SAT/ACT prep for the reluctant student

[Shelydon]

My current junior needs to do SAT prep, her PSAT scores need to go up about 120 points.  She has zero academic motivation,so it has to be a class that requires completed homework.  Something that focuses more on tricks of the trade rather than practicing math is preferred.

[Lori D.]

This article, "The 5 Best SAT Prep Courses: Which Is Right For You?", lists the pros and cons of 5 top SAT prep classes.
Perhaps one of those might be a fit for your family?

[Aloha2U]

My ds took a SAT prep class that focused on the tricks of the trade, and it was worthless. When he actually attempted to apply those tricks, against his better judgement, he would get those problems wrong. The best advice given: just take the time to do the SAT practice tests. That’s it. No math practice. No tricks.

[Shelydon]

3 hours ago, Lori D. said:

This article, "The 5 Best SAT Prep Courses: Which Is Right For You?", lists the pros and cons of 5 top SAT prep classes.
Perhaps one of those might be a fit for your family?

Thanks!

Edited December 9, 2020 by Shelydon

[Shelydon]

2 hours ago, Mom21 said:

My ds took a SAT prep class that focused on the tricks of the trade, and it was worthless. When he actually attempted to apply those tricks, against his better judgement, he would get those problems wrong. The best advice given: just take the time to do the SAT practice tests. That’s it. No math practice. No tricks.

Thank you for that input!  She'll need someone to assign her the tests.  She works well for grades, but not for mom

[Aloha2U]

5 hours ago, Shelydon said:

Thank you for that input!  She'll need someone to assign her the tests.  She works well for grades, but not for mom

In hindsight, the class my ds took did help begin to motivate him. However, only one SAT practice test was assigned during the course, one section at a time, in order to practice the tricks or supposed short cuts, though they were never discussed in context afterwards. It provided insight and a base line, but otherwise expensive and worthless. With this realization and disappointment, but encouraging nudges from me, he continued to slowly work through each practice test provided by the College Board, section by section. First, he worked on completing each section untimed. His goal being to match or improve his score in each section, making note of where the time cutoff before he finished. Then, at some point the goal changed to trying to beat the time as well. Until finally, he was comfortable and confident in his abilities. Ready to take the test and be done. The class was in June. The SAT test day was December 5th. (Waiting another week for his scores seems an eternity.)

On a side note, no grade(s) was given by the provider of the test prep, but I did create a “Study Skills” course for him that included the skills covered in the test prep class.

 

Edited December 9, 2020 by Mom21

[Lanny]

18 hours ago, Shelydon said:

My current junior needs to do SAT prep, her PSAT scores need to go up about 120 points.  She has zero academic motivation,so it has to be a class that requires completed homework.  Something that focuses more on tricks of the trade rather than practicing math is preferred.

 Do not waste your money!  If your DD is not motivated, do not waste  your money!

Now, if your DD is a member of a group where they use the PSAT/NMSQT to qualify for some award (in the case of my DD she qualified as a National Hispanic Scholar) there are real benefits  ($$$$$ in addition to the Honor) that can be received, but they are from individual colleges or universities.

There is an official tie-in, between the CollegeBoard and Khan Academy. Your DD, if she becomes motivated, should have accounts with both web sites that are linked. Khan Academy is FREE.  My DD used Khan Academy almost exclusively, to prepare for the PSAT/NMSQT and then for the SAT.  https://www.khanacademy.org/

Good luck to your DD. Motivation needs to come from within. 

[Lanny]

3 minutes ago, Lanny said:

 Do not waste your money!  If your DD is not motivated, do not waste  your money!

Now, if your DD is a member of a group where they use the PSAT/NMSQT to qualify for some award (in the case of my DD she qualified as a National Hispanic Scholar) there are real benefits  ($$$$$ in addition to the Honor) that can be received, but they are from individual colleges or universities.

There is an official tie-in, between the CollegeBoard and Khan Academy. Your DD, if she becomes motivated, should have accounts with both web sites that are linked. Khan Academy is FREE.  My DD used Khan Academy almost exclusively, to prepare for the PSAT/NMSQT and then for the SAT.  https://www.khanacademy.org/

Good luck to your DD. Motivation needs to come from within. 

ETA: For the ACT, which you mentioned in the thread title, my DD had access to a Kaplan Online course that cost $100 USD for several months. That was in 2018. Very low cost. There is (or was) a tie-in between ACT and Kaplan Academy.   Mostly videos that the students could watch at their convenience, but also some live sessions with an Instructor. My DD found that very helpful, especially the sessions with a Live Instructor who could answer questions from the students.

[fourisenough]

@Shelydon Would your DD be motivated by developing a personal relationship with a tutor? I know tutoring is more expensive than a class, but it might also give her more accountability and, thus, the motivation to work hard to accomplish her goals. My DD’s tutor would assign practice test(s) (real, released tests) either in-full or by section depending on their focus at the time. Those sections must be completed and submitted the night before the next day’s scheduled tutoring or the appointment would be cancelled. DD really enjoyed working with the tutor so she was motivated to do the work. DD was able to make huge gains in her score over the course of 8-10 tutoring sessions. Honestly, she made gains after just a few sessions, but wanted to continue to challenge herself. 
 

