Targeting Remaining Weaknesses

📖 Learn

In the final weeks before your SAT or ACT, strategic weakness targeting offers the highest return on your study time. Rather than reviewing everything, focus intensely on areas where you can gain the most points with the least effort.

Definition: Weakness Targeting

Weakness targeting is a strategic approach to test preparation that identifies specific skill gaps through diagnostic analysis, then focuses study time on those areas with the highest potential for score improvement.

The 80/20 Rule in Test Prep

The Pareto Principle applies to test preparation: approximately 80% of your score gains will come from 20% of your study efforts. The key is identifying which 20% to focus on:

Priority Level	Characteristics	Strategy
High Priority	Frequent question types you often miss	Intensive practice with feedback
Medium Priority	Occasional errors in common areas	Review concepts, moderate practice
Low Priority	Rare errors or rare question types	Light review only
Skip	Consistently mastered areas	Maintain through mixed practice

Conducting a Weakness Audit

To target weaknesses effectively, you need data. Here's how to conduct a thorough weakness audit:

Gather your practice tests: Collect all scored practice tests from the past 2-3 months
Categorize every error: Sort missed questions by content domain and question type
Calculate error rates: Determine what percentage you miss in each category
Identify patterns: Look for recurring error types (careless mistakes, knowledge gaps, time pressure)
Prioritize by frequency: Focus on categories with both high error rates AND high question frequency

SAT/ACT Domain Breakdown

Test	Section	Domains to Track
SAT	Reading/Writing	Craft & Structure, Information & Ideas, Standard English Conventions, Expression of Ideas
SAT	Math	Algebra, Advanced Math, Problem Solving & Data Analysis, Geometry & Trigonometry
ACT	English	Production of Writing, Knowledge of Language, Conventions of Standard English
	Math	Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Statistics
	Reading	Key Ideas & Details, Craft & Structure, Integration of Knowledge
	Science	Data Representation, Research Summaries, Conflicting Viewpoints

Types of Errors to Identify

Knowledge gaps: You don't know the concept or rule - requires learning/relearning
Application errors: You know the concept but apply it incorrectly - requires practice
Careless mistakes: You know how to solve it but make computational/reading errors - requires slowing down or checking work
Time pressure errors: You could solve it correctly with more time - requires pacing adjustments
Trick question errors: You fall for common traps - requires learning test patterns

The Two-Week Rule

In the final two weeks before your test, focus only on high-frequency weaknesses and avoid learning entirely new concepts. Your goal shifts from building skills to consolidating what you know and refining test-taking strategies.

💡 Examples

Work through these examples to see how weakness targeting works in practice.

Example 1: Creating an Error Log

Scenario: After a practice SAT, a student missed 8 questions on the Math section. Categorize these errors and prioritize study focus.

Errors found:

2 quadratic equation questions (didn't recognize form)
2 percent increase/decrease questions (calculation errors)
1 circle geometry question (forgot formula)
2 function questions (ran out of time)
1 linear equation question (misread problem)

Analysis:

Topic	Error Type	Priority	Action
Quadratics	Knowledge gap	HIGH	Review forms + 20 practice problems
Percent problems	Careless	MEDIUM	Slow down, double-check calculations
Functions	Time pressure	MEDIUM	Practice under time constraints
Circle geometry	Knowledge gap	LOW	Review formulas (less common)

Example 2: Calculating Domain Error Rates

Scenario: Over three practice ACT English sections (225 total questions), a student's results show:

Conventions of Standard English: 45 questions, 12 missed (27% error rate)
Production of Writing: 40 questions, 5 missed (12.5% error rate)
Knowledge of Language: 15 questions, 6 missed (40% error rate)

Priority Analysis:

Highest priority: Conventions of Standard English - despite a lower error rate than Knowledge of Language (27% vs 40%), this category appears THREE TIMES as often. Improving here offers more total point gains.

Second priority: Knowledge of Language - high error rate but fewer questions means moderate point potential.

Third priority: Production of Writing - low error rate suggests this is already a strength.

Formula: Impact = (Error Rate) x (Frequency) x (Improvability)

Example 3: Distinguishing Error Types

Scenario: A student missed this SAT Math question. Diagnose the error type.

Question: If 3x + 5 = 20, what is the value of 6x + 10?

Student's work: 3x = 15, x = 5, so 6(5) + 10 = 40

Correct answer: 40

Analysis:

Wait - the student got this RIGHT! But let's examine the approach.

Efficient method: Notice that 6x + 10 = 2(3x + 5) = 2(20) = 40

Student's method: Solved for x first, then substituted - correct but slower.

Takeaway: When reviewing practice tests, also look for correct answers that took too long. The SAT often includes "shortcut" questions where recognizing patterns saves time for harder problems.

Example 4: Building a Two-Week Study Plan

Scenario: With two weeks until the SAT, a student's weakness audit reveals: (1) Subject-verb agreement - 35% error rate, (2) Quadratic word problems - 50% error rate, (3) Inference questions - 25% error rate

Two-Week Plan:

Week 1 (Intensive Learning):

Days 1-2: Subject-verb agreement rules review + 30 targeted questions
Days 3-4: Quadratic word problem strategies + 20 targeted questions
Days 5-6: Inference question techniques + 25 targeted questions
Day 7: Full practice test to measure improvement

Week 2 (Consolidation):

Days 8-10: Review errors from Day 7 test; mixed practice sets
Days 11-12: Light review of all weak areas; full-section practice
Day 13: Easy review only; early bedtime
Day 14: Test day

Example 5: Using the "Explain It" Test

Scenario: A student thinks they understand comma rules but keeps missing punctuation questions. How can they diagnose the problem?

