Our team carefully crafts practice questions around the topics you can expect to see on an official exam. You can learn more about our content creation process if you're interested in how our team manages content for over 100 different exams.
What questions will I see on my exam?
When it comes to the questions you’ll see on an exam, it’s important to know that our practice questions will not be the same as those on the official exam. This is due to actual exam questions being highly secured and only accessible by the accrediting organization.
Every accredited organization that fields official exams, such as the SAT, is required to provide test takers with an exam blueprint. This blueprint outlines what you need to know before sitting for an exam. For example, here is a link to the SAT exam blueprint.
At Pocket Prep, we take these lengthy exam blueprints and break down the high-level concepts or tasks you're expected to know/demonstrate for the exam, writing questions that help strengthen your overall understanding of the material. It's not about memorizing practice questions; instead it's about learning the concepts behind them. It's this process of solving problems similar to ones you'll find on the real exam that makes studying effective and worthwhile.
Is Pocket Prep affiliated with the makers of real exams?
In most cases, we are not affiliated with the makers of the real exam. Since we do not own the rights to the questions found on actual and “real" exams, we cannot legally publish that content, even if we had access to it. The accredited organizations safeguard those "real" questions. Those questions are highly sought after by students, teachers, and many other interested parties, but that content is the intellectual property of the accredited organization and is not available to the public.
If accredited organizations did provide access to verbatim test questions, this would cause a slew of problems around credibility and effectiveness. Test takers would begin memorizing exact questions and exact answers instead of understanding overarching concepts, in turn compromising the integrity of the exam.
You wouldn't want a nurse administering the wrong medication or a social worker sharing your confidential information publicly because neither actually demonstrated competency in their professional roles, right? Tests are stressful and hardly fun, but it's important to remember the restrictions put in place by accredited organizations effectively block shortcuts and preserve the integrity of the careers they represent.
What about apps or sites that claim to have "real" questions?
While there are exceptions to any rule, test prep companies claiming to have "real" test questions are either being dishonest or breaking the law. When in doubt, do a quick credibility check and ask yourself a few questions:
Is the app or site managed by the makers of the real exam?
If not, is it associated with or endorsed by them?
Is it branded with official logos and trademarks?
If you answered no to these questions, think about how the app or site would have access to these "real" exam questions. We typically see that these unscrupulous companies acquire prep content unlawfully, such as hacking or brain dumping. Some even steal the works of others and present it as their own. We advocate against cheating and so should you!
There are no shortcuts, so get out there and earn your passing score.
💪 You've got this.