All Articles tagged Testing

Educational Planning With A Multidisciplinary Team

January 3, 2021 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

January is always an important check-in time for our families with parent-teacher conferences having recently occurred and new year’s goal setting top of mind. Most schools have sent the first set of report cards and/or progress reports by now, and those who haven’t will send them this month. In addition, many families have completed or are working to complete the admissions process for this past fall, while other families are starting to plan for the admissions process for the upcoming fall, whether they’re applying for the 2s, preschool, kindergarten, 6th grade, 9th grade, college, graduate school or something in between. Because families are faced with so many considerations and decisions, there is a tremendous advantage to educational planning with a multidisciplinary team.

At this time of year, there are many important questions that our families are discussing with us, including but not limited to:

My preschooler will just miss the cutoff for starting Kindergarten this upcoming fall, what should we do?
How do we manage private school placement if we’re moving to NYC from a foreign country or another state?
How do we change schools if we’re not totally happy in our current school?
What is my child’s reading level and how does it compare with quarterly benchmarking and grade level expectations?
How do I help my child to master their basic facts? Improve math fluency?
How do I manage accommodations for standardized testing, including extended time, typing an essay, or marking directly in the test booklet?
Is a neuropsychological evaluation valuable?
Should I take the ACT or SAT and when should I start preparation? How do we juggle the demands of junior year?
Should we consider boarding schools? If so, why?
What is Singapore Math? Everyday Math? Exeter Math?
How can we enhance executive function skills within the context of the school curriculum and content support?

As a multidisciplinary educational consulting firm focused on supporting the entire educational journey, our executive team and faculty has had the privilege of working with so many great families to accomplish so many targeted goals over our 15 years as an organization, and our hundreds of years of combined professional experience. In each instance, we define success in partnership with families and work toward that shared goal.

There are myriad scenarios that occur for families over the course of the school year and our team is here to help with educational planning through an integrated and collaborative approach. We know results are best achieved when we work as a team in partnership with parents and schools, and we believe in customizing the approach for each of our students and families in order to create an optimal experience.

Please contact our office to discuss your needs.

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

Under the leadership of Brad Hoffman and Faya Hoffman, a husband-and-wife team, My Learning Springboard offers private tutoring, test preparation, special education advocacy, admissions consulting and school transition support at every level from nursery through college, including specialized school placements for students with learning disabilities and therapeutic school settings.

In addition to their years of classroom teaching experience and consultation with both families and schools, Brad Hoffman is a Professional Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) with speciality designations in mainstream (day and boarding schools), specialized (learning disabilities), and therapeutic school placements. He is also a member of The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS), The Enrollment Management Association (formerly SSATB), the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP), the Association of Educational Therapists (AET), the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA), and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). My Learning Springboard is a member organization of the Washington Independent Services for Educational Resources (WISER).

How to Handle the Dreaded Dastardly Deferral Letter

December 22, 2020 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

It’s the holiday season, you’ve worked as hard as possible to keep up with your schoolwork AND write the Common App AND fill out endless application forms, and the response from your Early Decision school is a blow to the gut: a deferral. You wander around in dismay, devastated, embarrassed, not sure what to do next or how to wrap your head around the possibility that your first choice school has not sent you a hearty welcome!

Do not despair! Let’s talk about what a deferral actually means for a moment.

Being deferred is not a rejection or an acceptance: it is simply another word for the college asking you to wait for a little bit. Basically, a deferral means that the college has decided to hold onto your application while they weigh it against the rest of the applicant pool. For some reason, your application did not leap out of the pile and dance in front of their eyes.

There is still hope.

Now this is where you do have a choice: how do you react to this setback? Do you swallow the raw lemon and gag, or do you make lemonade? At My Learning Springboard, we suggest you learn how to make lemonade, and quick!

There is still some work to be done if you want to see whether you can change that “maybe” to a resounding “YES!!” You thought you were done with this hellacious process? Think again. Now is the time to RALLY!!!

The reality is that for some reason, your application did not stand out, as perhaps it could have, on the first round. So what do you do now? BE PROACTIVE!

Step 1: Contact the Admissions Office

Contact your dream school’s Office of Admissions and ask to speak directly with an admissions counselor, if not the Dean of Admissions. You have nothing to lose provided you plan properly and communicate appropriately.

Before calling, sit down and jot down 3 bullet points – what are the 3 “messages” you want to convey to this admissions person? What is the final take-away point that you would like to leave him/her remembering?

