When clients call for advice to get into TJ, the first thing I do is have them take a one hour at-home math test to see how strong the student’s problem solving skills are. My test is extremely predictive: a poor score means acceptance to TJ is nil unless the student takes action to improve basic math skills.
To address the deficit, we conduct math drills for 7th graders on Tuesday evenings during the spring and summer. The students come in, sit for a timed 25 question test, and then we review the problems that gave them difficulty. This is an excellent method for improving math test taking skills and over the years it has made a dramatic difference, in conjunction with our comprehensive TJ prep class and SIS workshop, in enhancing their admissions outcomes.
Unfortunately hurdles abound for parents trying to get to our drill classes.
> I can’t get there on a weekday evening. > It is too far. > There is too much traffic. > I’m too busy. > The drill class is at dinner time. > She has sports conflicts. > He has a test. > He has after school activities.
Fortunately we are working on a solution. We have started math drills at home project and have launched our first drill.
We have four drills scheduled so far.
Drill #1 average difficulty
Drill #2 higher difficulty – recommended if you did well on drill #1
Drill #3 average difficult – recommended if you did poorly on drill #1
Drill #4 higher difficulty – recommended if you did poorly on drill #2
We will continue making drills if there is a demand for the videos.