<p>I am curious as to how many schools offer their students prep courses for the SAT or ACT tests. The small public high schools in my part of NYS seem to downplay the standardized tests. At my D's school, for example, the guidance staff neglected to inform students that they should register for the October SAT until after the deadline passed. Needless to say, they offer no test prep opportunities. On the other hand, I have heard that some public schools downstate do offer after-school test preparation courses. How are things handled at your son or daughter's high school? Please indicate whether they attend a private or public school.</p>
<p>My school district offers two different kinds of SAT prep classes and an ACT prep class ($100 per course, 4 classes per course).</p>
<p>D’s school had running water and flush toilets in both restrooms.</p>
<p>Some teachers from our school put on a summer course every year- it was pretty expensive and from what I hear, of just “OK” effectiveness. Word on the street was that you could get more out of just studying yourself or doing an online course.</p>
<p>Some schools are just more “in tune” to what is being tested on the SAT. Our school did very LITTLE with pure grammar studies. Consequently, our students don’t tear up the writing multiple choice, unless they do some self-studying/memorizing the rules. The essay writing doesn’t seem to be as much of a problem. I’ve heard of some schools that are EXTREMELY structured when it comes to grammar worksheets, grammar tests, grammar, grammar, grammar. I assume that those students fare much better. </p>
<p>Also, I’ve heard of English departments that regularly administer timed “critical reading” exercises within the curriculum at all levels, as well as timed in-class essay writing, throughout junior high/high school. Four years of that sort of thing would do more than any kind of prep class, IMO.</p>
<p>In BOTH restrooms, cur? LUCKY!</p>
<p>Hudson, I share your concern in a central NY district. Students in advanced courses (ex. precalc) don’t learn about SAT 2 tests. PSAT as an option for sophomores isn’t mentioned. The school strongly promotes athletic and music opportunities, but college-prep tests are like a private family secret. Each family researches this on their own, like reinventing the wheel. </p>
<p>I could use examples of small public high schools that have effective early advising programs for families about standardized tests. I’m thinking of approaches like: 9th and 10th grade presentations to parents, documents or websites that give parents info. on test-taking timelines, comparisons of SAT/ACT, trial PSATs in 10th grade, etc. Does your school do it right? Please share what you can.</p>
<p>Some parents in our district set up a fundraising foundation that gives money for various school related extras. One thing they support is a Kaplan course at the school. It’s offered at reduced cost with an even more reduced cost for parents who are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Our average SAT scores jumped 100 points in one year on a 1600 scale. However for SAT essay help, I’d say the course was worse than useless, it was actually harmful. They made no effort to grade the essays fairly - at least the ones they bothered to return to my son. (They scored my son’s essay 1 out of 12! He’s not a wonderful writer, but the essay he wrote was servicable and his similar essay on the real thing got a 9.) The course runs in the fall and early spring of jr. year.</p>
<p>Teachers are pretty good about mentioning when a course is aligned with the SAT2s though that didn’t stop my son from forgetting to take Math2 at the end of pre-calc. Luckily he did just fine a year later. :)</p>
<p>One of the fall PTA meetings usually has a presentation about SATs in the fall. In December (I think) there is a scholarship meeting and there’s a separate sports scholarship meeting separate from that - not sure when as my kids weren’t eligible. Our school does a big presentation in the spring aimed at juniors which includes a college fair and college reps giving various presentations in the evening in panels.</p>
<p>Personally I think our school should require a lot more short essays. It’s the one disadvantage of class sizes of closer to 30 than the 10 or 15 I had in prep school. The teachers just can’t read papers fast enough for their student load. My kids say they don’t get grammar, but they diagrammed sentences in middle school and learn a lot of grammar in Latin.</p>
<p>Public HS- nothing is offered free of charge. They do allow a private company to offer a group class to prep for the SAT. The class is held during the week in the evening. The cost I believe was $300. I was told by a teacher that it was not worthwhile. Some of our hs teachers offer to provide private 1:1 tutoring after school for an hourly fee. </p>
