It is no secret that parental involvement is associated with higher student achievement outcomes. In fact, a recent report from Southwest Educational Development Laboratory[i] found that regardless of family income or background, students with involved parents are more likely to earn higher grades and test scores, enroll in higher-level programs, and graduate and go on…
Have you ever sat down to help your child with his or her math homework and then been utterly perplexed at the methods your child’s teacher requires? Have you seen funny posts on social media about ‘new math’ with seemingly unsolvable questions? Mathematics instruction has changed significantly over the past several decades, and today there…
No kid wants to hear this, but studies show that year-round students are significantly more effective in organizing their time, retaining skills and maintaining consistent academic improvement. Luckily for many students, there’s no danger of local schools switching to 12-month calendars. However, there are some ways to enjoy the benefits of year-round learning without having…
In helping families prepare plans for their standardized test prep, I have come across a recurring dilemma: lots of sophomores want to begin preparing for their tests as early as the summer before junior year, but won’t have the requisite course work completed in time to do so. Both the SAT and the ACT…
What’s the Deal with the ACT Science Section? This is the third piece in our series of ACT posts, this time focusing on the Science section. To those that grew up with the SAT, the ACT Science section is the most mysterious part of the test. Most have no idea how to prepare…
I am asked this all the time, so I figured with all the interest now would be a good time to talk about it. The short answer: no. The longer answer: It depends. The Past The ACT built this reputation of being easier by being based less on the analogical reasoning of the SAT and…
With all of the changes to the SAT this year, I have a lot of parents asking about the ACT. They’ve heard that it’s easier, or better for students interested in math and science, so they want to know about preparing for it instead of preparing for the SAT. In this post, I want to…
What Timeline is Right for You? With the Redesigned SAT’s push towards becoming more of a Common-Core content-driven test, preparing for the SAT starts far before buying the prep books and signing up to get the SAT question-of-the-day. It begins with a solid foundation of critical reading and math skills developed in the classroom over…
The first SAT may have come and gone already, but the hard part—waiting for your results—has only begun. You may have already known that the March SAT results are set to come in later than the typical 19 days. What you may not have known is just how much later, and that the May and…
You’ve gotten the broad flat envelope in the mail, or from your child’s backpack. Inside you find pages of data and information about how he or she did on the PARCC assessment. But what do these PARCC assessment results mean and what should you do with them? The PARCC results are split into two sections,…