The SAT’s are challenging and stressful standardized tests that many students fear taking. With the overwhelming stress, it’s the job of teachers and schools to prepare students by giving them the proper resources to succeed. But is the curriculum really geared toward the SAT?

“Yes, I’ve learned the material in my classes – but studying on my own is challenging,” says Charlotte Chursch, a junior planning to take the SAT this year.

Preparation for the SAT is a shared responsibility between students and teachers. One may learn content in class, but for the material to really stick it must be reinforced at home.

“We are constantly giving formative assessments to gauge student performance,” said Allison Ramil, Spring-ford’s Math Curriculum Director. Ramil added that the math curriculum was recently changed this year, meaning content in different forms was introduced. While this content was not changed with the SAT in mind, most of it still applies to the test. For example, if one takes an Algebra course – while your teacher may not teach directly from the SAT – the problems and mechanisms that you learn are bound to show up on the test.

While the curriculum has things that show up on the SAT, some students feel as though they aren’t prepared well enough. Depending on a student’s schedule outside of school, they may only have time to study in-school for the big test.

“I kind of feel like they do prepare us, but they could do a better job with it,” said junior Carya Paolini, who plans to take the SAT this year. “Certain sites should be more accessible and broadcasted.”

The sites Paolini referenced are big name ones such as CollegeBoard, the main application students rely on while dealing with big ticket exams like the SAT. While guidance is given to the student body via the classroom and the Future Planning Center, they must seek out many resources on their own.

“The trick is combining good content plus consistent practice plus smart review,” said Spring-Ford College and Career Coordinator Marissa Sussman. “Students can use free resources on College Board, Khan Academy, or Kaplan to help them prepare.”