Timetable for High School Juniors

Mid October 2011 Take the PSAT

While awaiting the results in December take 10 minutes per day to attempt the Official SAT Question of the Day from www.collegeboard.com as well as learn a new word via the Word of the Day from www.dictionary.com

December 2011Obtain PSAT  Results and review your score report.  Determine which SAT or ACT test you will be taking.  Figure out what type of test prep is right for you.  Learn about all the options available including large classes, private tutoring or self-study.  January SAT Test takers should begin their test prep

January 2012 March test takers should begin their test prep as soon as the first week of the new year.  10-12 weeks of intense study before a test date is a good rule of thumb.

“When the Student Is Ready, The Teacher Will Appear”

The title of this post is from an ancient Buddhist proverb.  I thought about it today as I was helping a student prepare for next Saturday’s SAT exam at her local public library.  As she  focused on a 25 minute math section, my eyes glanced around the book stacks and I zeroed in on the test preparation books in the reference section. I was awestruck by the sheer volume of competent information available. It was then that I realized that all the SAT prep knowledge is readily available for students.  Across the room, another tutor was teaching a woman how to read.

Books, tutors, audio tape, videos, power point presentations, online courses, flash cards, smartphones,etc.  The technology is there. The material is there.  The flow of information is the constant. It’s the student that is the variable.  He or she must have the work ethic, the desire to improve, the energy to improve his or her lot in life, the motivation to succeed.  The student is the variable.  When the student opens his or her mind to learn, the teachers are already there.

ACT is this Saturday, SAT is 3 Weeks Away, PSAT is 5 weeks away.

High School Juniors and Seniors, it’s a new school year and a whole new Standardized Test schedule.  Its time to focus.  The summer is over and as sad as this news may make you feel, I guarantee you that you will feel a lot worse if you don’t start to refocus on killing these tests!

Just to motivate you I have found an interesting article called The Top 5 Reasons To Take The SAT Just click on the link and read it.

Preparing for this test is not a waste of time!  Diligent preparation will leave you with lifelong skills and habits.

Eliminate Before You Calculate!

In this fast paced, video game, text messaged world, the desire for instant
gratification has never been greater. I have witnessed many students fall into
this speed trap, especially when it comes to answering the Math SAT questions.
The need for speed often leads to misread questions, sloppy set ups and silly
mistakes.

Important Tip:

Before coming up with the answer, read the question as many times as necessary, until it is
fully understood. Next, eliminate the obvious incorrect answers. For example–if the
answer calls for a positive slope, eliminate the answers with negative slopes;
if the answer must be less than 90 degrees, get rid of all those answers greater
than 90 degrees. This method allows you to enjoy more accurate calculations
while avoiding the “sucker answers” which are designed to catch the careless
speed demons

The Voice and Tone of A Reading Passage

Voice and Tone are two similar but subtly different concepts in critical reading. Learning to “feel” the writer through his or her voice is an important SAT Critical Reading skill. Many times a student will answer questions about a passage incorrectly because he or she will incorporate his or her world view into the passage. Hint–Your opinion does not count! The questions will start off with language such as “According to the author……” Not “According to Jim Smith…..

Once again Grammar Girl has an excellent discussion of voice and tone, please read or listen to the audio version by clicking here.

Crunch Time H.S. Seniors!

Its two months and counting for the October SAT. For most H.S. seniors who are college bound, its time to start your SAT Test Prep.  Summer is a lazy time and its easy to let your mind turn to mush. Don’t let this happen to you!  Pick up a test prep book and start allocating some time to the exam. Before you realize it, school will start and you will be inundated with classes, college application essays and after school activities.

During the summer, there is no such pressure.  So start now! Get into the habit!  After a few weeks this new habit will be as common as brushing your teeth.

How Do I Solve an SAT Math Problem?

Many times there will be multiple methods for solving a given SAT Math problem. Which way is best?  The fastest way.

The SAT is a multiple choice test (for the most part). There is no partial credit for the math problems. You either know the answer or not. The math sections are also time sensitive. In a typical math section you will only have 25 minutes to answer 24 questions. There is no time to ponder, there is only time to act.

How does a student confidently deal with this pressure? By tackling every possible question type from any practice test he or she has. After all, if you have seen every type of math question, they can’t fool you!

Happy July 4th!

The following is an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence.  How many words can you define in bold?

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,  — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.  — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.