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Top 3 PSAT Prep Tips

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Top 3 PSAT Prep Tips

∑ngenius Test Prep

The PSAT is held in October of each year and our students have been hard at work prepping for the test. If you are just getting started, here are a few things to know as well as the top 3 PSAT prep tips.

PSAT Facts

  • The PSAT for most students is used as a practice SAT. Scores on the PSAT do not factor in the college admissions process.
  • The National Merit Scholarship Program uses PSAT scores as one of the factors to determine awards. To participate in this program, 11th graders must take the PSAT.
  • The PSAT is only given in October and is open to 9th, 10th and 11th graders.
  • Over 3 million students take the PSAT each year.

Why Should I Take The PSAT

Since the PSAT has no bearing on college admissions, students are encouraged to test in 9th and 10th grades to understand their academic strengths and weaknesses. Skills like analytical reading, grammar, and math reasoning take time to develop. Taking the PSAT early gives you more time to fix glaring problems.

Top 3 PSAT Prep Tips

  • Tip #1: Know when and how to guess.

Since there is no penalty for selecting the wrong answer, never leave an answer blank. Here are a few rules to optimize your guessing strategy. First, unless you have run out of time, try to use the process of elimination to get rid of at least one answer choice. On most PSAT questions, particularly the most complex questions, there will be one answer choice that looks very obvious. Remember complex and difficult problems do not have simple and obvious answer choices; otherwise, they would not be complex and difficult problems!

Second, for PSAT scoring, there are only correct and incorrect answers. ∑ngenius students are taught there are correct, incorrect, and bad answers. Your score on the PSAT will go up considerably if you approach the test looking for bad answers first, then incorrect answers.  Because there are three wrong answers and only one right answer to each question, looking for the wrong answers first increases your odds of getting the question correct.

Third, when in doubt, guess randomly. Most test prep tutors teach you to select the same answer choice. Math proves them wrong! Check out this link to understand why random guessing is better. If you don’t want to read something that complex, take it from me, guess randomly if you can’t solve any part of the problem.

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  • Tip #2: Pace yourself.

If you are not aiming for a perfect score, then you can slow down a bit and answer the questions you know how to do, and guess randomly on the ones you run out of time for. Here’s why:

The PSAT has four sections (two verbal and two math).  The Reading test is long (47 questions in 60 minutes).  The Writing and Language test is much shorter, but you have to work faster on each problem (44 questions in 35 minutes). The Math – No Calculator section is 17 questions in 25 minutes. Though you have more than a minute per question, you may wish you had twice the amount of time. The Math – Calculator Allowed section is a long one to finish up the day with (31 questions in 45 minutes).

Ok, so you now know how much time on each section, what do you do with that information. First, you need to know how many questions to get correct for the score you want. If this is your first time taking a PSAT, you probably don’t have a goal score.

Here are a few ranges so you can set a goal: the national average for the test is approximately 500 Verbal and 500 Math.  To score 500 per section, you need to answer correctly about half of the questions.  To be in the top 10 to 15 % of all test takers, you need to answer correctly approximately 75% to 80% of all problems.

  • Tip #3: the Math – No Calculator section requires thought.

I know what you are saying, don’t the other sections require thought? Yes, but this section challenges your reasoning ability more than the others, so you need to change your mindset. Here’s how:

  1. These aren’t your math teacher’s math problems! Look beyond what is stated and solve for every unknown. You often need to solve for one or two unknowns to find the missing link. It may be necessary to solve several parts of the problem that aren’t essential. Unfortunately, you won’t know that until it is too late.
  2. If there are only variables in the problem, make up your own numbers and substitute to help you solve the problem. For example, a problem may ask which is greater x and x2. At first, it appears to be x2 but what if you substituted in 0 or  ½ the outcome is different. For these problems, numbers like 0, 1, 2, fractions and negative numbers all work well.
  3. If there are only numbers in the answer choices, use the answer choices to help you solve the problem. This “guess and check” method works great and often gets you the right answer very quickly.

For these and other ACT and SAT test prep tips, contact an ∑ngenius Learning Center near you.  Click the button below for a free 3-day trial!

