Preparing for the SAT/ACT: The Tarnow Center Approach
Taking the SAT and ACT are critical components of the college admissions process. These college entrance exams can be deciding factors in whether a student is admitted into the college of his or her choice.
Each year, millions of parents search for programs that will help their children achieve the scores they need to get into the colleges of their choice. For the academically gifted student, these SAT and ACT prep courses often serve as an insider's view of the exams. This gives the already advantaged student the competitive edge.
Still, traditional approaches to SAT and ACT preparation often fail to help students with more specific challenges, such as ADHD and other learning disorders. Parents of these students might spend thousands of dollars on prep courses, books, videos and tutors trained in methods for ‘beating the test,' These tutors lack experience or understanding of how to assist an academically challenged student.
At the Tarnow Center, we recognize these students need a new approach in preparing for the SAT and the ACT test. Instead of one tutor, our multidisciplinary team combines 30 years of experience. In addition, we offer programs for the GMAT, GRE, LSAT, H-ESI, TEA and other entrance exams.
The Case of Charlie
To illustrate the benefits of our breakthrough approach to preparing for college admissions exams, we will use the example of Charlie, a high school student entering his junior year. He has trouble staying focused in a classroom setting, and his grades are average. He would like to attend a state university, and the only thing that stands in the way of his goal is his low SAT score. He has always had trouble with standardized tests, because they stress him out and his mind goes blank.
Charlie has taken an SAT prep course offered by a local test prep company and administered at his school over the summer. During the course, he was required to sit in a classroom with ten other students, and each day his class learned a different strategy designed to assist with the varying types of questions on the SAT. Some days were devoted to learning how to make flashcards for the thousands of vocabulary words he would need to learn for the reading and writing sections of the exam. Other days were spent learning how to use the process of elimination and other techniques to turn complex math questions into simple. Still, other days were spent reviewing mathematics formulae and other facts Charlie should have learned in his high school math classes. A practice exam was given at the beginning of the course, and at the end.
To Charlie's surprise, and to his parents' dismay, his score actually went down from the first practice test to the one given at the end of the course. Charlie's self-confidence has taken a hit and his parents feel they may have wasted both time and money for an unacceptable result.
At this point, we may feel, as Charlie surely does, that his situation is hopeless. Perhaps he may have to settle for a college with a lower standard for SAT scores. After all, he took the same SAT prep course as his friends, and their scores went up. Is there something wrong with Charlie? Should he simply give up on his goal?
Before we give up hope for Charlie, let us look at why the traditional SAT approach did not work.
Charlie's reasons for failure
First, the majority of the course was spent learning new things. Meaning, Charlie was required to learn new strategies, new techniques and new ways of thinking with no feedback as to whether he was learning these new strategies effectively. The only feedback Charlie received was at the end of the course, which only served to demonstrate that the course was ineffective.
Secondly, while the course did cover the algebraic and geometric formulas and methods that would be required on the exam, there was no time set aside for remediation of basic math skills, in which Charlie was weak. Without remediation of these basic skills, learning formulas will be of little help.
Let's be honest though, with a class of eleven students, even the most skilled instructor would be hard pressed to address the specific needs of each individual student.
Lastly, but perhaps most significantly, the course did nothing to specifically address Charlie's test anxiety. Even with a sound skill set and all the strategies at his disposal, the physical and emotional symptoms of anxiety would be an almost insurmountable barrier to any test taker.
Of course, every student is going to have different needs. The ADHD student for example, would never be able to accomplish boring tasks, wasting more time. This student will often lie, hide and struggle with parents.
A specific approach is necessary to help each individual student. This is where Tarnow's approach to preparing for college entrance exams is dramatically different from the typical approach.
Our solution follows a three-tier framework of assessment, remediation, and feedback.
Assessment
Our team of experts first carries out an assessment. We determine the individual student's academic strengths and weaknesses. We identify the specific areas the student experiences the most difficulty in preparing for and taking standardized tests. Our experts draw from decades of experience in cognitive processing, affective and learning disorders and academic coaching in order to find the exact areas where the student needs to focus in order to show improvement and to reach their specific goals. During this phase, our experts share results and work together to create a plan that focuses in on the areas that will benefit the student the most, while making the most effective use of their time as well.
In Charlie's example, our team will be able to determine he would benefit specifically from support and assistance to reduce his test anxiety, as well as remediation of some basic math and reading skills in a setting that worked with and not against his ADHD. For the parent, this means you will know from the beginning a basic plan of action, allowing you to fit the program easily into your schedule. Because the course is individualized, the investment is designed to cut out what is unnecessary, saving you money in the long run.
Remediation
In the remediation phase, in the case of Charlie, he will work directly with our experts to improve his weak areas. By using cutting edge learning technology such as Cogmed, our experts will assist Charlie to improve his attention and working memory. Using the TechnoTutor vocabulary builder, he will be able learn hundreds of the most common SAT and ACT words in an accelerated period of time. Both of these tools will have a direct impact on improving his reading comprehension and ability to focus during the several hours he will spend taking the SAT.
In this phase, he will also work with an academic coach to rebuild any missing skills and concepts, such as multiplication, division, fractions, and percents. The key here, as it is throughout the entire course, is this: the areas Charlie works on are the ones he specifically needs to work on. When combining a therapeutic approach to reduce Charlie's test anxiety, he stands a much better chance of facing the SAT and college with confidence and success. As a parent, you will have the certainty that we are working with your child and their specific needs, and not using a set of canned material that ultimately won't help your child.
Feedback
In the third phase, feedback is carried out simultaneously with the remediation phase. Using state-of-the art diagnostics tools, we provide continuous feedback and fine tuning of the support provided. For Charlie, this means we don't just teach him a new concept and hope for the best. We walk him through every step of the way to make sure he actually learns the concept or skill and is able to apply it with consistency.
From a parent's perspective, this means that you are investing in a real improvement in your child's skills, ones that they can take with them to college and beyond.
At the Tarnow Center, by using a three-tiered approach of assessment, remediation and feedback, combined with our unique combination of academic coaching and therapy, we can assist students at multiple levels, especially those students with ADHD.
Our 30 years of experience allows us to teach them specialized test taking techniques. By giving repeated practice tests, we can analyze the student's errors to improve their scores.
The student has a much greater chance of showing real improvement traditional tutoring or a classroom setting cannot provide.
For a student with a learning disorder like Charlie, it very well could be the key to getting into his dream school.