SAT test prep

<p>I'm helping our local high school with an SAT/ACT test prep course--free; after school; 4 weeks long; 1 day/week for each of math, critical reading, writing; 1 day/week to discuss test strategies, finding the right college, getting into your college, financial aid, etc. We are encouraging parents to participate, especially in the last topic.</p>

<p>Four weeks isn't much, but it is what we have for now. As parents, what would you like to see if you were to participate with your child? What do you wish had been included in whatever test prep class your child took? What was included that you felt was helpful? Other thoughts?</p>

<p>Our goal is to eventually have this be a class during the regular school day so that, in addition to the stated test preparation, we can provide some direction to help the kids do better in all their classes.</p>

<p>Thanks for your help.</p>

<p>Wow. I think that is an absolutely wonderful goal. I’m not a parent (yet). I am however a tutor who just found these forums and hope you don’t mind my comment. </p>

<p>I think the more exposure students have to both real test questions and the underlying concepts the easier it will be for them to score well. It is sometimes difficult to motivate students, and to help them organize their incredibly scheduled lives so that they have time to put in to ensure their success, but if you provided them with a list of resources they could use outside of the class, surely that would help.</p>

<p>I’ve seen students rocket several hundred points (the easiest scores to raise tend to be Writing and Math). If they have the time, I recommend pointing them towards the published real tests. If they limited time, there are still options. I know of one site, for example, free for the next month or so, that works in conjunction with The College Board book. However students don’t need it. They can create a free account, they don;t even have to give their personal information, and start right away working on the underlying concepts for Math problems from the most challenging to a review of the nicest ones. I’ve seen students increase their scores using the site.</p>

<p>So, basically, my suggestion is to point your students to resources that will help them get higher scores with less work. I think success is the best motivator and reward. </p>

<p>Familiarization with the test format, including number of sessions and the length of breaks; the different types of questions that students will encounter and strategies for recognizing them and solving them; strategies re when to guess and when to leave blank; common mistakes and how to avoid them, etc.</p>