App Review: The Official SAT Question of the Day (iPhone/iPad)

App Name: The Official SAT Question of the Day (iPhone/iPad)

Cost: Free

What does it promise? The SAT Question of the Day app for iPhone and iPad promises a better solution to last-minute SAT cramming.  Students nervous about the test can become familiar with the type of questions they can expect from one of the most high-pressure tests of heir academic career.

Features according to iTunes:

● Optional hints and answer explanations to help you improve your performance
● Access to the last 30 days’ worth of SAT questions 
● The ability to filter questions in order to focus on specific subject areas
● Progress tracking 
● Access to SAT dates and registration deadlines

Does it deliver? Yes. This app is so simple, yet so incredibly helpful. The question featured at the time of testing was:

“What is the maximum number of non-overlapping squares with sides of length 3 that will fit inside of a square with sides of length 6?”

The correct answer was four but not to worry, if you get the question wrong, you are able to guess until the correct answer is revealed. Once the correct answer is found, there is a little bar underneath the question, which has a complete explanation. When you click on the explanation, a detailed rundown of why the answer is correct is featured so that students will be able to see where they went wrong and how to handle a question like this on the real exam. It’s visually simple, appealing, and very easy to use.

Can I use it in the classroom? This app might not be suited for the classroom unless teachers want to use the questions as Schema Activators to start their lessons. The problem here is that there is a different subject everyday, so the educator would have to wait until their particular subject shows up on the app's calendar. However, this could remedied by the full archive of questions that are organized by subject area, making it very easy to use direct examples as a mode to get students thinking about and prepareing them for the SAT’s.

App review by Navindra Persaud, Education World Contributor.