Our Recommendations

As test prep instructors, we’re often asked about the best prep books for the SAT, ACT, etc. In order to make our recommended list, each item must meet the following criteria:

  • be produced by the test writers themselves (ideal) or written by clear experts on the subject matter
  • be material we use with our students

Please note that we’ve compiled this list of the best test prep books based on our own experiences working with students. Our goal is to pass our research and knowledge onto you to help streamline your search. Items denoted with an asterisk (*) are affiliate links. As Amazon affiliates, we receive a small percentage of the purchases you make through our links, but these do not incur additional charges for you. Thank you for your support!

Digital SAT

Official College Board Study Guide

The Official DSAT Study Guide* by The College Board – First, it’s important to note that all of the practice exams in this book can be found on College Board’s Bluebook app (free download here). You should make every effort to take the full-length practice tests in the Bluebook app to closely mimic the test day format and experience. With that said, this book can be a great resource for reviewing your mistakes. It also includes additional practice questions for the concepts tests on the exam. This book is required for students of our small-group SAT course.

Reading

The Critical Reader* by Erica Meltzer – The reading comprehension portion of the SAT is notoriously difficult to improve upon, but Meltzer tackles students’ woes head on by writing one of the most thorough books on the topic. She breaks down the different skills students need to master in order to excel on the reading section. Meltzer’s expertise is evident and her lessons have influenced my own teaching over the years. One caveat – given the detailed nature of the book, it can feel quite dense at times and is best suited for highly motivated students willing to put in the extra effort.

Writing

The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar* by Erica Meltzer – If you enjoy Meltzer’s writing style and detailed explanations, then this is the book for you. A favorite among students, this provides great supplemental practice problems to the officially released exams from College Board.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary Cartoons* by Barrons – For visual learners in particular, this book is great for expanding your vocabulary. It’s filled with images and mnemonics to help increase your interest during the learning process, which translates to better long-term retention.

Math

The College Panda’s SAT Math* by Nielson Phu – This book is highly touted in the test prep community, and for good reason. Each lesson is followed by a series of high quality practice questions that test and deepen your understanding of the concept. It is the perfect resource for students taking a long-term approach to improving their overall math skills and those who are serious about increasing their SAT math score.

ACT

Official Exams

The Official ACT Prep Guide* by ACT – This is equivalent to the College Board’s official prep guide for the SAT. The latest version of this book contains 6 full-length, previously administered practice exams. Once again, we use this guide to ensure that we’re teaching from the most authentic material for the ACT, but we supplement it with detailed explanations and additional practice to better prepare our students for the exam.

Reading

The Complete Guide to ACT Reading* by Erica Meltzer – This books offers a systematic approach to the ACT reading section. Meltzer breaks down the questions by type and drills students on the skills they need to tackle the passages.

English

The Complete Guide to the ACT English* by Erica Meltzer – To succeed on the ACT English section, you need to have mastery over grammar rules. This book reviews the relevant rules tested on the ACT and offers ample practice questions that closely mimic those on the exam.

Other Gems

Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing* by Mignon Fogarty – This is my all-time favorite grammar book! I stumbled upon it in the library back when I was in high school. It may not have been written specifically for the SAT or ACT, but it will make you exponentially more aware of grammar rules and the myriad of ways we abuse them in everyday speech. Keeping this book handy will help you become a better writer, which will naturally translate into better performance on standardized tests as well. And who knows, it might even unleash your own inner grammar police.

Word Power Made Easy: The Complete Handbook for Building a Superior Vocabulary* by Norman Lewis – Want to expand your vocabulary without memorizing endless lists of words? The key is to learn Greek and Latin roots. Let’s say you come across the word “antebellum” on a history passage. If you know “ante” = “before” and “bell” = “war,” then you can deduce that antebellum means “before the war”. Likewise, you might have a better sense of the word “belligerent,” even if you’d never heard of it. Belligerent means hostile and aggressive.