This blog is dedicated to helping students prepare for the major assessments and milestones in their academic lives. We provide tips and advice on how to best prepare for key tests, including SAT and ACT. We also cover subjects related to tutoring, studying and learning.
The ACT, a well-known rival to the SAT for students planning to apply for college, has an optional writing section for students who want to display their writing skills. In mid-October the ACT announced plans to change this writing section for tests beginning in the fall of 2015, so current high school sophomores and juniors will want to pay attention to this change if they plan to take the ACT.
Read MoreBelow you will find some useful information on ACT test dates and registration deadlines for 2014-2015. You can also find the addresses of testing centers located in NYC. Please note that there are no test centers scheduled in New York for the February test date.
Read MoreIn this article you will find some useful information on ISEE test dates, location of NYC test centers, and registration deadlines for 2014-2015.
Read MoreI grew up in New York City as the oldest girl in a family of four children, and unlike most NYC kids, I didn't go through the nightmarish high school application process. After a brief stint at The Family School for prekindergarten, my parents decided to homeschool me, so I said goodbye to everyone who had counted beans with tweezers and made turkeys out of their construction paper handprints with me during Thanksgiving. I was homeschooled through the end of sixth grade, when I received my Hunter acceptance letter and decided to attend. I began college in 2011 at Amherst College in Massachusetts, and I will graduate in May with a B.A. in Classics, English, and Mathematics.
Read MoreStudents face tests on a regular basis, from routine school exams to high school entrance tests to the SAT and ACT during the college admissions process. Kids who have to juggle test prep with their typical homework workload and extracurriculars may view tests as a huge stressor, which can lead to decreased performance on exams and test anxiety. Without some kind of strategy for managing stress before exams and on test day, kids can feel a little overwhelmed. Some recent studies on mindfulness and meditation have signaled that adopting some of these practices can ease test anxiety and even improve test scores in some circumstances,
Read MoreNew York City schools are already challenging to navigate for students with learning disabilities, and even beyond routine schoolwork, there are many different standardized tests that NYC kids have to take. All of these exams can be daunting for students who have learning disabilities
Read MoreTeenagers in New York City high schools may need to take five or more NYS Regents Exams in order to graduate with a Regents diploma, but it can be tough to know which schools require the exams, which tests to take, and when students take the exams during their high school career. Every school is a little different, so it’s important to check with the high school counselors and get your school’s exact schedule, but you should be prepared for five exams or more taken over the four years of high school. When you’re trying to get more information about the exams, you may wonder:
Read MoreThe implementation of Common Core State Standards has begun. Now what? Our two-part series on the Common Core answers some key questions about the standards, including what they mean for standardized tests in NYC schools.
The first article in the series provides general information to support NYC families in understanding the Common Core. The second part looks at how the Common Core affects NYC students, and specifically addresses what NYC families can expect in terms of standardized testing and the Common Core.
Read MoreThe implementation of Common Core State Standards has begun. Now what? Our 2-part series on the Common Core answers some key questions about the standards, including what they mean for NYC families.
The first article in the series provides general information to support NYC families in understanding the Common Core. The second part looks at how the Common Core affects NYC students, and specifically looks at what NYC families can expect in terms of standardized testing and the Common Core
Read MoreIf your child wants to attend an independent or private school, he or she may have to take the SSAT (Secondary School Admission Test) in order to be accepted. Since independent and private schools will accept students from many different grade levels, the SSAT has three levels (elementary, middle, and upper) that correspond to students in elementary, middle, and high school. If your child plans to apply to or transfer to a top school, he or she will need to get a good score. If you’re not sure about your child’s performance, you may want to talk to him or her about retaking the test, just to make sure that any application an independent or private school sees will be competitive.
Read MoreThe first year when your teen can choose electives is an exciting time. After years of following a rigid schedule, the freedom to choose classes can be a welcome relief. With that said, some teens may have a difficult time narrowing down all their options: some high schools will only offer a handful of electives and Advanced Placement (AP) classes, while other schools may have the resources to provide dozens of choices.
Read MoreDoes your teen wants to take the ACT this winter as part of a successful college application? If so, it'll be tough to balance schoolwork, sports, activities, and practice ACT questions, so think about creating a test review schedule. The key to acing the ACT is to get familiar with the questions, hone grammar skills, and review important math concepts: strong critical reading skills and quantitative reasoning skills are important for the entire ACT. After brushing up on all that, someone planning to take the ACT should practice whenever possible! The more practice tests and questions he or she completes, the easier the ACT will be on test day.
Read MoreIt can be tempting for high school students to spend all of winter break relaxing and avoiding school work. However, that’ll make the second half of the school year pretty tough. Winter break can be an excellent time to catch up on college applications or to do some remedial work before classes start up again. If your teen plans out an hour or two of work each day, he or she can accomplish a lot before heading back to school in January.
Read MoreIf a student decides to take the ACT in the process of applying to colleges, he or she will also get to choose whether or not to take the writing component of the ACT. This is an optional thirty minute section of the ACT that requires students to respond to a prompt with a written essay, which is quite similar to the structure of the essay section of the SAT. Students who opt to take the ACT with the writing section will get five scores in their test results, showing the score for this optional section, as well as scores for English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science, which make up the core of the ACT.
Read MoreIf you are homeschooling your child or thinking about the benefits of homeschooling in New York City, one of your biggest questions may be about test prep and getting your child ready for middle school and high school entrance exams (SHSAT, ISEE, SSAT) or required tests for college applications (ACT and SAT). You may also wonder about your test prep options for the state tests that your child may be required to take to fulfill New York State’s homeschooling requirements, or how to teach your child test prep skills in a homeschooling environment.
Read MoreIf your child plans to attend a private school, he or she may have to take the SSAT (Secondary School Admissions Test). Students in fifth through seventh grade will take the lower SSAT, and students in eighth through eleventh grade will take the upper SSAT. There are many different versions of the SSAT given in both the lower and upper sections, which ensures that every student will be assessed fairly for that student’s level. Since the SSAT is sometimes the only test that private schools consider, it makes sense for your child to stand out from his or her peers by achieving a high score.
Read MoreAre you applying to college? You’ve got company: millions of high school students want to get into great schools, so it’s important to stand out from the crowd. Thankfully, there are some simple ways to make sure that your college applications are in great shape.
Read MoreHave you asked yourself whether your child would benefit from a private ISEE tutor? Are you wondering how much time to commit to the test prep process and how your child will fit tutoring into an already packed schedule? Do you want your child to compete to the best of her ability in the private school admissions process but worry that too much test prep could create anxiety and backfire on test day?
Read MoreIf your child has performed badly on yet another math test, or her grades are not improving despite extra support from school or from adults at home, it might be time to consider hiring a private math tutor.
Read MoreStudents who are sophomores or juniors in high school have probably heard of the PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test). Many students preparing to apply to college take the SAT in their junior or senior year, and the PSAT gives students a chance to practice skills needed for the SAT. However, the PSAT does not count for grades in school and colleges do not see PSAT scores, so some students may wonder why they need to take the PSAT at all.
Read MoreWe prepare students for the milestones and assessments of their academic lives. We support students in developing the skills to think, learn and problem solve on their own. Our services include academic tutoring and test preparation for all standardized tests, including the ISEE, ACT and SAT.
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