I have been an SAT instructor at Sylvan Learning Center in Tualatin for years. The opportunity for increased understanding of and success on the test depends on many factors, including the chance for some students to participate in test prep programs. Students review tested material, learning how to apply both their knowledge and test-taking strategies to better increase their scores.
All students entering a test prep program, whether it be offered by their school, online, or at a tutoring facility like Sylvan Learning Center, come with the motivation to succeed. This motivation can be external – “My parents paid for this tutoring, so I’d better do well to please them.” – or internal – “I want to increase my score to better reflect my aptitude”. Whatever the motive, students understand that the SAT (and ACT, as well) is a high-stakes standardized test used to measure their likelihood of success at college and weighs heavily in college admissions.
Vocabulary is key. Strategies help one to choose between options given; but if one does not understand the material read or what (a), (b), (c), or (d) means, the student will have a difficult time taking and finding success on the test. Kids who take the test and don’t have a solid foundation of root words, prefixes, suffixes, and vocabulary (expressive and receptive) will be on shaky ground.
Stress the importance of reading to your kids. Talk with them about the importance of being a literate and well-read person. Provide your student with any opportunity you can to increase his or her word bank. Knowledge and understanding of vocabulary is a hinge from which their success on the verbal section of the SAT (or ACT) swings. In conjunction with a strong vocabulary, test-taking strategies can help your child find success on a very valuable test.
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2 comments:
Hi,
I ready your blog post because I am still studying for my SAT's. I tried reading the NY Times and found it very helpful to increase my readying comprehension, but my vocabulary was lacking a little still. I tried to find an SAT vocab builder that was specific and came across one called VerbaLearn. It has really helped me because I listen to the audio files all the time and it isn't expensive at all. Can you recommend any other vocab builder or method to help me out before my test?
http://www.verbalearn.com/sat-vocabulary.html
Jaime
Jaime -- Wow! You are doing the right thing, and the fact that you are highly motivated to build your vocabulary will benefit you not only on the SAT but in life. Students who are auditory learners would benefit immensely from a program like you found. Word of the Day subscriptions online (from a dictionary or The New York Times) or on a calendar can help to build vocabulary long-term. Jotting down unknown words that you come across whether from crossword puzzles or in your everyday reading can help you create your very own vocabulary file. Test prep programs offer priority lists of words that are often found on the SAT, and the CollegeBoard provides lots of test prep materials. Even though they are all excellent ways of seeing (or hearing) new words, the key is to USE them. If you learn best by hearing, listen to the definition and then try to repeat it yourself throughout the day or use the word as much as you can. As I mentioned in the blog message before, prefixes/suffixes/roots are one of the best ways to help yourself define unknown words by using what you already know to break them down and create meaning. Good luck with the SAT!
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