<p>Hi All! This might possibly be a better thread on the SAT/PSAT forum, but I was hoping to connect with parents who are.... big breath... taking the plunge and helping (forcing) their own kids to prepare for the SAT or PSAT. DD is happily off at college as a sophomore, and now my attention has shifted to bright, laidback (read "not particularly motivated") H.S. junior son. He just got his practice PSAT scores back, and at 206, they are not terribly far from this year's 217 Texas NMF cutoff. (He did wonderfully in math, not so hot in CR and Writing.) Since he is interested in our big state Uni, and NMF is worth an automatic $13,000 - I figure it is worth it for us to invest 26 hours of time over the next 4 weeks to prepare for the test. (That's 500 bucks an hour, as I keep pointing out to son.) Also, since he is virtually EC-less, he could use the admissions boost that NMF status or High SAT scores provide at some colleges. So it is difinitely worth taking time to prepare, and he agrees, at least in principal - when the x-box and his friends are not calling!
His public H.S. offers free 2-hour a week classes, starting next week and running for 3 weeks until the real PSAT - but I figure that if I can stay focused and disciplined, and can help son stay the same, he will get better tutoring and more individualized instruction from a daily 30 min. session of Xiggi prep, with Mom. You know, a 25 min. timed test section per day, followed by postmortum and analysis of answers. I purchased "The Official SAT Study Guide for the NEW SAT" put out by College Board this summer, and it has 9 full practice tests in there. It didn't get much use from son this summer, as I was practicing the hands-off approach. Time now for "hands-on!"
Soooooooo...... I'm wondering if anyone else out there is doing the same! I'm gungho now, but I'd like to provide encouragement /be provided encouragement/ share strategies with others who are helping their kids prepare for the PSAT. Chime in if you are interested!!! We could help keep each other motivated.</p>
<p>Whoops - didn't edit my post and just noticed a bunch of spelling / grammer errors. Definitely (difinitely), principle (principal)... Hope I can do better
tutoring my son!</p>
<p>I think there's value in going to the school reviews too (at least the 1st one & see how it goes). It can be at least more social if his peers were with him, at least it makes it more palatable for most HS kids. Might be easier to get him to attend the school reviews than work on his own or with you & at least it's something (what the school thinks will help).</p>
<p>My kids refuse to let me help them study ANYTHING, including the SAT & PSAT prep stuff. I just buy the books & make them available. If & when my kids are interested, they do study as much as they feel is appropriate. Sometimes I want to wring their necks, but sometimes we have to choose our battles. My son was interested in learning more about how to tell what was wrong with different sentences (since he never learned that well in school), so he studied that portion. The math, he made careless mistakes in the practice & real tests. Folks who KNOW what they don't understand can ask for help from their teachers (like asking how/why math answers don't work out).
My kids get very balky if I try to get them to work with me if they don't feel like it. Wish it didn't happen that way, but it always does. :( Good luck!</p>
<p>Doing repeated timed tests won't help unless your son is having trouble finishing the test in the allotted time. If time isn't a factor, it would seem more important to focus on areas he doesn't understand or where he keeps making most of his errors (after correcting exam). Help figure out what was wrong with the answer he chose, etc.</p>
<p>Time wasn't a factor on the PSAT. He said he finished all sections in time, though had to rush a little through one of the CR sections. I wasn't planning on repeating the tests with him -- just having him do one NEW section a day, then review the answers and have him figure out why they are correct or not. I read the Xiggi test prep threads, but should probably go back over his "system" to see how it compares to my proposed one. Re: the school test prep classes. My dd thought they were a total waste of time, and son does not want to go. He'd rather suffer through with me! They would be fine except they aim towards the middle, and will spend most of the time reviewing stuff he doesn't need to review. Thanks for the "good luck"! I'm still hoping there are others out there in cyberspace who will be taking on this role!</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm going to bug my son to prepare for PSAT without a class. It will require GREAT perseverance on my part. I read on here somewhere that instead of paying for a class, just pay your kid. So that's what I'm doing. $10 per chapter and $10 per practice test. He has to work in the kitchen and all answers must be reviewed on the practice tests. So far he's got 2 chapters done. <em>sigh</em></p>
<p>When I even think of test-prepping my lovable slacker son, why do the words "murder suicide" appear in red neon light in my mind?</p>
<p>Way to go, Weenie! That's a great idea! My DS asked me if I would give him $50 if he makes a 217 or above on the PSAT. I told him heck no, but that he would save himself at least $14,000 in personal debt if he were to do that. He said he would settle for ice cream instead of the $50, so I bought an 8-pack of those peanutty chocolate vanilla ice cream cones for his daily PSAT prep treat!!!!!</p>
<p>While there are many prep books and programs..in the end, practicing with questions provided by the publishers of the test will give the best insight for strategizing.</p>
<p>SBMom, LOL</p>
<p>My son did mostly self-study. Didn't ask for any treats/rewards & did it on his own schedule. He was pretty motivated & did OK. Refused to take a PSAT prep course, tho most of his friends did; for him, his errors were mainly careless & not having a great foundation on writing conventions. He did some self-timed practice tests, to keep track of how the timing should feel in "real time."</p>
<p>AnxiousMom, I was just giving CC a quick CC stroll. Since a few people think I post too much, I am trying to limit myself to one post a day. So this is the one!</p>
