I would be remiss if I did not contribute to this thread that helped me so much with my OAR prep. I initially took the OAR and scored a 46. I retook the OAR and scored a 54.
For my first test (score: 46), I primarily used the ASTB Prep App practice tests as a gauge of my progress and did not read through any of the google Drives in their entirety. I also did not watch many YouTube videos on concepts (math or mechanical). Additionally, I went in overconfident on reading because I was scoring so high on the reading comprehension practice tests (90-100%). I was in for a surprise when the reading comprehension test contained no questions—mainly because I was not thorough in my research on this thread.
For my second test (score: 54), I used this post by
DOMINVS (the post I’m replying to) as a north star. I consistently referenced the hyperlinks under “Resources Used,” and the tips provided were extremely helpful. This post is great because it consolidates many helpful resources into one convenient place.
Math:
I found this YouTube channel (
https://www.youtube.com/@GrammarHero) to be particularly helpful for reviewing concepts. I would put on videos covering concepts I struggled with (such as probability and combined rate of work), and that helped improve my math performance overall.
Mechanical:
The OAR Tutoring App was amazing for the mechanical section. I had at least three questions on my test that were also covered in the Mechanical Homework portion of the app. My mechanical test was very similar to what was described in the above post.
Reading:
Just like the above post, I highly recommend the Official NAMI ASTB Sample Questions. I also had the ORM question on my test. These reading comprehension questions were the most accurate compared to what you actually see on the test. Do not bother practicing reading comprehension tests that ask specific questions like,
“When was Chinas first aircraft carrier built?” That is not how reading comprehension is structured on the OAR.
The biggest issue I had with reading comprehension was that there were no questions once the section began. It was just a large block of text followed by four sentences. On my first test, I did not do well in reading. The biggest difference between test one and test two was that, for test two, I wrote down the introductory directions that appear before the reading comprehension section begins. The directions state something along the lines of:
“Pick the answer choice that can only be inferred from the passage” or
“Pick only what is true from the text.” For test two (score 54) I wrote these instructions on my scratch paper. When I got stuck on a reading problem, I would look back at my notes (the directions written down), and it helped me refocus. It gave me a question to then prime my brain to answer.
For the reading section, most people say it’s basically “good luck.” I honestly believe that writing down the directions helped me the most with the reading portion especially if you are like me and have a hard time answering questions when there is no question written for me to see.
Thank you to all for the input and resources provided on this journey.
Good luck to all that are still on their journey!
