Admissions Consulting Archives

Vocabulary Development for Secondary Aged Students

February 3, 2021 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Intentional vocabulary development for secondary aged students contributes to school success and establishes the foundation for the best possible future. The emphasis on reading proficiency by fourth grade often means that students who still need support get little attention thereafter. Sometimes students who did fine with elementary reading begin to show strain as reading expectations increase at the secondary level. Fun activities, using online software programs, can help grow vocabulary. The best way to help students become good readers isn’t to focus exclusively on academic reading. In addition, expanding reading to cover the multiple areas of interest in their lives increases their funds of knowledge and reveals the real contribution that reading can make to a full life.

Students who struggle with reading may give excuses like noisy surroundings, task difficulty, unfair teachers, or various forms of interference. These stem from a fear of lacking expected skills. They may avoid reading, by forgetting the books they need, claiming other work is more important, or simply procrastinating. Knowing words help readers appreciate narratives and that often helps reintroduce the pleasure of reading. Reading support grows confidence so students are better able to ask for help when they need it.

Ongoing vocabulary development ensures that students have support as reading assignments change: Quizlet allows students to develop their own vocabulary lists (Wordly Wise 3000 has a variety of activities and partners with Quizlet to help reinforce learning); Membean provides focused word building with an algorithm that recognizes when to repeat a word so that it sticks in memory. These vocabulary development activities are easy additions to a student’s educational routine.

Adolescent literacy requires more than fluent-sounding reading and context-based vocabulary explanations. At the secondary level, students need to develop the reading skills to recognize inflections of meaning. Sentence style and tone comes from the author’s vocabulary choices as well as word order. Recognizing such details helps students grasp the underlying meanings of a passage. The subtle distinctions among synonyms also contribute to text analysis.

Reading assignments at the secondary level are longer and more demanding. Textbooks may subdivide sections and provide key word boxes to help students learn new terms, but they do not show how to apply those words or understand their use them in other contexts. Guiding readers through the major vocabulary, however, shows them crucial concepts, develops stronger understanding, and eventually allows them to compare learning topics. This last skill is crucial to success on SAT subject tests and reading portions of standardized tests.

Literature readings shift away from chapter books to dive into texts from historical periods, global cultures, and an assortment of genres, each with their own formal vocabulary. Even contemporary short stories may prove difficult as postmodern plots and various devices create unusual narratives. Students often skip words they don’t know in an attempt to manage the length and density of the assignment. Unfortunately, that avoidance tactic increases confusion. As adolescent years are full of social anxiety, students typically avoid asking vocabulary questions in class where they are in front of their peers.

For a student missing a word in each paragraph, important information gets lost. With each passing page, they lose background context. Such students then struggle to make the kinds of inferences that are expected at the secondary level. Vocabulary development activities like membean or Quizlet provide an immediate response for this situation, but more is necessary. Guided support in how and when to apply background information or call upon a personal response to a passage, among other interpretation strategies, helps students regain confidence and become the independent readers that they need to be as they prepare for college.

Secondary level students who struggle with reading need reading motivation. This is where working with texts and topics that interest them is crucial. Here, they expand the vocabulary relevant to the area that already engages them. They learn how to read with concentration for an extended period of time. They discover when personal responses are appropriate or distract from a focus on the text. They adopt positions from which to argue or defend an interpretation. They recognize the value of research or background knowledge in discussing the topic. Through conversations based on the reading, they begin to produce more convincing arguments by learning how to present information in an orderly fashion.

Vocabulary development for secondary aged students helps them become engaged and proficient readers by cultivating motivation, decoding skills, language comprehension, and personal transactions with the text. Most importantly, it ensures they have the skills for success at school and for the rest of their lives.

By Charlotte Kent, Ph.D. and Private Tutor, and Brad Hoffman, M.S.Ed. and Learning Specialist

AP Exams and SAT Subject Tests

January 25, 2021 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

While SAT and ACT scores demonstrate comparisons of a student’s skills in reading comprehension, English language, and math, the AP exams and, previously, the SAT subject tests, allow applicants to shine by testing subjects they love and often plan to pursue in college.

SAT Subject tests — which the College Board abruptly “retired” in January 2021 — were an important part of the admissions process, especially for the most competitive colleges. Now, students need to leverage the College Board’s AP exams to demonstrate subject mastery. However, AP exams can only be taken once annually in May and are administered at schools. Particularly over the past decade, many private day schools and boarding schools stopped offering AP classes because their faculty didn’t want to be boxed into a curriculum scope and sequence designed by College Board and argued by many secondary educators to be “a mile wide and an inch deep.” Instead, many rigorous independent schools have argued in favor of leveraging their advanced or honors classes for this testing, but that often leaves both content gaps and lacking test-taking skills that need to be supplemented with outside preparation. Moreover, many of these schools stopped coordinating and hosting these AP tests, and it’s not so easy to find another host school, which is an obstacle we’ll face this school year and next school year as educators navigate this testing change.

