What the College Board Practice-Test Study Found
A 2025 College Board study found that students who completed more full-length digital practice tests scored higher. Its own authors say the design cannot show the tests caused the difference.
The main finding
In May 2025, College Board Research published a study of full-length digital SAT practice tests taken in Bluebook and later SAT scores. Students who completed 1, 2, and 3 or more full-length digital practice tests scored approximately 25, 45 and 60 points higher, respectively, than similar SAT takers who did not complete any.
These are associations, not promised gains for any one student. The authors note that the research focuses on the quantity of full-length practice tests completed, and that the quality of practice, including effort, engagement and support from educators and families, also likely matters. Their design is unable to separate out these effects.
Families can use the finding as one reason to consider a full-length test in a study plan, but the averages should not become a promise or a demand. Ask what the student will learn from the experience and how the results will shape the next study session.
Who was studied
The analysis covered 148,154 students. The researchers used data from students in the high school graduating class of 2025 who took the PSAT the year before and then took the SAT as juniors during the March 2024 SAT administrations in their high schools. That sets a clear boundary: the participants were one particular group of test takers, so families should compare that group with their own situation before treating the averages as a forecast.
In that sample, half the students did not complete any full-length digital practice tests, 30% took one, 10% took two, and 10% took three or more. Separately, the report notes that roughly two-thirds (64%) of SAT takers reported using full-length practice tests, and 93% of them said they found the practice tests helpful.
Students' reports that the tests were helpful are different from the study's comparison of SAT scores, and neither guarantees what will happen for the next student. A parent can ask what the student learned from a test, for example whether it exposed pacing problems or mistakes that kept showing up in later work.
Why selection matters
Students who completed more practice tests tended to have stronger prior academic achievement, were more likely to have already taken an SAT, and were more likely to have at least one parent with a four-year degree. That is a selection problem: the students who choose more practice may differ from the students who choose none before practice is even counted.
To account for these differences and reduce selection bias, the researchers created three matched comparison samples of students who had not completed any full-length digital practice tests but who closely matched on relevant background characteristics and prior academic achievement. Even with matching, the authors say their research design is unable to separate out these effects, so causal language would go beyond the evidence.
Within the studied sample, the association between completed practice tests and SAT scores was larger for students with lower prior academic achievement. It may encourage families not to assume that practice tests only help students who already score high.
Using practice without the hype
Families can treat a full-length practice test as a rehearsal and use its results to decide what to review next. Beforehand, choose one or two things to watch, such as pacing or staying focused through the whole test. Afterward, do not stop at the score.
Review where time ran short, why each missed answer happened, and what the student will do differently next time. None of this promises a score increase. It turns the practice test into a concrete plan.
The headline numbers, about 25, 45 and 60 points for one, two and three or more completed tests, are group comparisons with similar students who completed none. They are worth knowing, and they are not a personal guarantee. Leave time to review each practice test and pick specific changes for the next study session. The score is only one part of that review.
How we apply this. OC Study applies this with mock exams that use real timing and module structure, spaced review of missed questions, and a parent dashboard.
Sources
- College Board Research. Examining the Relationship Between Digital SAT Practice in Bluebook and SAT Performance (Chang, Akbayin-Sahin, Howell) (2025-05). Accessed October 3, 2026.
Quotes and figures were checked against these sources on October 3, 2026. Findings from general research are not guarantees for any individual student.