Start with a diagnostic, not with chapter one
The single most common waste of preparation time is studying evenly. A student who is strong in mathematics and weak in revising and editing will, left to a textbook, spend half their preparation on the half that was already fine.
Sit one full-length exam under real conditions before doing any studying at all. The score does not matter. The section and topic breakdown does. This is what our tutor dashboard was built around, and it is why we sell exams individually rather than as a course.
Spring of grade 7: foundations
Nothing exam-specific. Reading — anything, at length, above comfort level — and staying current with school mathematics. Students who read regularly arrive at the exam with an advantage no amount of autumn cramming replaces.
Summer: content, in the order the diagnostic gave you
This is the working period. Take the two or three weakest topics and give them real time. Revising and editing rewards this more than any other section, because it is a set of rules that can genuinely be learned in a few weeks — unlike reading comprehension, which improves slowly.
September: full-length practice under real conditions
One complete exam a week, timed, in one sitting, at a table, without a phone. The purpose is not the score. It is stamina and pacing — and, this year, rehearsing the forward-only mathematics section, which overturns the skip-and-return habit most students have been taught.
October: narrow and repeat
Stop starting new topics. Rework wrong answers from the practice exams and re-sit the ones taken earliest. A student who genuinely understands why each of their wrong answers was wrong has done more than one who has seen twice as many questions.
The week before
Almost nothing. A light review, an early night, and a check of the test-day logistics. Preparation done in the final week does not reach the exam; sleep does.
What this plan assumes
Roughly three to five hours a week from summer onward, and four to six full-length exams. That is why we sell exams individually rather than a subscription — most families need a handful, not unlimited access. Before committing to anything, ten free questions will show you how the questions read.
Practice the real thing
Our SHSAT exams are full length and written from scratch — every wrong answer carries its own explanation, so a child learns what they got wrong and why. Ten questions are free, with no account and no card. After that it is five credits an exam.