With thousands of companies throughout the United States touting themselves as the “BEST” Test Prep course with their own strategies and teaching methods, students and parents remain confused as to what course will really provide results. Promises & Guarantees are made from each course and students pile in to prep classes expecting…well…the unexpected.
The best plan of action before researching courses and asking around for recommendations is to consider taking a practice ACT or SAT test. Many high school offer sign up dates to take a simulated exam, which students should take advantage of. A test should be completed in one sitting and timed as if it was a real test being administered. This is a great way to gauge if a student has timing issues and what specific subject areas are of difficulty. When grading a test look at question types in each section that were wrong and see if there is a trend. For example, in the English section you may notice sentence structure or punctuation questions are consistently wrong and in the Reading section the Inference questions may be the ones you are getting incorrect.
At this point, if a student is close to their goal it may be wise to see if the errors can be worked out by learning the content behind the incorrect questions. If you are far from your goal or cannot seem to find an answer to correct the small errors in each section, start seeking a tutor or program. When looking for a course consider what is worth your money. So many times students follow their friends and sign up for a static course. When I say a static course it means a class that teaches the same principles and strategies to a large group of students no matter if you enter a class with a score in the 90th percentile or 50th percentile. This may work for some students, but fails in many cases as students notice little or no improvement when leaving a course. Each student coming in a class has different issues and learning approaches. If students are lectured on information already known which may be redundant, they tend to zone out and feel the class is a waste. A student coming into a class is seeking a different approach to answer a question not the same method that was not working prior to showing up.
This is why it is important to look for courses that provide (a)Dynamic, Customized classes, (b)Help as needed outside of the classroom, and (c) Smaller groups or One-on-One so teachers can focus on each student.
A student coming into a class with an ACT or SAT Math section score in the 99th percentile and Reading section score in the 60th percentile is looking for a course that is more focused on teaching methods to increase his or her Reading section score. This is why it is vital to find a Personalized Class that puts only a few students with similar strengths and weaknesses together in a class. When a teacher is able to focus on only one student or a few students, the teacher can adjust the course lecture to focus on the needs of the student(s). Homework provided would focus on the particular questions students need help with. Outside of class is when students are able to practice and show results. When questions do arise a student should not have to wait until the next class and be able to contact teachers immediately.
To spend hundreds of dollars or a couple thousand on a prep course for a parent is not always economically convenient. That is why it is vital for a course to be personalized to provide a higher ACT or SAT score converting to tens of thousands of dollars saved through scholarship money from colleges. This is why it is best to research courses and look for “Value” in classes that cater to a student’s needs. Value does not always mean the cheapest course, but the one that focuses on the students and addresses the areas a student is really having difficulties with.
Now take the FIRST STEP and complete a test as I have provided a link below for a FREE test!
https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/Preparing-for-the-ACT.pdf