Writing Archives

Is Speed Reading Good Reading?

March 20, 2019 Brad Hoffman

Last week, a new speed-reading app was announced by Spritz, a technology developer. The company claims that:

“Reading is inherently time consuming because your eyes have to move from word to word and line to line. Traditional reading also consumes huge amounts of physical space on a page or screen, which limits reading effectiveness on small displays…Now, with compact text streaming from Spritz, content can be streamed one word at a time, without forcing your eyes to spend time moving around the page… Our “Redicle” technology enhances readability even more by using horizontal lines and hash marks to direct your eyes to the red letter in each word, so you can focus on the content that interests you.”

When the app was announced, Internet commenters immediately weighed in, mostly with positive feedback. However, is this app–and speed reading in general–a good thing for reading? According to a recent article in The Atlantic, this is not the first time that speed reading has promised to revolutionize reading and reading comprehension. “In the 1950s, a schoolteacher named Evelyn Nielsen Wood discovered that she could read at a much faster pace than the normal 250-300 words per minute by sweeping a finger along the page as she read, reading entire groups of words at a time, and by avoiding sub-vocalization, or saying each word mentally. These techniques helped Wood reach 2,700 read words per minute, she claimed, and it was these principles she espoused in Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics, her speed-reading business. By the 90s, though, the speed-reading craze slumped again. Perhaps because its students found the method to be harder than it sounded, or perhaps because those early Clinton years were simply a more relaxed time.”

People do speed read on their own to a certain extent, by skimming an entire text or reading key sections to pack in the most information in a short amount of time. However, according to The Atlantic, “a 2009 study found that skimmers did not remember very many details, nor could they make inferences from the text.” Most research points to a correlation between reading quickly and a lack of comprehension: that is, as reading speeds up, comprehension goes down.

The fact is, when we allow our brains to process the words individually, we are able to understand the text more fully and be able to speak to various layers within the text. Ultimately, what is important to reading comprehension–and quicker reading–is practice. According to Michael Masson, a psychologist at the University of Victoria, “what differentiates fast and slow readers is not how they read, he points out, but their overall language skills and vocabularies…Beginning readers can expect to read faster as they gain more practice, but eventually we each reach some upper limit. The simple answer, then, is ‘read more.’”

Here are some ways My Learning Springboard thinks about reading:

What Does College Writing Readiness Look Like?

January 31, 2019 Brad Hoffman

When people talk about college writing readiness, they usually characterize the main difference between high school and college writing by saying that college writing is heavily based in analysis. But too often, the conversation proceeds without defining a key term. What does “analysis” mean in this context? And how can parents and tutors help high school writers build analytical skills for college writing readiness?

When I consider the sort of analytical writing that happens in college classrooms, I am reminded of the definition offered by David Rosenwasser and Jill Stephen in the first chapter of their book Writing Analytically. “To analyze something is to ask what that something means,” they write. “It is to ask how something does what it does or why it is as it is. Analysis is, then, a form of detective work that pursues something puzzling, something you are seeking to understand rather than something you believe you already have the answers to.” While high school teachers spend a great deal of time teaching critical thinking and analysis techniques, high school writers tend to deploy those skills by performing the acts of analysis and writing as separate steps — by figuring out and planning all of their ideas, then recording them. High school writers would likely be surprised, and perhaps intimidated, by the notion of “thinking on the page” in this way. Accordingly, a key aspect of facilitating college writing readiness is helping students become comfortable with this concept, and comfortable trying new writing and learning approaches overall.

Parents and tutors can help their high schoolers develop a number of writing techniques that make it easier to engage in college-level analytical writing. For instance, they can introduce brief, low-pressure exercises that make it easy to perform thinking on the page, to generate material that can become part of a more formal composition, and to conceptualize the writing process as a series of small, manageable steps. They can strengthen high school writers’ executive functioning skills by showing them how to set — and meet — deadlines for each distinct step of a writing project. They can help high school writers identify sources of support at their institution, such as writing centers. They can help to remediate weaknesses in reading that inhibit students from fully understanding and engaging with the texts they write about. They can find exemplar essays and help writers examine and learn from them. They can help writers move from perceiving revision as a one-time activity to perceiving it as a process of rethinking and rethinking again, of crafting several drafts, of revisiting a piece of writing and re-engaging with its ideas and its object of analysis until the writer feels that they are saying what they truly want to say.