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Why Handwriting Is Just as Important as Keyboarding

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why handwriting is just as important as keyboardingWhy Handwriting Is Just as Important as Keyboarding

Research has revealed that handwriting is just as important as keyboarding. Yet, handwriting is being dismissed as a nonessential skill as classrooms are gradually shifting to online learning. The reasoning is simple: why teach cursive if everything will be done on a screen? Even though the logic seems simple enough, new research may make you think differently.

Several studies recently have reported how beneficial handwriting, specifically the forming of letters, can help students learn written language. One study identified that typing did not generate the same level of brain activity as writing did. The actual process of writing, no matter how messy, was more beneficial for the student.

In addition to the levels of brain stimulation writing can provide, there is also proof that students who took handwritten notes were more likely to remember the content than students who typed their notes. The process of writing could be considered multi-sensory, and the benefits of multi-sensory learning are well understood and documented.

Teachers have long reported that there is an added yet hidden benefit to handwriting: discipline. Learning any new skill can take time and learning skills that require an extra level of precision and care all, according to some lifelong teachers, is the hidden benefit to learning handwriting.

Though cursive may seem to be outdated, there are a number of benefits that can help your child learn.

 

Read the original article here.

Common Core Is Failing Your Child!

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Common Core is failing your child. Yes, you read that correctly. The Common Core State Standards Initiative, designed to develop college and career ready students, is not working according to 84 percent of college instructors.

A study just released by the ACT (the national testing company who competes with the SAT) reveals that more college professors are finding incoming freshmen not prepared for college-level work. The recent study cited only 16 percent of college instructors felt their students were ready for the rigors of freshmen year.

The move to the Common Core curriculum developed to ensure all students are ready for success after high school. The CC focuses on critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills students will need to be successful. This shift in focus was a significant change in the way curriculum was taught to our K through 12 students.

While the CC may have overhauled the curriculum, it had no ability to dictate what college instructors taught. College professors still assign extensive readings from Shakespeare, Steinbeck, and Hemingway, along with critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. The CC’s focus on alternative skill building is very useful for those looking for immediate entry into the job market but is shortchanging our college-bound kids.

While there are many critics of the Common Core and much debate about repealing it, this current trend in American education won’t be going away soon. If you are fearful that our schools aren’t doing enough to prepare your college-bound child, you do have options.

First, ensure that your child is an analytical reader and writer. Several first-year college courses require extensive reading with writing requirements that far exceed typical 12th grade English classes. Second, in addition to the higher levels, ensure your child can focus for extended periods (a term known as engagement). While reading for 20 minutes may be enough to complete an assignment in high school, college students may need to devote several hours at a time to a single task. This aspect of extended focus is challenging when students have been conditioned to focus for only 10 seconds at a time on their friends latest Snapchat post!

Besides analytical reading and writing, make certain your child possesses the essential study skills to be successful. Don’t wait until high school, however, to work on these skills. Several studies have revealed that college success can accurately be determined in middle school.  Read more about The Forgotten Middle.

Original Common Core article here.

What do you think?  Is Common Core failing our students?

Young and Emerging Readers Need Help!

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Young and Emerging Readers Need Help to Improve!

 


emerging readers need help nowYoung and emerging readers need help to improve and develop their skills. Understanding of letters and sounds and how they work together (called phonemic awareness) is key for reading fluency. For students who are at risk of retention in the early school years, teachers will often suggest an early reading intervention method (ERIM). Though this sounds like a disability, most often young readers have just not developed at the same rate as others. Just like some kids growing later than their friends, some readers take a bit more time to start reading than their classmates. Taking action now is critical for a young reader who is late developing. These students need extra time and help to catch up to avoid further struggle or worse, labeling by teachers and schools.

Here are the steps you should take. First, focus on the alphabetic principle and phonological awareness, followed by fluency with connected text.

As young readers develop, make certain they practice daily the skills they have already mastered as well as teach them new skills. Be careful to not overload them as they start to improve. The young mind can change just as quickly as their mood. Make reading fun and without stress for the best chance to help them improve.

 

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