Reason Test Prep Articles
Welcome to Reason Test Prep Articles. Over the course of decades tutoring the SAT, ACT, GMAT, and GRE, we’ve accumulated a lot of insight, and almost nothing pleases us more than sharing that knowledge with people who are hungry for it!
Understanding the Adaptive Scoring Algorithm of the Digital SAT
In the name of science, we went to the source and tinkered with the new Digital SAT practice tests released by the College Board. Our goal was to find out exactly what's going on under the hood to determine scoring on this new test. In this post, we'll lay...
Round Trip Challenge
We love helping people think critically and solve problems—skills that are key to test success and beyond! This month’s brain teaser is a classic. Enjoy! If a car drives the 60 miles from San Jose to San Francisco at an average speed of 30mph, at what...
How to Choose the Optimal GMAT Section Order
The GMAT allows test takers to choose the order in which they do the 3 sections of the test (Quantitative, Verbal, and Data Insights). But test takers often struggle with determining their optimal section order. The truth is that there is no specific section...
Section or “Global” Time Management Strategies for the GMAT
We recently released an article that covers similar ground but for the GRE. If you’ve already read that article, just note that most of what we say in the introduction and in the section about “establishing the right mindset” is very similar. There are 2...
Two For One
We recently highlighted the legendary Martin Gardner, a well-known author of riddles and puzzles. Below we share two of his brain teasers. Below, we’re excited to share two of his classic brain teasers. Dive in and enjoy the fun! THE MISPELLED WORD Somewhere...
Why “Using Your Ear” on Verbal Questions is a Bad Idea
Most people take a rather informal, intuitive approach to verbal questions. This is often described as "using your ear": simply reading the answer choices and trying them out in your mind's ear, seeing which one sounds best. And here, dear reader, there lie...
Section or “Global” Time Management Strategies for the GRE
As we’ve discussed in other articles, there are 2 levels at which one can address time management issues on the GRE: at an individual question-level (getting faster at individual questions) and at a “global” or section-level (getting better at managing your...
Colored Pencils
Ben has 30 pencils in a box. Each of the pencils is one of 5 different colors, and there are 6 pencils of each color. If Ben selects pencils one at a time from the box without being able to see the pencils, what is the minimum number of pencils that he must...
How to Practice Timing on the GMAT and GRE
So many people suffer from timing woes on the GMAT and GRE. Literally, almost everyone we tutor needs some help in this domain, often a lot of it! In fact, for some people it is the ONLY thing keeping them from a high score. So if you are struggling with...
Tree Rings
When an old tree was felled, a very thin ring was detected among the oldest rings in the stump. When the width of rings, each corresponding to one year`s growth, was correlated with local rainfall records, it was found, as expected, that thicker rings had...
Effective Time Management on the GMAT and GRE: You Must Have the Right Mindset!
Poor time management is a problem for many, perhaps even most, test takers on the GMAT and GRE. There are 2 main ways to deal with such difficulties. One is to get better/faster at approaching individual questions. This is obviously important and something...
Speeding in the State
Once again we’re trying to illustrate the brain-teaser-esque nature of GMAT, GRE, SAT, and ACT questions. It tends to be easier to do that with Quantitative questions, but we wanted to illustrate the level of reasoning and critical thinking ability needed...
The Hard Way: Math on the New Digital SAT
The College Board rolled out the new Digital SAT in the United States in March of this year; the next administration is right around the corner at the beginning of October. Putting together what we've seen on the new practice tests and what we've heard from...
How to Prepare for the GMAC Business Writing Assessment
When the GMAT released its shortened “Focus Edition” of the GMAT in 2023, the AWA (Analytical Writing Assessment) had been removed from the test, presumably because business schools indicated that they did not value the essay portion of the exam. Indeed, for...
Infinite Solutions
Select for a and for b values such that the equation x/a=x-b has more than one solution for x. Make only two selections, one in each column. Answer:A=1 and B=0. This is a GMAT question from the Data Insights section and is technically not a brain teaser,...
Measuring Marbles
This month we have another classic-style brain teaser. This one requires some creative problem solving. The answer is a surprisingly small number, so give yourself a chance to work it out and don’t jump right to the answer! You have 9 marbles. 8 have the...
Target Test Prep and Manhattan Prep for the GMAT or GRE?: Don’t get TTP-ized or Manhattan Prep-ized!
First of all, you need to understand that the GMAT and GRE are tests of quantitative and verbal reasoning, not content knowledge, and that your emphasis should not be on learning every last bit of content knowledge presented in these courses.
Filling the Tank
Ashley and Cassandra drove their cars along the same route for 400 miles and then stopped at a gasoline station, where each purchased exactly the amount of gasoline needed to fill her car's gasoline tank to capacity. If both cars began with full gasoline...
SAT and ACT Strategy: Function Words and Reading with Precision
In this post, we'll be digging into some of the science of language as it applies to verbal questions. Our examples are drawn from official practice questions released by the College Board for the new Digital SAT, but the issues discussed here apply equally...
How to Make the Most of Your GMAT and GRE Prep
Introduction When we tutor students for the GMAT and GRE here at Reason Test Prep, we seek to maximize the progress that they make outside of the tutoring sessions. What follows is a distillation of the advice that we give our students in this regard. While...
Between Two Trains
This month we have another classic-style brain teaser. This one requires some math, but as usual, it also requires some clever problem-solving and reasoning! Enjoy! Two trains leave two towns that are 100 miles apart. They travel toward each other at rates...
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