But if your DD truly has zero academic motivation, a class or tutoring likely won’t make much difference. It really does come down to how much work the student is willing to invest. Best of luck finding the right fit!

[gstharr]

My 10th grader took the SAT in 7th and 8th grade using only 2-3 year old practice books from Princeton, Barron, Kaplan. HIs scores were excellent (1390). We started prepping around x-mass break. I would TEAR out a whole test, but only gave him a section to do each day.  No tiime limit.  BTW, just giving him a torn out section at a time, instead of the whole book, makes it far less intimidating.  By the end of the the break, he had three tests done.  I would score each section, and we would go over the errors.  No, redo, just a discussion of why he was wrong, and pointing out the common test traps.   Then after that, each weekend, he would do one  timed section on Saturday and Sunday. Same review process. At the end of each  month, he had completed two  more exams.  Then around April, it became two timed sections per Saturday and Sunday.  Our final prep was doing the free Global Ivy test in one sitting.  Also around April,, I had hime do the tests in the living room, at parks, and other places where there mild distractions to teeach him to focus.  

Haven't tested the last two years, but we will be gearing up using the above stategy for AP chem, chem subject and math level II, good luck to you. 

[Shelydon]

5 hours ago, Lanny said:

 Do not waste your money!  If your DD is not motivated, do not waste  your money!

Now, if your DD is a member of a group where they use the PSAT/NMSQT to qualify for some award (in the case of my DD she qualified as a National Hispanic Scholar) there are real benefits  ($$$$$ in addition to the Honor) that can be received, but they are from individual colleges or universities.

There is an official tie-in, between the CollegeBoard and Khan Academy. Your DD, if she becomes motivated, should have accounts with both web sites that are linked. Khan Academy is FREE.  My DD used Khan Academy almost exclusively, to prepare for the PSAT/NMSQT and then for the SAT.  https://www.khanacademy.org/

Good luck to your DD. Motivation needs to come from within. 

Well, high SAT and ACT scores always equal more money.  The higher the score, the more scholarships.  She has a college board account, but won't do it on her own.  Many, maybe even most, kids could give a fig about SAT/ACT.  She had not a clue what she wants to do in life.  She does well enough academically, but doesn't have grand life goals or things she wants to achieve.  She is a pretty standard middle child.

[Shelydon]

5 hours ago, Lanny said:

ETA: For the ACT, which you mentioned in the thread title, my DD had access to a Kaplan Online course that cost $100 USD for several months. That was in 2018. Very low cost. There is (or was) a tie-in between ACT and Kaplan Academy.   Mostly videos that the students could watch at their convenience, but also some live sessions with an Instructor. My DD found that very helpful, especially the sessions with a Live Instructor who could answer questions from the students.

I am going to give her a full ACT test at home and see if she does better on it, her older sister scored much higher on the ACT than the SAT. 

[Shelydon]

4 hours ago, fourisenough said:

@Shelydon Would your DD be motivated by developing a personal relationship with a tutor? I know tutoring is more expensive than a class, but it might also give her more accountability and, thus, the motivation to work hard to accomplish her goals. My DD’s tutor would assign practice test(s) (real, released tests) either in-full or by section depending on their focus at the time. Those sections must be completed and submitted the night before the next day’s scheduled tutoring or the appointment would be cancelled. DD really enjoyed working with the tutor so she was motivated to do the work. DD was able to make huge gains in her score over the course of 8-10 tutoring sessions. Honestly, she made gains after just a few sessions, but wanted to continue to challenge herself. 
 

But if your DD truly has zero academic motivation, a class or tutoring likely won’t make much difference. It really does come down to how much work the student is willing to invest. Best of luck finding the right fit!

She might. She does best when something has to be turned in for a grade.  I outsource 100% of her classes this year and she'll do all dual credit next year.  Locally, that type of tutoring SAT is $150 -$200 per hour with a 15 hour minimum, so really out of our price range. 

And absolutely it would be easier if she cared about college, but she doesn't.  Mom and dad care b/c scholarships. 🙂

[Shelydon]

4 hours ago, gstharr said:

My 10th grader took the SAT in 7th and 8th grade using only 2-3 year old practice books from Princeton, Barron, Kaplan. HIs scores were excellent (1390). We started prepping around x-mass break. I would TEAR out a whole test, but only gave him a section to do each day.  No tiime limit.  BTW, just giving him a torn out section at a time, instead of the whole book, makes it far less intimidating.  By the end of the the break, he had three tests done.  I would score each section, and we would go over the errors.  No, redo, just a discussion of why he was wrong, and pointing out the common test traps.   Then after that, each weekend, he would do one  timed section on Saturday and Sunday. Same review process. At the end of each  month, he had completed two  more exams.  Then around April, it became two timed sections per Saturday and Sunday.  Our final prep was doing the free Global Ivy test in one sitting.  Also around April,, I had hime do the tests in the living room, at parks, and other places where there mild distractions to teeach him to focus.  

Haven't tested the last two years, but we will be gearing up using the above stategy for AP chem, chem subject and math level II, good luck to you. 

I have books for both the ACT and SAT that have practice tests.  We'll work on those over Christmas break while I try to find a class. Thanks