Tutoring For All Ages

When it comes to homework and in-school tests, the vast majority of our students don’t have to be reminded to show their work (at least, not more than once or twice). Getting credit in school isn’t usually about getting the right answer; it’s about demonstrating that you know how to get the right answer.

But when it comes to standardized tests, many of the same students, who painstakingly write out every line of algebra or underline every important line in their history textbook, won’t touch pencil to paper except to fill in a bubble. We’ve yet to see a student who can get away with doing it on every question of a test — it inevitably leads to careless mistakes.

And yet, sometimes a student, despite just having seen the results of those careless mistakes, continues to leave a blank workspace again and again while working through practice problems.

Why does this happen? There are likely many reasons, but we’ll address a few of the more likely causes in a series of posts, starting with:

Time. If I write out my work, I won’t be able to finish the whole test.

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Around this time of year, we start getting a lot of questions about the January SAT, mostly from high-school juniors. Should I take it? Should I wait? My school is making me take it and is that okay?

Quite honestly, it’s a bit of an awkward time to take the test. Some students haven’t been exposed to all the material they’ll need to know for the test by January of their junior year. For those students, it might be better to wait until the spring or even next fall to take the test.

But for those students who have covered the math on the test and are relatively confident in their verbal skills, the idea of getting the test over with in January is quite alluring.

Be careful, though, about over-preparing for this test. Unless you are a very rare person, you will probably end up taking the test again, perhaps more than once. So you will end up preparing for the test several times. And it is possible to overdo it and burn out. The last thing you need is to take the test again and have your score go down because your performance peaked too early.

If you do decide to take the January test as a junior, we generally recommend that you only do some light preparation specific to standardized tests. If you want to do some intense studying over the holidays, we recommend that you do two things: work on your vocab, and read. Reading and improving your vocabulary are the most important things you can do to improve your verbal test scores.

Need some suggestions? Check this list.

We’ve said before that reading is one of the most effective things you can do to improve your verbal skills and increase your test scores. But what should you read?

Here are a few suggestions:

• CNN.com
• Discover
• The London Times
• The Los Angeles Times
• The New York Times
• Scientific American
• Time
• USA Today

If this seems a little overwhelming, just pick one and start off with something that interests you. Even if it’s just the movie reviews!

This time of year, most high school students are glancing impatiently at their calendars, looking forward to a well-earned summer vacation.

But there are still hurdles to clear before the summer starts in earnest. AP tests are ongoing and require intense study. SAT scores from the May test are due back soon, and there’s still another test before the summer break. So how best to get through this time, when all you want to do is pack away your textbooks and sleep in until noon? (more…)

We’re coming into a bit of a “dead time” for the SSAT and ISEE. Most students take these tests in the fall and early winter, and that seems very far away right about now.

Still, there are some relatively easy things that you can do to prepare yourself for the test, if you’re planning to take it next fall. If you start them now, you’ll be practically an expert by the time you actually take the test! (more…)