Why do I miss SAT inequality questions with tables
It shows up as an inequality and four small tables of x and y values. The question asks which table satisfies it.
The trap
The first row of several tables is the same point, and it works, so nothing separates them at a glance. Many students check a second row and find those tables still work. Then they pick whichever looks most like the others. At that point it feels like the work is done. Tables get built to survive two rows and fail on the third. One fails quietly. Its last point lands exactly on the line, and a strict inequality does not include the line. Another catches the student who did the arithmetic right and then compared in the wrong direction. Every point in it sits just below the line.
The rule
An inequality is settled by substitution, not by inspection. A table qualifies only if every row passes, so check the last row before the first.
Desmos
Technique 5 from the Desmos Strategy Guide. Type the inequality and Desmos shades the region. Then type each table's three points and look at which set sits entirely inside the shading. A point on the boundary is visibly on the line, which is what a strict inequality leaves out. It is faster than nine substitutions and it cannot drop a sign.
If it keeps happening
Three practice tests in a row here means the student stops checking once the answer looks settled. That habit costs points across the whole Math section, not on these questions alone. That is why it is worth fixing at any score. The thing to fix is the habit, not the topic.
Start with the free Diagnostic.
One short form. Within 24 hours you get it in writing: where the score stands and what to fix first.