Long-term SAT Prep for Success

East Hanover-Florham Park patch is reporting improved HSPA, AP Exam and SAT scores for students in the Hanover Park High School district over the past few years.   Director of Curriculum Maria C. Carrell attributed the increase in SAT scores to the incorporation of SAT materials into the curriculum as well as the introduction of more challenging course work at all levels of high school.  An excellent example of proactive strategizing.  Read the full article .

Regrettably, many students and parents start thinking about SATs – and preparing for the SAT  --- late in the game – sometimes a little too late.  There are many things and parents and students can well before the crunch time of junior year.   In future postings, I’ll discuss ways that students can do early SAT Prep for Writing and Math.  Today’s Topic:

Critical Reading Section of the SAT

 In a previous post, I encouraged parents to look out  for non-fiction reading opportunities.    If your son (or daughter) is a freshman or sophomore, this is a great way to expose them, at a fairly early stage, to the types of non-fiction passages that are typical of the SAT critical reading section.    Potential topics are endless, which means that your son or daughter can find materials that they are truly interested in.  Best of all, you can read alongside them (figuratively), creating the opportunity to compare your thoughts about the article.  Asking a simple question like “What do you think the main point of the article was?”  will get your child thinking critically.

Boosting Vocabulary

Every reading section of the SAT starts with a number of multiple choice sentence completion questions, which tests your child’s vocabulary.  While there is no substitute for learning words through reading (over the long term), there are many good books that list high-frequency SAT vocabulary words.   Take advantages of these, and have your student build flash cards to learn them over time.  Better yet, have them take the time to write  actual sentences using these newly learned words.

Have your child take the PSAT as sophomore.  If she scores significantly lower than either she or you had expected (or hoped for), consider starting formal SAT prep early, perhaps in the spring of sophomore year or in the summer prior to her junior year.

Think Tutoring provides K-12 tutoring as well as SAT and ACT Test Prep.  Call us at 973-593-0050 for more information on how we can help jump-start your child’s journey to high test scores.