How you practice for your standardized test matters.

But for a lot of students, the best way to practice isn't always obvious. 

Indeed, it begs the question: Is there an objectively "best" way to practice for maximum results on test day?

Or does it vary from student to student based on your unique learning style?

Let's talk about it.

(You can also listen to our discussion of this topic on Episode 72 of The Dominate Test Prep Podcast.)

I recently listened to a fascinating talk by an assistant coach in the NBA about two different types of training: Random training and Block training.

Block training is where you focus on one particular skill and drill it over and over again until you've mastered it. Then you move on to the next skill and do the same thing. Rinse and repeat.

Random training is where you work on different skills within the same training session and bounce back and forth among them randomly.

Before I tell you the coach's conclusion, I'll put it to you first:

Which training method do you think produces the best results?

Interestingly, the coach's thesis was that while block training makes you feel good in the moment because you see tangible progress in a relatively short amount of time, it's random practice that actually produces the best results on game day.

I found that fascinating.

But... I immediately put on my test-prep-instructor hat and filtered that conclusion through decades of experience helping students maximize their scores on test day. I came to a slightly different conclusion.

In my estimation, it's not so much that one training method is better than the other. Rather, block practice and random practice have different purposes.

When it comes to preparing for your exam, block practice is incredibly useful for skill development. If you struggle with ratios, for example, then you need to learn the best way to solve ratio questions and drill them with countless practice problems until you master the skill.

On the other hand, random practice is an indispensable way to hone your decision-making. Standardized tests are ultimately an exercise in pattern recognition, and quickly identifying the type of question you're presented with and then deciding the best strategy for attacking it is essential for getting a high score. That type of rapid-fire decision-making is best developed through random practice.

It's not so much which form of practice you should adopt, then, but rather when you should employ each.

Block practice is really helpful early on in your prep while you're still learning foundational skills and methodologies. It doesn't do much good for you to try to solve a quadratic equation during a random practice block if you haven't yet learned how to do that, for example. Develop the skill first through blocks of topic-specific practice sets.

Once you've built a solid foundation of understanding and have been exposed to most of the concepts you can expect to see on test day, then you can progress to random practice blocks where you attempt to solve lots of different types of questions and question formats within the same study session. This is also when you can begin to set a timer and work to speed up your decision-making. Taking full-length practice tests is also a great way to inject random practice into your study regimen.

Remember the goal that you're progressing toward: On test day, you will face a random assortment of questions under time constraints. To prepare for that, you must employ random practice blocks that mimic the real exam.

Keep this in mind if you're the type of student who gravitates toward block practice because it makes you feel good. There's a time and place for block practice to be sure. And yes, random practice is messy and uncomfortable and probably frustrates you. But random practice is just as important as block practice in preparing you to perform your best on test day... so fight through it!

NOTE: Our comprehensive prep courses incorporate a perfect mix of block practice and random practice as part of the syllabus. If you're one of our students, trust the process. If you're not yet one of our students, let us take the guesswork out of preparing for your exam and guide you step-by-step through the ideal study progression. We're looking forward to working with you!