s. Usually that means they lost points in Module 1 and received an easier Module 2. Easy felt good, but it capped the score. This is why working on DQ alone is not a smart plan. A high score needs a strong Module 1 and a ready Module 2. A comprehensive approach is the best solution.
SAT Foundation: a stronger first step
What about students who are just starting? When a student’s first skill check comes in under 580 on a section, the challenges usually stack up. Content gaps, weak test skills, low confidence, limited vocabulary, shaky grammar, and trouble with computation and word problems all appear at once. Many of these students miss nearly half the questions. A full-length test feels overwhelming, and Module 2 feels out of reach. They need to build confidence step by step.
SAT Foundation teaches students to handle Module 1 with confidence and ease into the SAT. The program has been running for two years, and we have watched it closely. Our honest observation is that the core sessions alone were not enough for some students to face a full-length test and move on to the SAT 1400 level. Some felt frustrated. They were not yet ready to take on the harder questions.
So this Spring, SAT Foundation does more:
- Weekly class: 3 hours, hybrid (in person or virtual), on Friday or Saturday
- New Wednesday clinics: Math and English, to practice strategy and drill core skills
- Daily routine assignments: short, consistent practice between classes
- Progress meetings: a check-in after every 5 sessions
In class, students begin learning Module 2 questions. In the clinic, they practice Module 1 until it becomes second nature. They also meet harder vocabulary in the SAT Vocabulary Clinic. By the end, the step up to the next level feels like a natural move, not a leap.
SAT or ACT? How the ACT is different
The ACT comes from a different organization than the SAT. It offers different test dates and gives students another option. Colleges accept SAT and ACT scores equally.
The ACT changed in 2025. Science became optional, as Writing already was. The core test is now English, Reading, and Math, with a length and format closer to the SAT. But the ACT is not adaptive. There is no easier first module to warm up on. Most questions are medium or hard, and the real challenge is speed. Instead of rising from easy to hard, the ACT asks students to solve steadily, question after question, within the time.
The very hardest questions, the kind we rate 5 out of 5, appear less often on the ACT than on the SAT. That is why, for some students aiming for a perfect score, we recommend the ACT as a third test after two SAT rounds. By then, their testing skills are highly polished, and those skills carry over well.
For some students, the ACT is simply the better fit. It is hard to predict who in advance. In most cases, a student’s early score pattern points the way, sometimes from SAT to ACT and sometimes the other way. A student’s study history matters too. A comprehensive consultation that looks at every corner gives us the answer.
I still recommend that students keep both options open. Switching never means starting from scratch. Each test builds on the experience of the other, so no time is wasted.
Where to start
For starters, I highly recommend the SAT. Students need to begin test prep in a way that feels comfortable and engaging. SAT Foundation does exactly that, by helping them step into Module 1 with confidence. Skills learned with confidence lead to better results. Once Foundation is complete, the student can reflect on how SAT and ACT each feel, and we plan the next step together.
- SAT Foundation → ACT 30
- SAT Foundation → SAT 1400
Test Day Boot Camp: wrap up, filter, narrow
Should a student spend the night before the test resting and getting a long, deep sleep? For a student who struggles with nerves, perhaps. But most of us need time to engage before an intense task, and a test is an intense task.
Before test day, a student needs to wrap up their prep, narrow down what to focus on, and finalize their strategies from what they have learned. That is the purpose of the Test Day Boot Camp. Instead of trying to relax, students carry a healthy, manageable level of focus and a clear picture of what to do. They walk in with their mindset and strategies set, so there is no hassle and no surprise on test day.
This Spring, every test administration has its own three-day boot camp:
Where test prep goes wrong (Common test prep mistakes)
In 30 years of test prep, I have seen the same pattern break students again and again. A score projection is missed, then missed again, and frustration builds each time. Usually the plan was too short. The family assumed the score would rise quickly and easily. When it doesn’t, the whole rhythm of prep falls apart.
The first step is an honest look at where the student stands today. Look back at the prep and testing experience so far, and build the plan from those reflections.
A skill-adaptive test measures skills that are truly settled. When a testing skill is settled, a student can use it fully under pressure. When it is only lightly learned, it does not hold up on test day. So I ask every student to reflect: is this skill really mine yet?
| Clinic | For | Virtual | Hybrid: Virtual & In -person, Closter Campus |
| SAT Foundation Math clinic | SAT Foundation | Wednesday, 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM | Not available |
| SAT Foundation English clinic | SAT Foundation | Wednesday, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM | Not available |
| SAT Math D.Q. Clinic | SAT 1400 and SAT 1500 | Wednesday, 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM | Friday, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM |
| SAT Vocabulary Clinic | SAT 1400 and SAT 1500 | Wednesday, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM | Friday, 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM |
The DQ and Vocabulary Clinics meet at different times, so students can take both.
Getting started
Every student begins with the MEK SAT Evaluation, a full-length test that shows exactly where they stand. Our counselors review the results and recommend the right course, clinic, and test. SAT and ACT Prep follow rolling enrollment, so students can join when they are ready.
