One-on-one SAT tutoring for high scoring students

What high scorers on the SAT do differently

High scorers, whether by accident or because someone taught them, usually study very differently than those who don't reach high scores.  Over the years, this has become very apparent to me.

High scorers track and review their mistakes.  They don't just look up the correct answer to a question they missed, sigh to themselves, and move on.  They keep track of all the questions they missed, and figure out why they missed it (they don't just call everything a silly/careless mistake).  Then they retry the question, without notes or any help, until they can solve it all the way through correctly.  They do this for all the questions they missed on practice tests.  They also spend extra time on their weaknesses, not their strengths.  It can feel much better to spend lots of time on questions that you already understand, but the way to improve is to push through the discomfort and spend time on the questions that are a bit out of reach at the moment.

High scorers use the best practice material.  Finding the best practice material is not always easy - some of the biggest brand names in test prep put out the most mediocre products. When I (Vince) wrote questions for Barron's, for instance, I had almost no oversight and an editor that didn't have the experience to know whether my work captured the nuances of the real test.

The best practice tests will always be official material: QAS (the SAT's Question and Answer Service). Since the SAT releases copies of the tests it administers in March, May, and October, we want to find these tests and use them for practice - they're the most recent and most accurate material on the planet. Reddit is a good place to look for these (and of course, we have them all for use with our students). QAS tests also make the best assessments for figuring out where someone's strengths and weaknesses are.

The best practice materials are harder to find for the layman.  It can take a lot of background knowledge and hours of research.  Luckily, we have experts who have done that for you!

SAT Reading: The Critical Reader by Erica Meltzer. For ambitious students only! 

SAT Writing & Language: The Ultimate Guide to SAT Grammar by Erica Meltzer.

SAT Math for students who are strong with concepts and are ready to practice: Mathchops.

SAT Math for students who need work on the concepts: SAT Math Manual and Workbook by Dr. Eli Sharma. 

High scorers study consistently, according to a schedule.  They don't cram at the last minute and hope for the best.  They know that spreading their studying out into manageably daily chunks will always get them the best improvement per hour of study.

High scorers follow a plan, but will update that plan as the situation changes.  This can be tough to do, but it is important to get a good plan and make changes that fit your needs.  At one end you have the one-size-fits-all plan that will kinda work for everyone but not work that well for anyone.  At the other end you have students with no plan at all.  High scorers find a plan that looks good for them, start using it, but update it every week or so to make sure they reshape the plan to serve them best, not reshape themselves to serve the plan.

High scorers work on getting good before they worry about getting fast.  They will first practice untimed until they have the skills down, then will work on getting faster.  Getting fast but staying inaccurate gets them nowhere.

The last thing high scorers tend to do differently than others is that they prepare themselves for the stress of test day.  They take practice tests timed, at a school or library.  They might even take proctored tests.  They are aware of how they talk to themselves and avoid a negative inner monologue.  They stay focused on answering the questions on the test, and not on comparing how well or poorly they are doing to how well they imagine everyone around them is doing.

As always, the most important question for you to ask is this:

"Who, exactly, will be the person teaching my kid?"

One-on-one SAT tutoring, with us, is completely customized to your learning style, personality, and needs. We have extensive experience working with students with learning disabilities.

Talking through the nuances of SAT practice questions not only allows us to explain, in detail, the strategies that work, but that conversation also allows us to see what a student is thinking, ask the right questions to test understanding, and adjust our instruction minute-by-minute.

"What are the benefits of private SAT tutoring?"

• Instruction tailored to your child's learning style, motivation level, and personality
• The opportunity to talk through the nuances of questions with someone with several years of experience with the test
• Homework adjusted to your specific needs
• Accountability and encouragement :)

Private SAT tutoring is simply the most effective and efficient way to raise scores.

Look for each tutor's location and pricing in their bio.