Your child brings home a near-perfect report card. All A’s, maybe a B in AP Biology. They’re on the soccer team, in the photography club, and seem to be doing everything right.
You thank God you have a smart kid and can focus on adult responsibilities.
You know they’ll have to take the SAT one day, but you’re not worried.
“My kid is smart. They’ll be fine like always.”
Their first SAT score comes back: 1260.
They look disappointed. You’re confused. Is that good? Is that bad? What do you do now?
“It’s okay,” you say. “I’ll get you one of those giant SAT books from Amazon. That should help.”
And that’s mistake #1.
It’s an innocent mistake, but it often sets smart kids up for frustration. The SAT doesn’t measure how smart your child is. It measures how well they’ve trained for a very specific, very predictable test.
At school, your child learns the material, does a few homework reps, and moves on. That works for grades. But the SAT is different. It requires repetition, strategy, and endurance—three things smart kids often haven’t had to use much yet.
So they think:
“I didn’t do great the first time, but if I review this book and watch a few YouTube videos, I’ll definitely do better next time.”
And sometimes they do a little better. But often, they don’t improve nearly as much as they should.
Why?
Because intelligence doesn’t replace practice volume on the SAT. Smart kids rely on talent. The SAT rewards repetition.
Here’s the reality:
- One student takes the SAT a couple times and studies a week before test day.
- Another student practices for months and takes dozens of full-length tests.
Who do you think has the higher score?
Obviously the second one.
The problem is most students treat the SAT like the first example—not the second.
The good news is your child doesn’t need 1,000 practice tests. There are only so many official test dates anyway. What they need is consistent, realistic practice over time.
And this is where you as the parent make the biggest difference.
Once you and your child find good practice resources, don’t stay completely hands-off. Sit with them once or twice a week and have them explain how they solved a question. Let them walk you through their thinking. Why was this answer right? Why was that one wrong?
You don’t need to become an SAT expert yourself. You just need to make sure they can explain their thinking clearly.
Unfortunately for you, teenagers have a natural ability to ignore everything their parents tell them. That’s normal. If it turns into a battle, bring in a third party—tutor, teacher, study group, or accountability partner. 90% of kids listen better when it’s not mom or dad talking.
Get them to start practicing the SAT early and consistently. Your teen will thank you when they get the score they want. The score that matches their intelligence.
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TL;DR
Your child isn’t struggling because they’re not smart.
They’re struggling because they haven’t yet learned how to apply their intelligence to boring, repetitive, structured practice.
That skill—doing the work even when it’s not exciting—is one of the most important skills they’ll ever develop. The SAT just happens to be one of the first times in their life they have to do this.