The TOP 6 AP Exams in 2020 were:

English Language and Composition

US History

English Literature and Composition

World History

US Government and Politics

Calculus AB

The TOP 3 SAT Subject Tests from 2018-2020 were:
Mathematics 2

Biology E/M

US History

Ideally, students initiate their planning and preparation for an AP exam at least 6 months before their anticipated exam date. The good news is that all of these tests are highly coachable, and there are scads of success stories among our tutors and students–the key is to start your test preparation early enough, and work with a specialist who is intimately familiar with the test(s). The best results come from a careful and strategic approach.

As a person who has experienced the admissions process year after year, I find that students who are interested in a particular subject, such as Physics, Chemistry, US History, or French, tend to score very well on AP tests, or, previously, SAT Subject tests because they study something they already like more deeply.

By Brad Hoffman, Board Certified Educational Planner, and Grant Bergland, Private Tutor

College Admissions Test Preparation | ACT or SAT

January 22, 2021 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Did you know that more students took the ACT than the SAT for the first time in 2012, ending the SAT’s reign as America’s most popular college-entrance standardized test? Since then, the ACT’s popularity has only continued to grow. Why is this? And which test is right for you? Is there an advantage for college admissions test preparation? And what are the implications with increasing test-optional policies?

This shift toward the ACT was at least partially the result of students often preferring the ACT’s more content-based style of questioning. Many students wanted to avoid the SAT’s more reasoning-based style of questioning that felt quite different from what they typically encountered in the classroom. However, in March 2016, The College Board released a completely revamped SAT, designed to be more similar to the ACT, and further complicating decision-making for college admissions test preparation.

As you consider taking the the ACT versus the SAT, think about the following:

Timing. Does it work for you or against you?

The most significant difference between the tests is that the ACT is faster paced and benefits students who push through questions quickly. The new SAT provides a less intense pacing experience.

The ACT Math section consists of 60 questions in 60 minutes (60 seconds per question) whereas the SAT Math sections spread 58 questions over 2 sections for a total of 80 minutes (83 seconds per question).
The ACT English and Reading sections pose 115 questions over 80 minutes (42 seconds per question) while the SAT Language and Reading sections contain 96 questions in 100 minutes (63 seconds per question).
If you have extended time accommodations, the pacing issue is largely mitigated.

How do you feel about Science?

The ACT has a Science section while the new SAT intersperses such questions throughout the test. In both cases, students are often surprised to learn that these question types are more skill-based than fact-based (e.g.interpreting graphs and charts) and don’t require outside scientific knowledge. With structured practice, students can greatly improve from their initial diagnostic ACT Science section score. However, for students who really do not like the ACT’s Science section, the new SAT may be a more appealing choice.

Are you confident without your calculator?

While the ACT allows a calculator on all math questions, the new SAT contains twenty “no calculator” math problems. While putting your calculator aside for about a third of the SAT’s math questions may initially sound intimidating, these questions do not require complicated arithmetic. Most students do not find the lack of calculator to be an issue. If anything, a calculator would probably slow students down on the “no calculator” question type.

How do you feel about writing a persuasive essay? The ACT provides three stances and asks students to choose one to justify, thus eliminating the challenge of developing a unique thesis statement. It’s a very manageable writing task. As of June 2021, the SAT is “retiring” their optional essay section, which asked students to evaluate somebody else’s argument. While optional, our students have always taken advantage of this opportunity to exceed admissions requirements, and the preparation for this optional essay provides an authentic vehicle for enhancing critical writing skills in a timed classroom setting. Students choosing the ACT will still have this opportunity.

Additionally, because the latest iteration of the SAT is still so new, far fewer practice tests and other preparation materials exist for it. This alone is often a disadvantage and cause for students to choose the ACT until more SAT data and materials exist. For now, there is still limited data in terms of concordance charts and interpreting SAT results. Moreover, the SAT was designed based on Common Core State Standards, which is a politically charged initiative and may not stand the test of time.

So, which test is the better choice?

It is a myth that one test is markedly easier than the other. Most students perform similarly on both tests. Making a decision between ACT or SAT for college admissions test preparation depends mostly on your personal preferences as a test taker. Therefore, it’s worthwhile to find out early if you have a clear preference for either test. Switching back and forth between tests or trying to prepare for both simultaneously is not an efficient use of precious test preparation time.

In addition, colleges and universities do not prefer one test over the other. Preparing for the ACT or SAT both require hours of dedicated practice and sustained hard work to master the relevant content and internalize the necessary test-taking strategies. A strong score on either test provides admission officers with the same information since the content and format of the tests are similar. And don’t forget, your standardized test scores are just one part of your college application!

By Brad Hoffman, M.S.Ed. and Educational Consultant

SSAT and ISEE Test Preparation: Why And For How Long?

January 5, 2021 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

ISEE test preparation, why do it? How much time should be spent on it? THAT MUCH? Is the ISEE different from the SSAT? Those are really good questions.

The Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) and the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) are used for private school and boarding school admissions to grades 3-12 and skew way above grade level in what they assess, so just learning test-taking strategies is insufficient. Moreover, earning stanines of 7s, 8s, and 9s requires near perfect section scores. That’s why we recommend a nice long runway to prepare for the ISEE or SSAT. Most of our students are engaged in 1:1 programs meeting twice weekly–once with a literacy specialist and once with a math specialist–for 15-25+ weeks, which translates to 45 to 90 hours of instruction (plus homework). Yes, that much and here’s why.

