How to Help Your Child Get Ready for the SAT or ACT Test day is the worst time to learn what kind of questions appear on the test. Your child can become familiar with the test format and decrease his anxiety level on test day by practicing with questions like those he will encounter on the test. But real preparation begins years before. Generally, your child should: Take challenging courses. Encourage your child to take academically rigorous classes in middle school and high school. The SAT is designed to measure reasoning and problem-solving skills. The ACT is designed to measure a wider range of subject matter learned in school. Although they are different tests, each measures skills learned in the years—not weeks—before the test. Read. The most effective way your child can improve her score on the reading portions of the tests is to improve her vocabulary. The best way to do that is not with flash card drills in the two weeks before the test but by reading—books, newspapers, magazines, and yes, her class texts. Get familiar with the test format. Taking tests is a skill; you can help your child learn strategies that will help her on this one. For example, there is no penalty for making a wild guess on an ACT test question. On the SAT, your child will get one point for each correct answer to a multiple-choice question, zero points for every unanswered question, and get .25 point deducted for every question answered incorrectly. In other words, wild guesses aren't good strategy. Does that mean she should never guess? No, it means she needs to guess intelligently. Many test experts explain it this way: If your child can eliminate even one of the multiple choices, she probably ought to guess. Do your homework before paying for test prep. Where does your child learn more about the tests? Test preparation is big business, and there's no shortage of resources, from online to group tutoring and one-on-one sessions. But commercial test-preparation services can be expensive. Test experts caution that you should be wary of any that claim your child will increase his score by a specific amount. You should also note that spending money on test preparation won't be worthwhile unless your student puts in her own time preparing. When researching test-prep options, take into account the way your child studies best. Some students benefit more from one-on-one tutoring, particularly if they need work in specific subject areas. Some benefit more from a group setting in the company of other motivated students. Others will quite happily work independently online. There are many free or low-cost prep classes offered by local universities, community colleges and high schools. Check with your high school guidance counselor to see what resources are available near you. Use the free online resources provided by the College Board and ACT. Other sites such as Number2.com also offer free practice tests. Whether you decide to invest in test preparation is a personal decision. Consumer Reports WebWatch, which assessed online services in 2006, concluded that costlier options are not necessarily better than free ones when it comes to online services. The WebWatch report also cautioned parents to: Confirm who runs a test-prep service before buying. Make sure it's possible to get a refund if your child can't successfully log in. Make sure your browser, computer and Internet connections are up to date before you enroll, or you risk paying for a frustrating experience for your child. Make sure that during the registration process, your child does not accidentally authorize the release of his personal information, unless you approve. Find out how colleges on your child's list weigh tests. Some colleges have dropped admissions testing as a requirement altogether, and tests are just one factor that the others consider when evaluating an applicant. Other factors include high school grades, extracurricular activities, an applicant's personal statement, and recommendations from teachers and counselors. The emphasis colleges place on scores varies widely, as does the way they use the results in making admissions decisions. Some colleges, for example, will look at an applicant's highest math and reading scores, even if the student earned them in two different test-taking sessions. Others will average the scores if a student takes a test more than once, or look only at the highest score earned in a single session. It's important for students to ask questions before deciding which tests to take and when. Your child's high school counselor is a good place to start. Plan your test timetable. Students usually start by taking the PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) in the fall of their junior years and sometimes in their sophomore years for practice. This test, administered by your child's high school, is not counted for college admissions, but a junior who gets a high score can qualify for a scholarship. Students typically take the SAT or ACT in the spring of their junior years of high school. By then, they have completed most of the coursework that will help them in the test, and they can still retake it in the fall of their senior years, if they feel they can improve their scores. It's important to research college admissions deadlines to be sure that the test results your child needs to report will be available in time, and also to check to see if SAT Subject Tests are required. These tests measure a student's knowledge in specific subjects, such as English, math, biology or language. They can't be taken on the same day as the main SAT test, which means your child will need to take all these tests into account, as he develops his timetable. Your student should also consider when she can spend the time preparing for the test before deciding when to take it. If she can only spend time taking practice tests in the summer, then taking the admissions test in the fall of junior year may be a better option than waiting until spring. A final note about retesting: If you take the ACT more than once, you can select the test results you want to send to report colleges. The SAT reports all results of your tests to the colleges you choose. However, many admissions officers say they only look at the test with the highest score. Again, it's important for students to find out the policies of the colleges they're interested in. Research shows that students can often—but not always—improve their scores by retaking the test a second or even a third time. The College Board reports that students who take the test a second time typically see a 30-point increase on their combined