These techniques pay off beyond the matter of college writing readiness; they help with college readiness overall. Students can employ low-pressure writing exercises to reflect on course readings and to prepare for class discussions, for example, and they can use their strengthened reading skills to navigate challenging technical documents. Stronger planning and time management skills are helpful in countless situations.

More importantly, these approaches bring about shifts in thinking that prepare them for the challenges of adult life. Dividing big tasks into manageable pieces prepares students for a range of professional situations. Visiting a writing center or a peer tutor helps a student realize that asking for help is a sign of initiative, not weakness, and that they don’t have to struggle alone. Moving from a rigid revision process into a more recursive and rewarding one teaches writers the importance of flexibility and perseverance. After all, in life, it often takes us more than two tries to get something right. It is not lost on me that when it comes to the Common Application personal statement — often the highest-stakes essay that they have composed up to that point in their lives — high school writers generally go through six to twelve drafts before the piece is ready to share with colleges.

“Analysis is, then, more than just a set of skills: it is a frame of mind, an attitude toward experience,” Graff and Birkenstein conclude. By helping high school writers cultivate both this set of skills and this attitude, parents and tutors are helping them not only to develop college writing readiness but to prepare for the world beyond.

By Elizabeth Walters, Private Tutor and Writing Coach

Engaging Young Writers

January 12, 2019 Brad Hoffman

Engaging young writers can be a formidable challenge for any parent or teacher. In thinking about how to motivate students, it is helpful to step back from our preconceived notions about academic writing and lean into thinking about our own adult writing lives.

Can you remember the last time you sat down and wrote a five-paragraph essay? Perhaps you spent a few minutes crafting your thesis and three supporting details and then moved on to mapping out your writing on a graphic organizer before sitting down to type?

For most of us, thinking back to our last experience cycling through the writing process transports us immediately back to sixth grade English class, nervously mapping out three strong reasons that supported your mother as your hero. This form of writing was born, bred, and remains firmly in our middle and high school experiences. The writing process we shepherded through as students—the meticulous, often redundant planning, the stagnated, structured paragraphs, and the clever closing— is far removed from our current, everyday writing experiences. Engaging young writers requires a step back from our preconceived notions of academic writing and a step towards thinking about writing in the world.

In our day to day, writing takes on a more organic, natural feel. We write to-do lists for the week, notes to our children’s teachers, emails to colleagues, and thank you notes to friends. We put pen to paper when the tasks are relevant to our lives and personally motivating. Our everyday writing is task oriented— a means to an end. When we do sit down and write for pleasure, it is often a project of passion. We write because we are moved by an experience, whether it was a delicious meal to review on Yelp or an amazing trip to recount on a blog.

Our professional writing tasks are the ones that often require the most planning, thinking, and following of a firm structure. They are the writing pieces most closely aligned to the ideal middle school essay. And not surprisingly, for most of us, we go through the process of completing these tasks with the same lack of joy we experienced when crafting our introduction on George Washington as an 11 year old.

As we reflect back on our academic writing experience, it should be of little surprise that our students are often reluctant to engage in the writing process. School writing often sets students up to only think about writing through the lens of five perfect, thesis-supporting paragraphs. It is no wonder so many of our students are uninspired and unmotivated to engage with the written word.

But, like any other craft, when it comes to developing stronger writing skills and, ultimately engaging young writers, practice is key. The strongest, most confident writers are those that write often. With increased time on task, young writers develop the courage to play around with new vocabulary and varied sentence structure. They develop writing self awareness and identify what topics, formats, and ideas inspire them to write. They begin to self monitor, editing and revising as they write instead of as prepublication chore. The more students write, the stronger they become at writing.

So, how does one inspire their student to write? The key to engaging young writers is finding what motivates them and giving them choices and ideas for how writers operate outside the parameters of a five paragraph essay.

Here are some ideas to engage your student in writing:

Set up an email account: There is something incredibly joyous about sending and receiving letters. Setting up an email account establishes a natural tool for writing. Instead of calling grandma to tell her about a playdate, your student can send a written account of the adventure.
Start a bullet journal: If you have not yet googled bullet journalling, you are in for a real treat. Invented by a designer and sensationalized by Instagram, bullet journaling is a recent phenomenon that is part sketchbook and part planner. “Bujo” enthusiasts track, organize, and memorialize their day-to-day life using every medium— from patterned washi tape to neon highlighters. Start exploring #bujoinspiration with your young writer and head to the craft store to stock up on supplies. They will be hooked and writing daily in no time!
Write a graphic novel: While the inexperienced reader may shrug graphic novels off as comics, the astute consumer knows that they are filled with incredible dialogue, sophisticated vocabulary, and nuanced plot lines. If your student can not pull their head out of their favorite graphic novel, it may be high time they write their own! Pick out a printable comic frame online and your young writer is just a few pen strokes away from creating a new character or illustrating their summer vacation.

