Is there actually an SAT word list?
The strict answer is no. The College Board does not publish a vocabulary list, and no one outside the test's development process knows which specific words will appear on a given administration.
But the language of SAT Reading & Writing does have a particular character. The words that appear across the section — as tested answers, as wrong choices, as the working vocabulary of the passages themselves — are not random. They occupy a recognizable range of frequency, register, and sense that the test returns to, administration after administration.
Most SAT vocabulary products approximate that range through crude parameters: "hard words," "college-level words," recycled lists from retired exams. These may land somewhere in the vicinity of the test's actual vocabulary but often not close enough to offer a commensurate return on the student's time and effort. Students memorize words that may never appear on the SAT, in a format — word-and-definition pairs — the test never uses.
The Word List reflects the particular character of the test's vocabulary. Its lexicon is derived from computational analysis of real College Board material, paired with the judgment of Dave Walker, who has spent over a decade teaching SAT Reading & Writing one-on-one and whose students consistently reach the 90th–99th percentile. The result: 550+ individually vetted words, selected from a pool of over 700 candidates. A tightly targeted vocabulary of the words students are most likely to encounter on SAT Reading & Writing.
The retention problem
A word list, however carefully built, solves only half the problem. The other half is retention. Many students believe that missing a word, looking it up, and "getting it" means they now know it. It does not. Without spaced repetition — retrieving the word successfully, at widening intervals, over time — definitions are forgotten as quickly as they are learned. Most vocabulary products leave that entire process to the student's discipline. The Word List builds it in.
How practice works
Each question takes the form the SAT uses for its Words in Context questions: a short passage with a blank and four choices, the student choosing the one word the context requires. All four choices are drawn from the vetted lexicon, so every question exposes the student to four test-relevant words, not just one. The questions are vocabulary practice, designed to locate and close word-knowledge gaps, not mock SAT questions. They share the test's format but are deliberately calibrated for vocabulary acquisition rather than for the analytical trap patterns a student encounters on the actual exam.
When a student misses a word, the tool handles everything that follows. The correct choice is marked, and a review panel shows the word's meaning and an example sentence — then waits for the student rather than auto-advancing. From that point, spaced repetition takes over: the word returns soon at first, then at widening intervals as the student keeps getting it right. That widening schedule is what carries a word from vague familiarity to mastery.
The student keeps no list, maintains no notebook, and never has to remember which words to revisit or when. The parent never has to worry about whether the student is keeping their catalog of study words organized. Every missed word is brought back on its own schedule, until the student demonstrates mastery. The only job is showing up. Dave encourages his one-on-one students to practice with The Word List five to fifteen minutes, three to five days a week. Short, regular sessions build retention more reliably than occasional longer ones.
Progress is visible and honest. The app shows words known, words mastered, words still in review, and what is due today. When the student clears their due words, fresh vocabulary is introduced automatically — and when the session's work is genuinely done, the tool says so. No gamified busywork, no streak-chasing. To see what is known, in review, or mastered, a parent need only glance at the app's tally.
Who the Word List is for
Students who know vocabulary is costing them points on the Reading & Writing section — and who have been burned by, or are skeptical of, generic or loosely calibrated SAT word lists. Students who keep missing Words in Context questions and want the vocabulary foundation that serious analytical work is built on.
The Word List is already included in the Mastery Course. This page is for students and families who want the vocabulary practice on its own.
Access
The Word List runs in the browser at app.walkerprep.com. A student needs only their personal access link — no account creation, no password, no app to install. The link arrives within moments of purchase.
Pricing
One year
Full access to all practice questions and spaced repetition scheduling, drawing from the complete vetted lexicon. The word list grows as new words are vetted; access includes every addition.
Monthly
The same full access, billed monthly. Cancel anytime.
Every word admission, every practice question, and every example sentence is authored and vetted by Dave Walker. Nothing in the product is auto-generated.
SAT® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with and does not endorse this product.