Tool of The Day: SAT Test Tutor

As Humans build the brain that is Artificial Intelligence, one of the most fascinating “emergent properties” of this exercise is that we are also learning more about how our own brains operate.

I created this custom GPT mostly as a challenge to myself… could I create a tool to help students overcome the anxiety of preparing for their SAT test? It sounded too difficult, so I jumped right in!

This is a story more about how I made this tool than it is about the tool itself - and the key lesson to take away from this newsletter is that AI gives us the ability to use extreme leverage to become more productive. But we have to be receptive to it’s utility… in other words, we have to embrace the fact that this technology is not something to fear, rather it is something that can multiply our creative efforts.

When AI has a problem with complex problems, you can improve its performance by asking it to think step-by-step and then verify its answers along the way. The same can be said for how Humans tackle problems that at first seem too difficult.

My first step is to see if there are practice SAT tests available for me to use in my custom GPT. There are, directly downloadable from the official SAT test web site. Downloaded from the SAT site, uploaded to the reference files in my Custom GPT. Done!

My second step is to leverage an “intermediate” AI custom GPT called, “GPT Creator” which can produce in-depth custom GPT instructions for me to use in my own custom GPT. So I wrote the following goal and gave it to my “helper” GPT: Goal: To provide a personalized, interactive, and supportive tutoring experience for standardized test preparation, focusing on creating customized study plans, offering instant feedback with detailed explanations, and delivering motivational support to users.

This tool then gave me a detailed list of instructions to use in my own custom GPT tool…. SAT Test Tutor

My third step was to copy and paste those detailed instructions into my own custom GPT, ensure it could access the SAT test files I uploaded, name it and chose a logo image and make it a free tool accessible to anyone who uses ChatGPT-4 Turbo.

How To Use It

This AI study tool will give you detailed study plans based on your test date that concentrate on your weakest areas, adjusting your study plans as your proficiency improves. It gives you scheduled study tasks, focusing on a mix of practice questions, review sessions, and new topics. After you complete the practice questions, it provides instant feedback. For incorrect answers, “SAT Test Tutor” offers detailed explanations on why your answer was wrong and the correct way to approach the question. For correct answers, it reinforces with a brief explanation on why it's correct to enhance your understanding.

My custom GPT tool gives you daily tracking updates: At the end of each study session, it updates your progress, highlighting improvements and areas that still need your attention.

It even gives you motivational messages: Throughout the study plan, it intersperses motivational messages and reminders. It uses encouragement based on progress milestones (e.g., completing a week of the study plan, showing improvement in a challenging area) and motivational quotes or tips to keep you engaged.

Each day it sends you daily reminders to start you study session, customized with encouraging words to make the task ahead seem more approachable.

SAT Test Tutor gives you feedback and offers tips on areas for improvement, and asks for your feedback to makes its performance more responsive to your needs and preferences.

And finally, this tool gives you a “Final Review” and test-taking strategies: As the test date approaches, it provides a final review session along with test-taking strategies, time management tips, and advice on handling test anxiety.

What it Means

I approached this personal tool making challenge in a step-by-step way, understanding that at any step I might choose to not move forward. But what I found to my surprise was that AI tools made each step seem easy… a very low-effort build, one step at a time, without having to know any computer programming code.

AI can help you become VERY productive if you will let your emotional guard down long enough to allow it to help you.

Each of us makes at least one choice every day which can close us off from the world, or which allows us to move towards becoming the person we were meant to be. Make the conscious decision to allow the world in, and you might be amazed at what unfolds before you.