Approximately 75% of colleges and universities are “test optional,” meaning that the admissions office does not require students to submit an SAT or ACT score with an application. This may be good news to many students, especially since test prep for standardized tests is time-consuming, expensive, and hard to cram into busy schedules. As a test prep tutor and classroom teacher of over 17 years, I realize the flaws of these tests: at worst, they are discriminatory, and at best, they reward a terribly narrow type of intelligence. Why, then, should students who are applying to college bother preparing for and taking the SAT or ACT?
First, taking the SAT or ACT will leave options open. As more schools move to require standardized test scores, it often pays to have scores that you can submit if need be. Don’t close any doors just yet!
Second, the SAT gives you a chance to show schools that you have reading, language, and math skills that your transcript may not reflect. This is especially true if you have a lower GPA, but you score well on the SAT.
Third, excellent test prep can be very beneficial not only to your test scores, but to your academic skill-building. What, then, is “excellent test prep?” At Wildewood, we have spent years asking that question as we have helped students prepare for the SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, ASVAB, MTEL, and Uniform Bar Exam. We have arrived at the following answers, and we have grown our teaching based on them.
Excellent test prep will:
Keep the test in perspective: Students’ mental and physical health should always be paramount. At Wildewood, we love helping students and families navigate an often-daunting time by easing the burden of test prep with a system that balances rigor and results with compassion and flexibility.
Allow students to ask questions: Free videos can be very helpful, but students benefit a great deal from access to an experienced tutor who can answer their individual questions.
Help students become better readers: Reading comprehension is key to success on every test. Becoming a stronger reader as a teenager (and in a short period of time), is very possible, and excellent test prep will ensure that students practice test-taking strategies that will help them increase reading comprehension in high school, college, and beyond.
Help students learn from their mistakes: Many test prep programs brag about the vast number of tutoring hours and practice questions they provide. Excellent test prep values students’ precious time and works with great efficiency. Wildewood’s unique and proven methods show students how to learn from incorrect practice problems so they improve the next time around.
Hold students accountable: Excellent test prep programs act as respectful accountability partners. We love teaching students about the “habit loop” in order to show them the rewards associated with homework completion. Once students feel how helpful the practice can be, they are intrinsically motivated to keep going.
Be fun: As experienced teachers, we know how to engage students so that test prep is actually enjoyable. We work hard, have fun, and love celebrating students as they realize the benefits of their practice.
Provide tools for lifelong learning: Excellent test prep will encourage students to take new knowledge and apply it to subsequent tests throughout their academic and professional careers.
At Wildewood, we strive to be excellent teachers and tutors in all of the ways above, and more! We hope to see you at our center in Norwood or Medfield (or online) if you ever need any test prep or other tutoring support.
