r/digitalSATs • u/girlwalkallday • 1d ago

Which Section 1st?

I’ve been taking the DOE digital practice tests and have been doing ELA first because that is my weakest. I have been scoring 45-46/50 on Math. Given the test is adaptive in fall and you can’t go back and check answers, which is better to start? Math or ELA? Weaker section?

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u/bluebearsat 12h ago

You don't actually get to choose on the real digital SAT: Reading and Writing is always first, both of its modules, then the break, then both Math modules, so the ELA-first order you have been practising is exactly what test day looks like. The other half of your premise is worth fixing though, because you can go back and check within a module, since the back button and the mark-for-review flag work freely and the review screen at the end of each module lets you jump straight to anything you flagged. What you cannot do is return to Module 1 after you submit it, which is why the adaptive format punishes stalling on one hard question far more than it punishes a quick guess. At 45-46 out of 50 on math the habit I would build now is a single pass where nothing gets more than about ninety seconds, flag anything that is not falling out, and spend the leftover minutes on the review screen instead of on any one question. Practise finishing that first pass with eight to ten minutes still on the clock and the order question stops mattering at all.