score. But experts also caution against taking the test over and over. unless a student has a solid reason to believe he can significantly improve his results. In addition to being expensive, test and test prep takes time a student might otherwise be investing to improve his high school grades. Source: GreatSchools.net Tips to Get Ready for College Reading Your student is more likely to avoid pulling all-nighters if he's prepared and knows the skills necessary to meet the demands of a college curriculum. What's the best way to be prepared? Stretching reading skills in high school. When students are prepared to meet the demands of college-level reading, they are more likely to keep up with the workload, gain more from their college experience, and graduate in a timely fashion. If you think remedial courses in college will make up for inadequate preparation in high school, think again. A recent U.S. Department of Education report noted that 70 percent of students who took one or more remedial reading courses in college did not attain a college degree or certificate within eight years of enrollment. It's evident that early preparation is the key to college success; there are key steps you can help your student take. no matter what grade she is in now. College Readiness Requires Advanced Skills "A significant proportion of incoming college students have difficulty understanding the gist of academic writing at the college level. It's a challenge for them to see writing from the inside out," says John Briggs, Associate Professor of English at the University of California, Riverside. and a member of the College Board SAT Reading Development Committee. "Students know about topic sentences and main ideas, but they don't understand the questions the writer is addressing, and they don't have enough experience participating in academic conversations." Yet despite the need for students to learn complex skills to succeed in college, more and more high schools across the country are focusing on the achievement of basic skills to prepare students to pass state standardized tests. "There's a basic conflict schools have between basic skills and college readiness," notes David Conley, author of College Knowledge: What It Really Takes for Students to Succeed and What We Can Do to Get Them Ready. College readiness requires research and writing, and analyzing complex issues—a far cry from filling in bubbles on standardized tests. Currently 26 states have or are considering implementing high school exit exams, many of which require students to have only an eighth- or 10th-grade ability in reading and math to graduate. A recent report by ACT entitled "Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals About College Readiness in Reading," discovered that more students are on track to being ready for college-level reading in eighth and 10th grade than are actually ready in 12th grade. The report also states that only about half of ACT-tested high school students are ready for college-level reading. While middle school classes focus on building reading skills, most high school English classes don't, says Ed Colby of ACT. "Specific reading instruction is over, once students pass out of middle school," he notes. What Parents Can Do You can help your child prepare for college reading by being a good role model, by encouraging him to read, and by engaging in discussions about reading material. Here are a few tips: 1. Start now and encourage her to read, read, read. As your child grows, encourage her to read complex texts, read books on the suggested SAT reading list. Encourage her to spend less time on the phone, on the computer or watching TV, and more time reading. "Take books with you everywhere—in the car, at the doctor's office. Bring along books for yourself and for them," says Suzanne Owen, a California high school English teacher and mother of four. 2. Model good reading habits at home. Students will learn from what they see their parents doing. Take time to read articles and books together—discuss what's in them. 3. Spend lots of time in libraries and bookstores. "Hang out and visit places where books and learning are important. Visit such places on vacations," says Owen. Alice O'Grady, a California high school English teacher and former school librarian, suggests helping your student to learn how to use the library, and making sure he is developing good research skills. "Many schools have done away with professional librarians," she notes. "Students should know how to find books that they enjoy—and they can independently search for subjects, keywords or authors they have read before. Empowering them to learn to do simple research will help them when it comes to doing research in college. Several times I have heard or read from college librarians that students come to the university without research or library skills." Students need to learn how to use the Internet properly when doing research and be discerning about what they find. Google is a great tool, but it's only one small step in the research process. 4. Intervene as soon as you think your child may need extra help. If you find your child is having difficulty, or other students are having difficulty with reading basics, make sure your school is providing support with a program targeted to a child's needs. Check with a teacher or school counselor to see if your school has a learning center or after-school tutoring program. If necessary, get professional help outside of school. The sooner you address the problem, the better. 5. Make sure your student is taking challenging courses. Your child will be more likely to succeed in college, if he is taking classes in high school that demand research, writing and reading. Look for courses that require a lot of independent work outside of class and that use class time to integrate and build on basic understanding of the material. 6. Set standards for homework. It's not just about getting the assignments done. Ask your child questions like: Did you understand the assignment? How did you decide to approach this topic? Did you have a chance to read over your essay or check your work? 7. Don't be tempted to do the work for your student. Be there as a guide. The key to college preparation is to allow your student to accept more and more responsibility for his own success. 