Politely ask why your application was deferred. Engage in a short conversation about it. DO NOT BE DEFENSIVE. Many schools are now expecting these phone calls. But before you call the school, you MUST study their website with a fine tooth comb to be certain whether or not the college has specifically asked students NOT to call. You certainly do not want to jeopardize your deferral by overstepping important boundaries at this point.

Basically, you have 3-5 minutes to begin to turn the situation around. Ask for suggestions. What can you do at this point? What supplemental material could you submit? Reconfirm your specific interest in the school.

In doing so, you are making the school representative, and hence your dream school, aware of your COMMITMENT and your worthiness of an acceptance. You want to convey your sincere desire to attend this particular college.

If in doubt about what to say, contact the My Learning Springboard office ASAP to discuss an appropriate strategy. We are available over the winter break.

Step 2: Write a Letter

Write a letter. How simple! How sweet!

Your goal in writing this short letter? Basically you want to convey your continued interest in this college. Why would it be the perfect match for you? What one quality do you possess that would make this a win-win for all?

Remember, saccharine is NOT the correct tone to take here. This is THE moment to be genuine and honest. Do you want to sound whiny, angry, or petty in this letter? Absolutely NOT. Your goal is to be upbeat and positive!!!

In your letter, you might choose to mention a recent personal or academic development that makes you stand out, like the fact that you just received a good samaritan award for helping the elderly, or that you are volunteering over the holidays in a soup kitchen, or that you have been invited to be co-chair of a new club at school. If nothing like this has happened in the recent past because you have been chained to your desk writing essays, don’t bother making anything up. Your letter must be authentic if you have any hope of swaying the Admission Committee’s minds.

Step 3: Improve Your Test Scores

If you think you could improve your test scores because you believe the scores did not represent you properly, and you think you have a real chance to improve them, SIGN UP TODAY and contact the My Learning Springboard office ASAP to schedule meeting times with a test preparation tutor. We have a number of teachers with availability over the winter break, either in person or remotely.

Step 4: Share Updated Report Cards

Mid-year Grade Reports: Once again, check college websites to see if they ask for mid-year grades. If so, make sure you contact your high school registrar ASAP to request that they are sent to the Admissions Office. Be sure you meet the school deadline for this submission.

Step 5: Organize An Additional Recommendation Letter

Consider submitting one final shining teacher or personal recommendation that addresses your finest qualities and why you would be such a perfect fit for the school. Again, check first to see whether the school will even accept additional recommendations. Many schools do, some don’t.

Step 6: Let Go

This is the moment of truth: you may never receive that much hoped for letter of acceptance from your “dream” school, because frankly, adult to adult here, there is no one perfect school for anyone. Just like you understood deep in your heart that the letter of deferral was in fact not really a “rejection” of you, now you are also beginning to understand there are moments in life when we just have to let go. Letting go is a tremendously difficult, but life saving skill to learn. The only thing we can be certain about in life is that everything changes.

Step 7: Complete All Other Applications

Whether or not you decide to do any of the above, the one thing you MUST do at this moment is make sure all of your other applications are completed and you hit send, even if in your heart you are still holding out hope for an acceptance from your the school you originally thought was your dream school.

Time to be practical. You’ve simply got to RALLY again!

Write the best applications you can. Take another look at the school websites. You might even surprise yourself, there may be an even better match out there waiting for your application — a place where your real value will be seen, appreciated, and welcomed with open arms!!

A final note ~ When you are sitting on the sofa over the holidays with that enormous box of chocolate on your lap, just remember:
You have done your best and we are proud of you!!!

This has been an incredible journey and process of growth for you. You have climbed a mountain and reached the top, whether or not you know where you’re headed next. And therein lies the adventure. Don’t let a deferral get you down!

Written by: Editorial Team, My Learning Springboard, Inc.

The Science of Scientific Studying

November 8, 2020 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

So, you are tutoring a student in science and they are having trouble with a particular concept- to be a successful teacher you have to have a variety of different approaches on hand for moments like this. If your student is having trouble getting a grasp on tough biology or chemistry topics, you have to figure out how to re-present the information in a new way that might work better for the way your student learns. Here are five simple tips to revamp the way you approach science concepts as an instructor- they will also help make the information stick long after the test:

1) Make a story out of it!

Science textbooks are full of jargon that can be not only incomprehensible but also uninteresting. Students can be turned off from learning about a topic that seems too complex or boring because of poor presentation. The solution? Encourage your student to devise stories with characters, settings and plots based on the material at hand. The more creative, detail-specific, and relevant to your child’s life and interests the story can be, the more likely he or she will ultimately grasp the information. As teacher and MIT Ph. D. candidate Tyler Dewitt points out in this TED Talk, crafting a narrative around a difficult topic can make it easier to understand as well as much more interesting for your student. The act of narrative generation pushes your child to process and understand the material to a higher level that simply reading a textbook does not achieve on its own.

