Recently I received an inquiry about test preparation from a parent who said her daughter (not a student of mine) had scored a 32 composite the previous fall on the ACT. She was frustrated because the science sub score was only a 29, yet she had been scoring as high as a 36 in practice. Part of her problem on the real test was timing.
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Now that it’s prime time to start studying for the SAT and ACT, we’ve had a lot of students ask us which test they should take.
Nowadays, most colleges accept the SAT and ACT and weigh scores from both tests equally, so that’s no longer a reason to take one test over the other.
The College Board recently redesigned the SAT and it is now quite similar to the ACT. Both tests now have optional essays and no guessing penalty. The SAT also no longer has a “random vocabulary” section, which used to be a deal breaker for a lot of our students. Instead, the SAT has a vocabulary in-context section. The SAT also has less geometry than the ACT. We’ve covered the all differences in a handy graphic below. (more…)
Don’t wait until the last minute to prepare; enroll in our test preparation program for 7th graders. We are offering a math drill class every Tuesday from 6:00 – 6:55 pm to help students get the best scores possible on the SSAT, HSPT, or TJ admissions test.
This program is a supplement to, not a replacement of, our regular 8th grade comprehensive six-week fall TJ prep program. The purpose of the drills is to thoroughly review and drill math concepts to establish the base for the six-week class.
The human brain uses a variety of nutritional components to function during strenuous activities, and requires even more nutrition if it is deprived of sleep. Here I will outline five major rules that will guide your test day food strategy so that you can avoid feeling hungry or sleepy during the test.
The first year Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology (TJ) switched to monitored SIS administrations, we taught 35 students in five separate workshops what TJ says it is looking for on the student information sheet and essay***. During those workshops we brainstormed topics to mention on the application and the candidates practiced writing answers to four prompts (three SIS prompts and one essay) under timed conditions. We reminded the students that TJ admissions says pretty clearly that they are wanting to learn about “a semifinalist’s prior experiences, goals, and interests”.