Archive: Around Town

'Tis  the season for high school juniors to begin preparing to take the ACT with writing and/or the SAT.  There are many ACT and SAT prep books complete with CDs that can help you study.  Melissa (not her real name), a local student can tell you the problem with the test prep books.  “It's hard to find the time to study on top of homework and track practice after school.  It's just so boring.  I fall asleep at the computer sometimes or start checking my Facebook ”.  It takes a lot of discipline to study this with test prep books but students have improved their scores this way.

For those who need an extra nudge, there are SAT prep courses like Kaplan and Princeton Review available. These courses provide structure and test taking strategies.  Princeton Review or Kaplan courses work for students who need review and practice.  They don't work for students who need help understanding content or who need to learn new material.  Adam  and others I have counseled complain that half of the time in the course is spent on things they already know.  These courses are not tailored to the individual.

Private SAT tutors in Tompkins county can teach material that has been missed in school and work on the student's weak points.  In Tompkins county they often charge less than the Kaplan or Princeton Review courses. If you choose to hire a tutor make sure that they have teaching experience.

High school  juniors sometimes ask me how they can improve their scores when they only have a few weeks until the exam.  Research has shown that math review or study can improve your score if you have very limited time because it is more concrete.  The verbal part of the SAT or ACT is based upon language skills acquired over a long period through reading and writing. 

For all of you freshmen and sophomores out there, summer reading can really help boost your scores.  You have to challenge yourself though.  Read books with rich vocabulary and sentence structure. For instance, reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley would help you more than reading Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.  Because of the time crunch, many students don't have time to read books outside of class during the school year, so they read magazines.  Unfortunately, many popular magazines are written at a middle school reading level. 

Consider reading the magazine Vanity Fair over Seventeen and Smithsonian over Popular Science for a higher reading level. Sports Illustrated has more challenging reading material in general than ESPN Magazine. 

Salt is to pepper as reading is to _____.  You guessed it, writing!  If you really want to pump up your verbal skills try keeping a simple reading journal.  Write down things you like or don't like about books and articles you've read.  You can also keep track of vocabulary you don't know to look up later.

The final day before the big test is important.  Cramming in the final hours just doesn't work.  You need to relax.  Gather everything you need for the test together so that you don't have to rush around in the morning. It is important to be rested before the 4+ hour test. Breakfast is also important because it is hard to focus on a test when you feel like eating the desk.  You can walk into the test with confidence knowing that you have prepared and will try your best.  Good luck to all you juniors out there!

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