2) Map it out

Another way to re-present challenging information to facilitate learning is via mind maps. Mind maps are one way to outline information in diagram form that emphasizes connections between topics. Although simple in concept, they can be a powerful way to reorganize information that may be otherwise tedious to remember. Check out this YouTube clip for more information and suggestions on how to begin, but as with study strategies in general, your student should experiment with different methods to find out what works best. A variety of free mind mapping software can also be found online.

3) Note your questions

Take note of how your student takes notes. Does he or she write text verbatim? Are there bullet points, stars, or drawings? While any number of styles might work, one helpful strategy might be to help your child create a structured way of recording questions during class or while studying. Highlighting what we don’t know can be as helpful later on as marking down what we do. Designate a portion of a notebook or select a specific font that stands out. The final and most important part? Look up the answers later on!

4) Why is it called that?

Writing down words that are unfamiliar and looking up their definition is always a good idea. Looking up the origins or roots of a new phrase can be equally powerful. For example, consider this information about the heart. The heart is effectively a muscular pump, and like every other muscle of the body, it needs the oxygen and nutrients found in oxygenated blood to function. It receives its supply of blood from the coronary arteries. Without any additional knowledge, making the arbitrary association between “coronary arteries” and “blood supply to the heart” might be a stretch on a tricky multiple choice question or a diagram of various arteries in the body. Thankfully, the word “coronary” is there to help out. The word coronary is derived from a Latin phrase that means wreath or crown, and the coronary arteries wrap around the top of the heart like their namesake. Having this extra piece of information makes the association between the arteries’ name and function less arbitrary by alluding to the location and path the coronary arteries follow. Taking a few seconds to look up the roots behind other difficult biological phrases will cut down on the amount of strict memorization and will aid in fact recall during assessments.

5) Bit by bit

While cramming for exams may be unavoidable at times, learning how to master challenging topics through frequent study is instrumental to success in the long run. Help your student generate a routine to work on the subject or topic they struggle with the most (the very one they may be avoiding) for a little bit each day. Set aside about thirty minutes each day to review the content of that day’s class and to map out how it fits into the broader scheme of the course – and then start on the associated homework. If possible, previewing material for the next day of class by looking ahead at class notes or relevant pages in the textbook can help your student get a jump on the material. The point is to avoid those cram sessions and empower your student to construct their own study routine – your student will thank you when they get to college!

Mix and match these strategies to see what works best for your student. Ultimately, the goal of these tips is to inculcate simple strategies for proactive learning that will assist with your science classes now and in the future!

Written by: Editorial Team, My Learning Springboard, Inc.

7 Survival Skills for 21st Century Students

October 18, 2020 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

Tony Wagner’s book, The Global Achievement Gap, explains the competencies high school and college graduates need in order to be successful young professionals and global citizens in today’s society. Wagner explains how much of the way we go about traditional schooling is truly obsolete, and he challenges educators to redefine what we mean by a rigorous curriculum and schooling experience. To help students become the “knowledge workers” we need for the 21st century, and to remain competitive as a nation, Wagner outlines these 7 survival skills below, which have been informed by interviews with business leaders and educators across the nation at every level.

So frequently, parents and teachers get caught up in short term education problem solving. Parents and teachers, naturally, become narrowly focused on an upcoming standardized test or the content demands of a particular course or grade level. In fact, we see this happen at every type of school–public, charter, and private. However, if we all take a step back, and spend some time in the helicopter rather than the blender, we can see what really matters. This reflection rarely happens for a teacher working in isolation. In order to effectively assess one’s teaching practice and raise the bar on teaching and learning, educators must work collaboratively and constructively, a model that happens much less frequently than you might imagine, even at the most elite schools.

Since learning is a lifelong journey, our goal as educators must be to help our students meet the demands of today’s world – with consideration for these 7 survival skills – while also helping students to remain engaged, motivated, and curious. Learning should be meaningful and applicable. Two of the most important skills we can help our children master is the ability to research and communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing. At all grade levels, we need to stretch our children’s ability to think critically, synthesize information, and present their findings. When we tutor students at My Learning Springboard, we consider the investment in lifelong skills and use each assignment as an opportunity to develop these competencies. We never lose sight of our role as mentors.