At My Learning Springboard, we believe that ISEE test preparation, and most other preparation for standardized assessments, should be aligned with and extended from a curriculum framework. What we are doing should tie in closely with what your student is learning or will learn in his or her classroom. All learning is enhanced when it is connected with something that you already know and/or something you want to know. Preparing for an assessment such as the ISEE helps streamline that focus towards a multi-faceted endpoint; not only does your student solidify their foundational skills, but they extend them while also implementing targeted test-taking strategies. For this reason, we view ISEE test preparation as an opportunity to bolster middle and high school readiness. My Learning Springboard also offers specialized instruction for students with learning disabilities and/or heightened anxiety. These students also benefit from more time to learn, apply, and integrate testing content and strategies.

Over time we have found that the approach to ISEE test preparation that works best for families and students is one that allows for incremental improvements over time. We always start with diagnostic testing so that our recommendations are individualized, and we recommend this planning begin in January, February or March prior to the upcoming admissions season. We need this runway to effectively plan and implement both grade level and above grade level instruction in all areas of the test, including Verbal Reasoning (vocabulary development), Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Reasoning, Math Achievement, and 5-paragraph essay writing. ISEE preparation provides ample opportunity for enhancing executive function skills, such as planning with the end in mind, managing time more effectively, initiating and completing tasks, and controlling impulses and emotions.

Cramming for the ISEE is not effective. Taking the long-view for test preparation–making it a marathon, not a sprint–allows each student to adjust their pace based on numerous factors, such as diagnostic results, learning style, previous experiences, family and school commitments, and time for practice, practice, practice. Taking a longer-term approach allows each student to internalize the grade level material covered in their classroom and during test preparation sessions and firmly establish the building blocks to move towards mastery of above grade level material. Many of our students have commented that due to ISEE test preparation with My Learning Springboard faculty they feel better prepared for their school work and more confident when new material is introduced, especially in mathematics. This extended time frame for test preparation allows for true content mastery and creates a much better long-term value for students and families engaged in the process.

By Brad Hoffman, Board Certified Educational Planner and Learning Specialist, and Laurie Gross, Educational Consultant and Reading Specialist.

What NOT to Expect from the ISEE

January 4, 2021 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Your child has always done well in school, so you reasonably assume that they’ll do well on the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) as you pursue a school transition. So you have your child sit for an ISEE diagnostic test. You fully expect that your child will knock it out of the ballpark, since, after all, they are already reading above grade level and get perfect scores on all of their math tests. You think that maybe they will need only one or two sessions with a test preparation tutor, just to go over some basic strategies and pull in those few extra points.

Your child’s diagnostic scores come back. Your jaw drops. Your child, the one who always exceeds expectations in school, has gotten dismal scores. They have scored around the 25th percentile on all sections of the test. How is this possible? How can you make sense of this?

Simple: the ISEE differs from teacher-made assessments and grade level achievement tests in a few very important ways:

1) Each level of the ISEE is aimed at a range of grade levels and abilities. It’s very possible your child hasn’t even seen some of the material covered on the test yet as it’s designed to be well above grade level and assumes mastery of prerequisite and current school year content.

2) The questions are written in a trickier way. On your school tests, for the most part, the questions resemble the questions you have been working on all along in your homework and classwork. However, some questions on the ISEE are designed to present information in a more convoluted way, so you have to do some more detective work to figure out what the question is asking of you. Moreover, a student has to nimbly move between topics, skills, and concepts with integrated multi-step problem solving, advanced vocabulary, and critical reading.

3) The makers of the test don’t expect you to get every question right. This is probably the hardest thing to wrap your head around, since of course in school, in order to obtain the highest possible score, you have to get every question correct. The ISEE is designed to have questions that really push the edge for a particular age bracket. What’s especially tricky is that the curve for each section varies from year to year and each version of the test presents a unique mix of content that is limited for any particular topic or category, such as geometry or algebraic reasoning. The verbal reasoning section, for example, can only assess a few dozen words out of thousands of possible words.

You want your child to be the best. We all do. But, for some standardized tests like the ISEE, being the best doesn’t necessarily mean getting a perfect score. Slow and steady is the best approach for mastering the range of content presented on any level test (lower, middle, or upper). In addition to learning the content, working on practice questions, and meeting with a test preparation tutor, your child should know what the makers of the test expect from them. Parents and teachers play an important role in helping students to maintain an appropriate perspective about this test and what the scores mean.

By Brad Hoffman, M.S.Ed.
Board Certified Educational Planner and Learning Specialist
My Learning Springboard, Inc.

Vocabulary Development for Secondary Aged Students

AP Exams and SAT Subject Tests

College Admissions Test Preparation | ACT or SAT

Timing. Does it work for you or against you?

How do you feel about Science?

Are you confident without your calculator?

So, which test is the better choice?

SSAT and ISEE Test Preparation: Why And For How Long?

What NOT to Expect from the ISEE

Company Overview

School Planning

Private Tutoring

Test Preparation