<p>If you’re looking specifically at the Critical Reading section, the Essential 500 Words does a pretty good job of covering level 4 and 5 words (based on an overview of the last few tests my little brother is getting in all the practice he can – moot point now with the SAT changes – at least TBD — the book usually hits 6-7 of the level 4 and 5 answers spot on --sometimes it misses 1-2). Learning the vocab is also helpful for the passages in a more general sense, as level 4 and 5 passage questions do tend to use advanced vocab (esp in terms of literary devices), and for the essay as well; sprinkling in a few advanced vocab words can boost your essay score by a point or two. I used an earlier variant of the book to score 800 on back to back CR sections of the SAT, and my younger brother, in eighth grade just rode it to a 710 on CR. </p>
<p>The College Board Blue book is a good suggestion – I’d specifically look at the math sections, as that’s the toughest to prepare for using outside source material. In terms of math concepts, I really like Brightstorm’s videos; they’re short, to the point, and teach the concept pretty well; a good way to review some concepts quickly, especially some of the early geometry and algebra stuff one might have done in middle school/freshman year. </p>
<p>In terms of grammar, that’s a tougher one. For me, the grammar stuff was mostly an intuitive process (I do a lot of writing/blogging) so I went with my gut a lot. Plus, I was always really confident in getting a 12 on my essays, so I had a nice buffer, at least mentally. One thing to really keep track of is verb tenses; of the “real” College Board tests that I took, typically about a third of the answers could be boiled down to verb tenses</p>