How SummaLabs works
Three promises. This page is how we keep them.
- Plan and target
- Score and analysis
- Practice anywhere
1
Your plan
Picked each morning, about 20 minutes.How today was picked
1Your latest paper and your last 7 days
Your latest full paper, plus every drill and fix in the last 7 days.
2Mistakes that are due come first
A mistake comes back on the day it is due, before anything new.
3Then the skills holding the most points
The skills where a few more right answers are worth the most on a paper.
4What you have mastered is skipped
A skill leaves your plan once all three of its levels are done. It does not come back as a task.
Three levels per skill
Not leveled yet
Level 1
Level 2
Mastered
How a mistake comes back
Right todayabout 3 daysabout a week
Why we practice this waySix studies, sources inside
Answering from memory beats re-reading.
Why drills are questions, not notes.Roediger & Karpicke, 2006, Psychological Science 17(3)
Coming back to something after a gap makes it stick; the best gap grows with the time left until the test.
Why a mistake returns today, in about 3 days, and in about a week.Cepeda, Vul, Rohrer, Wixted & Pashler, 2008, Psychological Science 19(11)
Mixing question types in one sitting beats practicing one type in a block, when tested later.
Why suggested drills mix skills.Rohrer & Taylor, 2007, Instructional Science 35
A mistake that is corrected with feedback is learned better than one that is skipped.
Why you redo the question before you see the explanation.Metcalfe, 2017, Annual Review of Psychology 68
Students who move on only after showing mastery learn far more than those who move on by the calendar.
Why each skill has three levels.Bloom, 1984, Educational Researcher 13(6)
A review of ten study techniques rated practice testing and spaced practice the most useful.
The short version of all of the above.Dunlosky, Rawson, Marsh, Nathan & Willingham, 2013, Psychological Science in the Public Interest 14(1)
2
The Summa Score
An estimate, shown as a range, then checked.1It is always a range
One number would pretend to know more than a practice paper can. The dark mark is the most likely score; the band is where your score would probably land if you sat the SAT this week.
2It narrows as evidence builds
After one paper the band is 120 points wide. After six it is 60. Each realistic paper adds evidence, so the band tightens.
3Only realistic papers move it
Repeats, practice mode, drills and paused sittings never change your Summa Score. They help you learn; they are not evidence of a score.
4It is sealed before test day
The evening before your SAT your range is locked. When your SAT score arrives, we show the two side by side.
5We publish how close we were
The first accuracy report comes after the scores are released. Until then we do not quote an accuracy figure.
Your range, paper by paperEstimate
Each student’s range appears here after their first full paper in realistic mode.
3
Practice anywhere
Kept on our side, not on the device.What is saved
Saved every few seconds
Pick up on any device
What moves your Summa Score
A full paper in realistic mode, in one sitting
What never moves it
Practice mode, repeats and paused sittings
Single sections
Drills and mistake fixes
Points, levels and badges
Points only go up.Points
Your level
Badges
Questions people ask
Are these real SAT questions?
They are original questions, written for SummaLabs in the style and at the difficulty of the digital SAT.
Why a range and not one number?
One number would pretend to know more than a practice paper can. The dark mark is the most likely score; the band is where your score would probably land if you sat the SAT this week. The SAT itself reports a score range, because any single sitting can vary by a few tens of points.
Does practice mode count?
Not toward your Summa Score. Only a full paper in realistic mode moves it. Practice mode, single sections, repeats, drills and fixes all feed your plan and your mistakes list.
What if I miss a day?
Nothing breaks. No points are taken away and nothing resets. Tomorrow’s plan is picked from where you are.
Can my parents see my progress?
Only what you share. From any score report you can send a link, which opens without an account, or download a PDF. You can stop sharing at any time.
How is difficulty decided?
Easy, Medium and Hard are estimates, made from how each question is built. They sharpen as more students answer, so a label can change.
What happens the night before the SAT?
The evening before your SAT, your Summa Score is sealed. When your SAT score arrives, we show the two side by side.
Does a full paper work on any device?
Yes, and it is saved the same way. For a full paper in realistic mode we suggest a laptop, because that is what test day is like.