The "Explain It" Test:

For each comma rule, try to explain it aloud as if teaching someone else:

Introductory elements: "After a phrase at the start of a sentence... um..."
FANBOYS: "Use a comma before and, but, or, yet, so, for, nor when joining two complete sentences."
Non-essential clauses: "Hmm, something about which vs that?"

Diagnosis: The student's hesitation on Rules 1 and 3 reveals specific knowledge gaps. These are the areas to study - not "comma rules" generally.

Action: Create flashcards for specific rules that can't be clearly explained, then practice identifying each rule type in context.

✏️ Practice

Test your understanding of weakness targeting strategies.

What is the primary benefit of weakness targeting over general review?
- It takes less total study time
- It focuses effort on areas with the highest potential score gain
- It eliminates the need for practice tests
- It guarantees a perfect score
When prioritizing weaknesses, which factor should you consider in addition to error rate?
- How interesting the topic is
- How frequently that question type appears on the test
- How recently you studied the topic
- How easy the topic sounds
A student knows a math concept but keeps making small calculation errors. What type of error is this?
- Knowledge gap
- Application error
- Careless mistake
- Time pressure error
What is the recommended approach in the final two weeks before the test?
- Learn as many new concepts as possible
- Stop studying entirely to rest
- Focus on consolidating known skills and high-frequency weaknesses
- Take a practice test every day
According to the 80/20 rule in test prep, approximately what percentage of your score gains come from 20% of your study efforts?
- 20%
- 50%
- 80%
- 100%
When conducting a weakness audit, what should you do first?
- Guess which topics feel hardest
- Gather and analyze data from past practice tests
- Ask a friend what they struggle with
- Focus only on your strongest areas
A student could solve a problem correctly if given more time. This is best categorized as:
- A knowledge gap
- A careless mistake
- A time pressure error
- A trick question error
Which of the following is NOT a useful data point for weakness targeting?
- Your error rate in each content domain
- The frequency of each question type on the test
- Your friend's error patterns
- The type of error you make (knowledge gap vs. careless)
If a topic has a 40% error rate but only appears on 5% of questions, it should be classified as:
- High priority
- Medium priority
- Low priority
- Skip entirely
The "Explain It" test helps diagnose weakness by:
- Timing how fast you can solve problems
- Revealing whether you truly understand a concept or just recognize it
- Comparing your performance to other students
- Predicting your final score

View Answer Key

B - Weakness targeting focuses effort on areas with the highest potential for score improvement.
B - Both error rate and question frequency matter; high-frequency topics offer more total point potential.
C - When you know how to solve something but make small errors, these are careless mistakes.
C - The final two weeks should focus on consolidation, not learning new material.
C - The 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle) suggests 80% of gains come from 20% of efforts.
B - Effective weakness targeting requires data from actual practice tests, not guessing.
C - Running out of time on problems you can solve indicates a time pressure error.
C - Your friend's error patterns aren't relevant to YOUR weakness targeting.
C - High error rate but low frequency means limited total point potential.
B - The "Explain It" test reveals gaps between recognition and true understanding.

✅ Check Your Understanding

Reflect on these questions about your own weakness targeting approach.

1. Based on your recent practice tests, what are your three highest-priority weaknesses? How did you determine priority?

View Response Guide

A strong response would: (1) name specific content domains (not vague categories like "math"), (2) cite actual error rates from practice tests, (3) explain how frequency was factored in, and (4) identify the type of error (knowledge gap, careless, etc.). If you can't answer this question with specifics, you may need to conduct a more thorough weakness audit.

2. For your top weakness, can you explain the underlying concept/rule as if teaching it to someone else? If not, what specifically is unclear?

View Response Guide

This is the "Explain It" test. If you struggle to articulate the concept, you've identified a knowledge gap that needs direct instruction (videos, textbook, tutor). If you CAN explain it but still miss questions, the issue is likely application - you need more practice applying the concept in test conditions.

3. How will your study approach differ from someone preparing for the same test who has different weaknesses?

View Response Guide

Effective test prep is personalized. Your plan should differ from others because: you'll spend different amounts of time on each content area based on YOUR gaps; you might need different resources (some concepts require video explanations, others just need practice); your pacing strategies might differ based on where YOU lose time. Generic "study everything equally" approaches waste time on mastered areas.

4. Create a realistic plan for addressing one high-priority weakness in the next week. What specific steps will you take?

View Response Guide

A strong plan includes: (1) specific days and times blocked for studying, (2) concrete resources to use (which videos, which practice problem sets), (3) measurable goals (complete X problems, achieve Y% accuracy), (4) a way to check progress (mini-quiz, explain concept aloud, practice section). Vague plans like "study more reading" are less effective than "Tuesday 7-8pm: complete 15 inference questions from Khan Academy, review all errors, aim for 80% accuracy."

🚀 Next Steps

Review any concepts that felt challenging
Move on to the next lesson when ready
Return to practice problems periodically for review