Improving SAT Test Performance by Having Students Engage in Self-assessment and Remediation

Gayatri Mishra; John Leddo

doi:10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i08.044

Title: Improving SAT Test Performance by Having Students Engage in Self-assessment and Remediation
Authors: Gayatri Mishra and John Leddo
Journal: International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research (IJSSER) ISSN: 2455-8834 Volume: 11 Issue: 8 Publication Date: August 2026 DOI: 10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i08.044
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Gayatri Mishra1 and John Leddo1,2,3 1. MyEdMaster, LLC, Virginia, USA 2. METY Technology, Inc., Virginia, USA 3. METY Foundation, Virginia, USA
MLA 8 Mishra, Gayatri, and John Leddo. "Improving SAT Test Performance by Having Students Engage in Self-assessment and Remediation." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 11, no. 8, Aug. 2026, pp. 4344-4360, doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i08.044. Accessed Aug. 2026. APA 6 Mishra, G., & Leddo, J. (2026, August). Improving SAT Test Performance by Having Students Engage in Self-assessment and Remediation. Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(8), 4344-4360. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i08.044 Chicago Mishra, Gayatri, and John Leddo. "Improving SAT Test Performance by Having Students Engage in Self-assessment and Remediation." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research 11, no. 8 (August 2026), 4344-4360. Accessed August, 2026. https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i08.044.
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ABSTRACT: Millions of students take the SAT and other high-stakes tests that influence what colleges or other programs they get into or graduate from. Test preparation has become a multibillion dollar global business, but evidence suggests that SAT programs lead to minimal improvement on average. The present study explores whether teaching students to self-assess and remediate their SAT subject knowledge using Cognitive Structure Analysis while they prepare for the SAT test can lead to higher SAT test scores. 25 students enrolled in a commercial SAT preparation program participated in the study. 12 students engaged in self-assessment and remediation for SAT Math but not SAT Reading, while 13 students engaged in self-assessment and remediation for SAT Reading but not SAT Math, leading to an experimental design with between-subjects and within-subjects comparisons. Students began by taking a full SAT test, engaged in an instructional session and then took a second full SAT test. These events occurred in three separate sessions over the course of a week. Those students who did not use self-assessment for SAT Math showed no improvement in the math scores between the two tests, and those who did not use self-assessment for SAT Reading showed no improvement in the reading scores between the two tests. Students using self-assessment and remediation for SAT Math improved their math scores, on average, by 45.83 points, which was statistically higher than their change in their SAT Reading scores and statistically higher than the change in SAT Math scores for those students who did not uses self-assessment and remediation for SAT Math. Students using self-assessment and remediation for SAT Reading improved their reading scores, on average, by 33.33 points, which was statistically higher than their change in their SAT Math scores and statistically higher than the change in SAT Reading scores for those students who did not uses self-assessment and remediation for SAT Reading.

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