 |
||||
 |
||||
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
 |
||
|
|
|
What We Teach
We Teach Strategies
The SAT and PSAT are standardized tests written and scored in is particular way. We show students the test-taking strategies and techniques that can help them maximize their scores, including:
- When and how to guess.
- How to identify traps and wrong answers.
- What the test writers think when constructing questions.
- What choosing the “best” answer really means.
- Why the correct answer is not always a “good” answer.
- How to make educated guesses even when you don’t understand the question.
- The patterns to the degree of question difficulty and how to use them to greatest advantage.
- Special techniques to simplify or avoid algebra.
We Teach Academics
Strategies are helpful, but they have their limitations. Sometimes you just have to know what the words mean or how to do the math. That’s why we also teach the academics tested and give the students study guides to help them review and build knowledge.
Assignment sheets to help students stay organized and complete their work on time.
Vocabulary workbooks divided into daily assignments with plenty of review exercises, puzzles, cartoons, and roots, as well as flash cards for maintenance review.
Math Review guides written in a simple, conversational style. The guides explain the terms, definitions, and rules students must know. Definitions and rules sections are presented in a question-and-answer format which can be studied like flash cards. There are follow-up exercises and written solutions.
Written Essay Evaluations from our Reader. Our reader has been scoring essays since the essay was introduced to the exam in 2005. She has taken the College Board Reader Program and the scores she gives have proven to be exceptionally accurate. Her evaluations are not just quick comments. They are in-depth discussions of what the student needs to do to score higher.
How We Teach It
Group Classes Focus on Strategies
In group classes we efficiently present the strategies and test-taking skills everyone must know. Strategies are presented in organized workbooks with written summaries that promote rapid learning and allow for convenient review.
We review hundreds of SAT and PSAT questions organized by subject and category. This is much more than we could cover in private classes alone.
Students are assigned to a group based on their scoring levels so they are studying with students who have similar scores and abilities. Each class is two and a half hours.
Private Classes Focus on the Individual
During five hours of one-on-one classes, the student has the instructor’s undivided attention on a regular basis.
We review the Diagnostic Exam and practice SATs or PSATs privately and focus on the student’s specific areas of weakness.
We follow up and make sure that the student is correctly using the strategies presented in the group classes. Students find this is a good time to ask questions they may have been hesitant to ask in the group class.
We determine if the student needs any special supplemental materials or additional work in a particular area.
A Diagnostic Test and Full-Length Exams
The course starts with a Diagnostic Exam that covers the Math, Critical Reading, and Writing question types in the SAT and PSAT and helps us assess students’ test-taking skills and weaknesses.
Students take 3 full-length exams during the course. Please note that the exams do not take up class time. The exams are returned to them and reviewed question-by-questions at their one-on-one classes. They get to keep the exams, their scored answer sheets, the answer keys, and test-notes for review and study at home. We use College Board released exams, not simulated tests.
We score the exams by hand so we can keep watch for errors in filling in the answer sheets such as misnumbering, filling in answers in the wrong section, and incomplete erasures or stray marks that could cause problems if the exams were graded by machine.