<p>Friend’s Public HS-holds classes on Saturdays for a nominal fee (don’t recall fee, but I know the family used this service and it was reasonable and worthwhile). I am not sure how many sessions there are. They offer the same for a review before AP tests as well. The SAT class was not enough, and parents did also provide private tutoring help for both children.</p>
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<p>We have this situation as well. Many parents will not share who is tutoring their youngster.</p>
<p>catbird, I’ll PM you.</p>
<p>Youdon’tsay–will pm you back. If anyone else has data to share, pm me if you prefer. I’m gathering ideas for a committee looking at improving test scores in a small semi-rural district. We would like to compare the effectiveness of SAT/ACT preparation classes (as per OP), universal free PSAT in 10th grade, and extra early gc outreach to parents.</p>
<p>For NY’ers: How well does English Regents match SAT I CR and W? Our hs focuses solely on Regents which I am starting to doubt as a strategy. NY English Regents is taken at the end of junior year. If you raise average Regents scores, would that spill over to SAT scores? Or do SAT/ACT need to be addressed directly?</p>
<p>I just took a look at a sample Regent’s exam (they post past exams on line). Here’s last August: <a href=“http://www.nysedregents.org/testing/engre/1-807.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nysedregents.org/testing/engre/1-807.pdf</a> I’d say there’s less overlap than you’d think considering both exams have an essay and both have multiple choice questions. The Regent’s exam also has a listening section where you have to write an essay and answer multiple choice questions about what you’ve heard. It looks like there’s a lot fewer questions for the time allotted. One problem many kids have with the SAT is that they are simply rushed for time. The questions also looked easier. For the reading portion of this exam there was a text to read and then a graphic to look at. The essay covered both, as did the questions. That’s very different from the many, many texts you have to read for the SATs - some of which were really, really dull. (This one was a relatively entertaining about voting systems.) There are no questions about grammar or vocabulary use equivalent to what’s on the SAT.</p>
<p>While I expect improving Regent’s scores would improve SAT scores slightly, the SATs are much harder.</p>
<p>Not in NY, but southern MA… </p>
<p>You can take a half-year class for english or math SAT prep, or take prep classes at night for a few weeks in fall/spring for about $50.</p>
<p>That is helpful, Mathmom.</p>
<p>The NYS Regents exam is expected to be taken and passed by virtually every student in a given high school in NYS. The SAT is taken only by college-bound students. In some NYS high schools fewer than half the students will take the SAT but upwards of 95% take the English Regents. It should come as no surprise, then, that the Regents exam is much easier. The two pools of test takers are very different in many cases. This may not be true in Scarsdale or Rye, but it is in many poor and rural school districts. That said, I would be very interested in what students who have taken both over the past several years think about the two tests.</p>
<p>My older son thought his Regent’s exams were jokes - esp. English which I can’t recall them prepping for at all. I know smart kids who thought some of the exams were hard though - esp. the year the Math A exam was hard, and Chemistry sometimes has tricky questions. Mathson never got less than a 97 on any Regents exam, but his SAT2 scores were stellar too. (Actually I take that back he got a 90 on Chemistry which he did as a 3 week CTY course that wasn’t necessarily aligned with the exam.)</p>
<p>Public HS here offers SAT prep as a one-semester elective. From what I’ve heard, it covers Reading, Math, and Writing sections. However, I heard from a teacher that it’s almost like a study hall. And they spend about equal time on all 3 sections, so since my D is strong in Reading and Writing and weak in Math, we’re going to skip it.</p>
<p>Some of the HS English classes give practice SAT type essays, but that depends on the teacher. I think most of the Gifted and Honors level English classes do these. The HS does offer universal free PSAT to all sophomores and to freshmen who are in Algebra II or higher. I think this is a good way for the kids to get practice before it counts for anything, and it’s a help to parents who can’t afford it or might not think of it.</p>
<p>As for SAT subject tests, we’re on our own. No one in the school has even mentioned that some colleges require them!</p>
<p>Califa – Just for clarification, when you say “Public HS here…” are you referring to your specific school district or have the California Regents stipulated that high school’s statewide should offer SAT prep as an elective?</p>