8. Ask the principal, teachers and school counselor at your school how the classes your student is taking specifically prepare him for college-level work. What standards are set in each class? Does the teacher share examples of proficient, college-ready work? 9. Advocate at your school for reading instruction at all levels. Join with other parents and teachers to find ways to strengthen reading instruction in all high school courses by incorporating complex reading materials into course content. What Students Can Do 1. Make sure you digest and understand what you read. The College Board recommends the SQ3R method, which stands for "Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review." You can find information about this reading comprehension method on the College Board Web site. 2. Don't be afraid to reread what you've read. "Understanding what you've read and knowing that you don't understand something you've read are important skills," notes Conley. He adds that it's important to realize when you don't understand something, and train yourself to go back and reread if necessary to gain the understanding. He says he is amazed at how many students don't do this. 3. Read your textbooks and course material thoroughly. "I wish that I had tried reading some of my textbooks in high school instead of solely depending on my teachers for information," says Kimberly Wong, a recent UCLA graduate. "Sometimes in college, a lot of learning is placed on the responsibility of the students. Many times, students need to read their textbooks to learn all the material required of them, since there is so little lecture and discussion time. Getting used to learning unfamiliar concepts from textbooks in college took me a while to get used to, and I wish I had practiced doing that in high school." 4. Read independently. Read a variety of material. Check this College Board list for some suggestions. John Briggs believes it's important for students to "rediscover literature." He notes,"Students need to discover that there are books that our culture has kept as a legacy and these should not be forgotten. I think we are experiencing a 'period of forgetting.' Many schools concentrate on exposing students to contemporary literature, which Briggs feels is a mistake. "It's like feeding fast food to someone who is starving," he says. "They deserve a nutritional diet." Reading a variety of material helps you adjust your reading skills to different kinds of writing. For example, some writing is straightforward, whereas another writer might have a keen sense of humor. Some writing can be read quickly, while other writing requires thorough comprehension of detail. Reading a variety will also introduce you to terms that apply to certain subject areas. For example, if you are reading about music, you might learn terms like "tempo" or "cadence," and the relationship among words in a particular field. 5. Read challenging material. Reading more difficult material will help prepare you for college admissions tests and reading college texts. Don't start out with material that is too difficult, however. For example, if you want to learn how a car engine works, start with a simplified manual with lots of pictures and work your way up to a more technical manual, as your vocabulary and understanding grows. 6. Study vocabulary: word roots, stems and etymology—where words come from. "Generally these skills are taught in remedial classes but not in regular high school classes," says Conley. If you're not learning about vocabulary in school, take the initiative to study vocabulary on your own. The College Board recommends reading frequently outside of class to improve your vocabulary. In its book, College Prep, this advice is offered: "Learning the meaning of a word from a list does not tell you much about its connotation. You usually learn the connotations of such simple words as skinny from hearing them used by people you know. You usually learn connotations of more difficult words such as emaciated by reading." It's important to read a variety of materials: books (both fiction and nonfiction), newspapers, magazines, and to read about subjects that you are not studying in school to broaden your world view and expand your vocabulary. 7. Keep a dictionary close by when you are reading. Sometimes you can easily figure out the meaning of a word you are unfamiliar with by getting the meaning from the context. But sometimes it helps to have a dictionary at hand to look up unfamiliar words that may not be clear from the context. 8. Take notes and learn proper note-taking techniques. "Students have a tendency to underline everything," says Conley. Underlining is a useful technique when it is used effectively, but to avoid highlighting everything, try taking notes first. Concentrate on selecting the important points, write commentary in the margins of the text (if the book belongs to you, or in a notebook, if the book doesn't belong to you), write down questions and make observations. You'll be more likely to actively engage with the text in this way. 9. Take time to read without distractions and concentrate. "Reading requires a certain disposition to take in print, to stop and concentrate," says Briggs. "This is an important skill for students to develop." 10. Form study groups with your friends and join academic clubs at school. One of the most powerful ways to improve your reading skills is to find ways to discuss what you've read with your peers and your teachers. "Seek out academic conversations," says Briggs. Book clubs, academic clubs and study groups are all good ways to join in serious discussion. Participating in these academic conversations is bound to advance your reading and writing levels. Check The Power of Study Groups on the College Board Web site. Source: GreatSchools.net College Bound? A "Get Ready" Checklist for Teens Take classes recommended for college bound students, including high-level math and foreign languages. Take Advanced Placement courses if they are available, to earn college credit in high school Participate in community service that you enjoy. Not only does it look good on a college application, it can help you earn scholarships. Get involved in extracurricular activities. Join clubs and/or sports that teach you leadership, discipline and teamwork. Talk to your teachers and counselors about letters of recommendation—early! Ask teachers and counselors questions about classes you should take in high school and outreach/enrichment programs that are available. Think about career possibilities and explore different occupations through community service, extracurricular activities or your favorite school subjects. Attend College Fairs. Ask questions, take notes, pick up brochures and store it when you get home. Start your financial aid search with your counselor or on the Internet. Source: California Student Opportunity and Access Program