ny good athlete or coach knows that you don’t go into a big game without a great strategy. You practice hard, eat and sleep well, and walk onto the field on game day with a proven playbook. The same is true for the SAT, and knowing when to omit questions and when to guess is one of the most important “plays” to know when it comes to raising your SAT score.
So, Should I Omit Answers?
No—never! Since its redesign in 2015, the SAT no longer deducts points for incorrect answers. This means that there is no longer any risk in simply guessing. And since every multiple-choice SAT question features four answer choices, even a completely random guess has a 25% chance of being correct and adding another valuable raw point to your score.
If you are able to eliminate one or two of the answer choices before making your guess, your odds of gaining a point rise even higher. As a result, it is always to your advantage to make a guess.
Ultimately, your task on the SAT is to eliminate what you know is wrong, then choose the best of what’s left. If you can’t choose between two or three answer choices, always make a guess then move on. If you find yourself running out of time toward the end of a section, try to stop working a minute or two before the clock runs out and bubble in a response for each unanswered question.
Whatever the case, never leave a question blank—if you do, you’re leaving points on the table.