Writing does not have to be a stressful experience. Engaging young writers can be a meaningful and rewarding task!

For help supporting your writer, contact us about private tutoring.

By Marisa Krohn, Learning Specialist

Understanding ACT Scores

January 7, 2019 Brad Hoffman

“So what did you get on the ACT?” As soon as two weeks have passed since your child’s test date, they will start logging onto the website several times a day, reloading and reloading, until the answer to that question finally appears: a single two-digit number. Students are often so focused on that number, and the handful of subscores below it, that they overlook a statement that appears in small print above their score: “ACT will notify you by email when your score report is ready.” Unfortunately, many students and parents never look at the full score report and, therefore, don’t fully understand ACT scores. It’s really a missed opportunity because fully understanding ACT scores helps students and families make informed decisions about their next steps.

Sample Score Report

For ease of reading this article, we recommend downloading a sample ACT score report.

Composite Scores

Upon opening the report, you’ll notice a two-digit number, labeled “composite,” on the upper lefthand corner of the first page. ACT intentionally places this number in the first place our eyes would look — the composite is seen as both the first and the last word on how well the student performed. This number is the reason your child kept refreshing their phone’s web browser. This number is what colleges use to discuss the ACT scores of the students they admit. For instance, the middle 50 percent of students starting at the University of Michigan this fall scored 31 to 34, and the middle range starting at Fordham scored 28 to 32. Calculated on a scale from 1 to 36, the composite is the average of your child’s performance on the multiple choice sections of the test. (For reference, the national average ACT composite is about 21.)

STEM and ELA Scores

The next step in understanding ACT scores is to look at the numbers extending to the right of the composite, all of which are scored on the same 36-point scale as the composite. First are the scores for the Math and Science sections, followed by a STEM subscore that represents the average of those two numbers. Next come the scores for the English (proofreading) and Reading sections. If your child took the essay section — which is officially optional but highly recommended — the next score in the line will be labeled “Writing”. Writing is scored differently, on a scale of 1 to 12. But the ACT uses a formula to incorporate the Writing score along with the English and Reading scores into the last score in the column, a subscore labeled ELA for English Language Arts. A graph that extends below each of the scores gives a visual representation of the tester’s score on the 36-point scale, as well as that number’s distance above or below the score that ACT considers a demonstration of college readiness in that subject area.

It is worth noting that the STEM and ELA subscores are arguably of limited utility. First, they don’t match the way that students conceptualize the test, as four or five distinct sections. Second, the STEM subscore is complicated in that the Science section does not rely on scientific content knowledge — instead, it behaves like a critical reading section about scientific topics that incorporates charts and graphic representations. However, the two graphs below the section scores and subscores graph are definitely useful in understanding ACT scores. The left graph measures the tester’s performance on each section relative to other ACT testers in the state, and the right graph measures performance relative to all ACT testers in the nation. Instead of the 36-point scale, these graphs are scaled as percentiles, a measurement many students and parents find easier to understand.

Detailed Results

The percentiles allow testers and parents to conceptualize the strength of the tester’s performance, and the bottom of the page, labeled “Detailed Results,” offers a path forward for improvement. For each multiple choice section, the report lists a few major categories of skills. Next to each category is the raw number of questions answered correctly out of the total number of questions in that skill, plus the score translated into a percentage. Above the bar that serves as a visual representation of the percentage is a marker for what ACT calls the “Readiness Range,” the percentage correct that testers would need to earn in order to meet the test’s standards of college readiness. Categories that have reached college readiness will have a checkmark next to them.

So how does your child know whether to test again? Use your newfound skills with understanding ACT scores to decide, starting with the composite. Has it fallen comfortably into the range for their target colleges? Conversely, should they adjust their college list to more comfortably fit their composite? What about the section scores — are any of them lower than you’d like? If your child decides to test again — and many students end up testing two to three times (score choice or super scoring may also apply to your child’s college list) — the “Detailed Results” page lets them know which skills need the most development. A skillful tutor can help your child identify the most useful practice materials and help them find strategies to let their skills shine.

