So your wake-up call came this week in the form of PSAT scores from the CollegeBoard. Now what?
- Decide whether you’re an SAT kid, an ACT kid, both, or neither. Because the PSAT is a really good indicator of how well you’d do on the SAT (just add a zero to each score; e.g., a 53 PSAT –> 530 SAT), we typically advise students take an ACT in December or February with which to compare to your PSAT results. Use any number of freely available conversion charts e.g., ACT’s charts, CollegeBoard’s charts) to help you decide how to allocate test-prep time and resources over the winter and spring. Many students prepare for both exams and enmd up releasing the one on which they do better. Some students are clearly better at one as opposed to the other and prepare for only that one exam. And some students decide they’re only going to apply to test-optional schools. If you’re unsure where YOU stand, give us a call and we’ll help you figure it out.
- Learn test-taking strategies from your mistakes. When you get back your PSATs, you receive both your test booklet and a score report, which includes your answers, the right answers, and the level of difficulty of each question. This intel can prove highly useful from a strategies perspective in that you can figure out where and why you lost most of your points. For example, many students squander easy and medium level questions in a rush to get to hard ones, on which they end up spending an inordinate amount of time, guessing anyway, and moving backwards. Going over the test with Dr. Yo or one of our tutors is an excellent allocation of your test-prep budget.
- Learn the content on the exam from your mistakes. Assuming you’re going to take at least one SAT, then you need to learn the three bodies of material covered on the test: vocab, math, and grammar. There is no better source of material than actual CollegeBoard written exams, like the PSAT. Study the bleeeeep out of every item you got wrong or left blank and vow not to make the same mistake twice. And learn every hard word on the two Sentence Completion sections. What? You don’t want to list them all out and look them all up? O, you don’t have time? Ok, then, I’ll do it for you. Here: http://quizlet.com/32651648/2013-psat-form-w-sat-test-flash-cards/ You’re welcome. Happy holidays.
If you decide you want to go for the brass ring and get really high scores on your upcoming standardized tests, then sign up for private tutoring, small group instruction, or one of our classes starting in January:
Starting January 6, 2014, 7-8pm:
Academic Stress and Test Anxiety Reduction Workshop with Dr. Yo
Mondays – 4 sessions
Starting January 7, 2014, 7-9pm:
6-Session CRASH SAT Prep Class
Prep for SAT exam on January 25. Classes on Tuesdays and Fridays – 6 sessions.
Starting January 8, 2014, 7:30-9:30pm:
6-Session ACT Prep Class
Prep for ACT exam on February 8. Classes on Wednesdays, plus final session on Friday before exam.
January 11 & 12, 2014, 2-4pm:
U.S. History Mid Year Review with Alisha
2 sessions, Saturday/Sunday.