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

7 Survival Skills For 21st Century Students

From Tony Wagner’s website:

CRITICAL THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING

“The idea that a company’s senior leaders have all the answers and can solve problems by themselves has gone completely by the wayside…The person who’s close to the work has to have strong analytic skills. You have to be rigorous: test your assumptions, don’t take things at face value, don’t go in with preconceived ideas that you’re trying to prove.”
—Ellen Kumata, consultant to Fortune 200 companies

COLLABORATION ACROSS NETWORKS AND LEADING BY INFLUENCE

“The biggest problem we have in the company as a whole is finding people capable of exerting leadership across the board…Our mantra is that you lead by influence, rather than authority.”
—Mark Chandler, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Cisco

AGILITY AND ADAPTABILITY

“I’ve been here four years, and we’ve done fundamental reorganization every year because of changes in the business…I can guarantee the job I hire someone to do will change or may not exist in the future, so this is why adaptability and learning skills are more important than technical skills.”
—Clay Parker, President of Chemical Management Division of BOC Edwards

INITIATIVE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

“For our production and crafts staff, the hourly workers, we need self-directed people…who can find creative solutions to some very tough, challenging problems.”
—Mark Maddox, Human Resources Manager at Unilever Foods North America

EFFECTIVE ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

“The biggest skill people are missing is the ability to communicate: both written and oral presentations. It’s a huge problem for us.”
—Annmarie Neal, Vice President for Talent Management at Cisco Systems

ACCESSING AND ANALYZING INFORMATION

“There is so much information available that it is almost too much, and if people aren’t prepared to process the information effectively, it almost freezes them in their steps.”
—Mike Summers, Vice President for Global Talent Management at Dell

CURIOSITY AND IMAGINATION

“Our old idea is that work is defined by employers and that employees have to do whatever the employer wants…but actually, you would like him to come up with an interpretation that you like—he’s adding something personal—a creative element.”
—Michael Jung, Senior Consultant at McKinsey and Company

Key Messages That Support The Learning Process

October 13, 2020 Brad Hoffman Leave a Comment

No matter their students’ location or grade level, there are a number of key messages that educators need to communicate to students in order to help them to be effective learners and to see their teacher(s) as an integral part of supporting them in the learning process. Key messages are the core concepts that a speaker wants their audience (in this case, students) to hear and remember and, most importantly, believe. Effective key messages both resonate in the moment and stay with the listeners long after they first hear the messages.

Maslow’s hierarchy reminds us as educators that students’ needs for safety, belonging, and self-confidence must be addressed in order for them to learn academic material effectively. With these considerations in mind, our key messages for students are based not in scholastic content but in social-emotional principles. These messages help students see that achievements that may feel unreachable to them now will be reachable soon. These messages encourage social-emotional learning transfer by helping students identify and activate positive attributes they already possess, as well as by helping them cultivate new ones. These messages encourage students to take intellectual risks — an essential aspect of being a fully actualized learner — by reassuring them that they have a safety net and that the teacher believes in the student and their ability. These messages help learners build stamina and give them the confidence to persist when learning is challenging — both when the educator is there beside them and when the student is working independently. These messages help students conceptualize their work with their teacher as something that helps them both in the immediate moment and in the long term.

The key messages below should be shared directly with your students as well as embedded implicitly in your communications with them during each interaction. Repeated use makes a critical difference.

My Learning Springboard believes in these key messages for our students:

Our work together is important.
You can do this.
I am here for you and won’t give up on you.
Learning new things can be hard, but remember you’ve done hard things before (remember when you…).
You may not be able to do this YET, but the key word is “yet.”
Effective effort + persistence = success.

Think back to a time when you struggled alone with something as a learner — perhaps when you floundered in isolation, felt misunderstood, or were hesitant to ask for assistance. Imagine how things could have been different if you had been able to work with a teacher who was consistently encouraging and who made it safe to ask for help. How could hearing these key messages have benefited you as you tried to master that concept or skill set? We believe that these messages could have let you know that you were not alone, that someone cared about you and believed in you, that some struggle is an integral part of learning, and that your efforts would be fruitful in the end. With that growth mindset and belief system, you would be more willing to take risks, which, as we note above, is really what learning is all about.

Encouraging messages are always important in education, but we find them to be even more vital in the current moment, when students, parents, and educators are navigating the new landscape of remote learning along with a set of larger uncertainties. For many students right now, learning feels less fun, harder, more abstract, perhaps less relevant to their daily lives. A teacher who works to connect with a student, who expresses confidence in them, and who is unwaveringly there for them helps the student understand that this too shall pass and that in the meanwhile, we are all working to move forward together.

By Laurie Gross, M.A.T. and Learning Specialist, and Brad Hoffman, M.S.Ed. and Learning Specialist

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