College and Career Planning

Standardized tests are an important element of the college application process, and students should spend ample time preparing for them; as a parent, though, you want to make sure that your child is not feeling unduly anxious or concerned about their scores. One section of the ACT score report that might inadvertently cause stress is the section labeled “College and Career Planning,” which draws inferences about their future careers based on the tester’s results. While this section is well-intentioned, we contend that the ACT simply does not cover a broad enough range of material or skills to predict, for instance, whether a high-school junior could eventually become a good engineer. Your child is very much at the beginning of their college and career journey, and their future holds all sorts of possibilities. Ideally, the feeling that their test results will bring is one of pride and empowerment.

To learn more about understanding SAT Scores, click here.

Please contact our office to discuss your child’s test preparation and college planning needs.

By Elizabeth Walters, Private Tutor and Writing Coach, and Brad Hoffman, M.S.Ed. and College Counselor

Understanding SAT Scores

November 27, 2018 Brad Hoffman

Your child has spent months studying. A few weeks ago, they took the SAT. This morning, they woke up to an email saying their scores were ready to view. They log on to the portal and finds one number in large print — and lots of little numbers. While the test is known for that single large number, fully understanding SAT scores and how to read the reports will help you and your child figure out the next steps in their college application process.

Sample Score Report

For ease of reading this article, we recommend downloading a sample SAT score report.

Your Total Score

As readers do with a newspaper, students reading their SAT score report should start with the biggest headline — their total score, the number listed in large print. Considered the “bottom line” evaluation of the student’s performance, it can range from 400 to 1600. The next thing to read, immediately below the total score, are the scores for Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (most people call it the “English” score). These scores range from 200 to 800, and together, they make up the composite. It’s important for students to know their total, English, and Math scores because these are the scores that college admissions offices publish for their admitted classes. For instance, Columbia University’s website reveals that the middle 50 percent of students admitted to the class of 2025 earned between 1510 and 1560 for their total score.

Section Scores

The total, English, and Math scores also are the numbers that members of the general public are likely to use in terms of understanding SAT scores — in other words, they’re the scores that allow testers to talk with regular people about their SAT performance. The thirty-year-old alumnus who interviews your child for their dream college might not know what the subscores mean, but they’ll know what they’re talking about when they discuss the total, Math, and English scores. Another set of numbers that put a student’s performance in real-world perspective appears beneath each of these big scores. On a scale of 100, these numbers reveal the percentile where the score falls among what the College Board (the company that publishes the SAT) defines as “typical U.S. students,” along with the percentile where the score falls among typical SAT testers. Because not all U.S. students plan to pursue higher education but SAT testers do, the SAT tester percentile is the more useful in terms of understanding how a tester’s scores compare with the scores of their college-bound peers.

Essay, Cross-Test Scores, and Subscores:

Beyond the main scores and the contextual percentiles, other numbers helpful for understanding SAT scores and score reports are the Essay (if the student took essay section, which we strongly recommend while it’s available through June 2021), Math, Reading, and Writing and Language test scores. These range from 10 to 40 and correlate with a helpful free resource, the Skills Insight for the SAT guide. This booklet breaks down these scores by ranges (for example, Reading Score Range 20-24) and makes recommendations for what students in each range should do to improve. It’s a set of study objectives that students can approach on their own, with their parents, or with a tutor. The subscores on the bottom of the page are also helpful in determining what to study. You can use the College Board website to see which skills fall under which subscore.

A word of advice: don’t get bogged down worrying about the exact formulas for these scores. Yes, it’s confusing to have a scaled score from 200 to 800 that correlates with a test score from 10 to 20 that correlates with your performance on a Reading section with 52 questions. But more important for understanding SAT scores is knowing what a given score means. Read the right way, the numbers on a SAT score report show where a student is and where they need to go to build the skills that will serve them in college.

To learn more about understanding ACT Scores, click here.

Please contact our office to discuss your child’s test preparation and college planning needs.

By Elizabeth Walters, Private Tutor and Writing Coach, and Brad Hoffman, M.S.Ed. and College Counselor

Is Speed Reading Good Reading?

What Does College Writing Readiness Look Like?

Engaging Young Writers

Understanding ACT Scores

Sample Score Report

Composite Scores

STEM and ELA Scores

Detailed Results

College and Career Planning

Understanding SAT Scores

Sample Score Report

Your Total Score

Section Scores

Essay, Cross-Test Scores, and Subscores:

Company Overview

School Planning

Private Tutoring

Test Preparation