The Perfect Score Project details an attempt by Debbie Stier to help her high school son, Ethan, prepare for the SAT.  Aware that her son was perfectly normal yet completely uninterested in any test, and that a number of test prep options were available, she devised a plan–on his behalf–to create the perfect SAT prep guide.  Wanting to fuel her son’s motivation to succeed, she plunges into the world of test prep–12 months, 7 SATs, and a goal to earn a perfect score while uncovering its secret path.

Debbie’s journey turned out to be one of both hilarity and heartbreak as she took seven SATs in one year and returned to the life of school and standardized testing.  What begins with one woman’s worry for her child’s well-being quickly shifts to a desire to uncover the roots of her own imperfections.  The Perfect Score Project becomes a toolbox of fresh tips as she moves from one method to the next, desperately seeking the perfect recipe to a perfect score.  Here she reveals the importance of the SAT and what it takes to prepare for it.

In this book Debbie does it all: wrestles with Kaplan, dissects SAT blue books, invests in expert tutoring services, and rebuilds her endurance.  What stands out about Stier’s book is its relatability and truth.  Though written from a mother’s point of view, The Perfect Score Project captures the true life and motivations of a student making way through the struggles of test prep and anxiety.  It glimpses at a true and real SAT experience–one that leaves readers cheering for Debbie and motivated to succeed on their own.

Along the way she answers the questions of every test taker: When should I start? How can I do well? Where should I go and who should I speak to? Tell me, what does it take?

Throughout the process she recounts her journey on her blog theperfectscoreproject.com, actively providing information of new-found tips, tricks, methods, and what you should and shouldn’t do.  Her love for the SAT grows as she re-ties the bond between her and her children, and pushes through what seems like an impossible feat for a woman who took her last SAT over thirty years ago.

The Perfect Score Project definitely proves worth the read as an indispensable guide to the SAT.  Debbie Stier leaves readers excited and hungry for tips as she uncovers the secrets of the SAT in this “perfect do-over.”