<p>The idea of limit the testing/review to one section is to stay within an acceptable investment of time. Trying to set aside 4 hours on a saturday or sunday is much harder. Also, I always felt the many repetitions is better than one long session. </p>
<p>If your son did so well on his trial PSAT, I do not think that he will need to look up many questions. In his case, the best preparation should include seeing as MANY different questions as possible. The Official Study guide does contain 8 tets. However, the online course gives you access to detailed explanations for all 8 tests + six additionals test with detailed explanations. You have two choices here: give your son access to the explanations and let him review the proposed answers OR check his answers and give him the detailed printout of his errors/omissions. </p>
<p>At this stage, you do not really need to evaluate possible scores as your son will do well. The objective should be to see as many questions as possible and discover some of the patterns of ETS. Numerous older questions appear on almost every SAT with only the slightest of degree of change. After seeing the same type of question 4 or 5 times, it becomes almost natural to find the correct answer. </p>
<p>For Critical Reading, reading the explanations of TCB/ETS helps understand HOW the test writers think. Knowing that two or three answers will be easily identifiable as wrong is helpful. ETS starts with its correct answer and adds one or two incorrect answers that clearly wrong. Then they add one answer that introduces some doubt. In general, it is much easier to simply look for the 4 wrong answers than to try to find the correct one. The patterns used by ETS are not hard to identify, especially after seeing a good number of examples. </p>
<p>For the writing, the same theory applies. ETS tends to test the same concepts over and over. While you can except a few surprises, this shoudl not preclude a great score for a well-prepared student. </p>
<p>Lastly, the bribe IS a good idea. Go ahead, it will make YOU feel good and will bring a nice smile on the face of your son. 10 bucks per session seems to be a great compromise. </p>
<p>PS The online course of TCB is $69.99 but you get 10.00 off by entering a word that is printed in the blue book. I think the class/course is valid for 4 months. It offers several other elements such as a tool to score your essays, an online scoring tool, and a few other things. I think that it biggest value is that it gives an insight in how the mind of the Princeton torturers works. One caveat: while ETS provides the correct answer, they very rarely give the best or fastest method to solve. They usually follow a "high school" method. </p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>D convinced us she could prep on own for SAT...we made deal that if she use Xiggi method and hit target score we'd give her tutor money...if she didn't we'd get the tutor and she's retest. D's been doing 1 college board test a week (@ 12 so far...using book and website). She made significant improvement after the first few tests...then for awhile it was frustrating (for both of us) that she kept hitting the same score (3-4 wrong)... then she broke through to 790 V 740 M 800 w...and the following 2 weeks dropped to 690 CR. With 3 weeks to go it is increasingly difficult to keep her motivated but even with the back sliding I think it's working (and worth it). Will be happy when its done!</p>
<p>Go for it. I made my not-particularly-cooperative kid sit down on Saturday mornings and take timed practice tests. Then went over the wrong answers in detail, and the subject sections of the practice books during the week. He was borderline on the practice tests, but he did make NMSF and scored high on the SAT after another book of practice tests. No bribes, though I did promise him a car if he gets a full scholarship (that's a $3-5,000 car vs. $50,000+ tuition/room/board at state u.) You will get on your kid's nerves. And he'll/she'll get on yours. (Murder/suicide indeed!) By the way, I'm a homeschooler, and gave birth to my 7th child about 2 weeks before kid #1 took the PSAT, so I really had no time for this. But if I did it, anyone can. Good luck.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Since a few people think I post too much, I am trying to limit myself to one post a day. So this is the one!
[/quote]
You've got to be kidding. Your posts are always high value; this one was no exception. Don't let the peanut gallery chase you away.</p>
<p>xiggi:
Could you provide the link or whatever to your method? Thanks!</p>
<p>Weenie: Go to the SAT/ACT forum and look for the third thread from the top. It's "locked" into position there.</p>
<p>Atomom: Wow! Congratulations on the new baby! I imagine that your organizational skills must be out-of-this world to manage both home-schooling and 7 kids! (Did you ever read "The Tightwad Gazette"? I just loved them.... bought the first at a garage sale..... The lady who wrote them homeschooled her kids...)</p>
<p>Xiggi: Thanks for the advice! I'm wavering about doing the online stuff - because I'm a tightwad, and also because the 9 tests in the book will keep us plenty busy. I feel like we're figuring out how the College Board thinks by analyzing the write and wrong answers... so we may just stick to the print version. Keep posting - we LOVE your posts.</p>
<p>Thanks anxiousmom.</p>
<p>Is the "official" College Board book available at book storse like Barnes? (Of course I already bought the Kaplan...)</p>
<p>Hi xiggi:</p>
<p>Can you clarify what books you recommend? For the SAT I know he needs the College Board, The Official SAT Study Guide: For the New SAT. Is there also a "Real Test" book - or is that included int he Official Study Guide?</p>
<p>Also, what book should he use for the PSAT? I didn't see one from College Board....</p>
<p>I know you suggested buying as many books as could afford, but I realy don't see him using more than one. (I'll be happy if he thoroughly uses one!)</p>
<p>Anxious--Thanks! Baby is almost one. Yes, I subscribed to the Tightwad Gazette newsletter in the old days, and have the books. . .great advice for thinking outside the box. No organizational skills here, just a very high tolerance for chaos. You're right--analyzing the types of questions and types of right/wrong answers is the best way to help your kid increase his/her score. Some kids can do this on their own; some (like mine) need motivation and help seeing the patterns.</p>