My Approach
I use a mix of official practice tests, test prep workbooks and my own review guides.
Tutoring typically begins with an overview of the content that students need to know for the test, before diving in to practice tests and topic-based assignments targeting areas needing the most review.
Materials
My materials include:
​
-
16 official Digital SAT practice tests
-
Additional third party Digital SAT practice tests + SAT Suite Question Bank
-
22 official paper SAT practice tests (the old version - can be used for Math practice)
-
30 official ACT practice tests
-
Additional third party ACT practice tests
-
Test prep workbook chapters on each topic. We assign these chapters for HW
-
Review Guides for Math and English that I created myself
-
Math equation study sheets
-
Lists of vocabulary words to know
Diagnostic Test
Before tutoring begins, each student will take a diagnostic practice test to establish their baseline score. This can also be an opportunity to choose between SAT v ACT for students still undecided.
Tutoring Schedule
Tutoring is then broken up into 2 stages:
Content Overview
We typically spend the first 3-4 weeks going through my Review Guides for Math and English, since these sections have the most content to study for. The Review Guides outline each important math or grammar concept, with practice questions that we do together in session. I assign topic-based HW chapters from test prep workbooks to reinforce the concepts we are learning.
Practice Tests & Targeted Topic Review
Once we complete the Review Guides, we will move on to working on official practice tests. Depending on the student’s schedule and availability for HW, we will review half a practice test or a full practice test per week. Taking the test is truly the best way to practice for it! During this phase, we will talk about test-taking tips and strategies. I will continue to assign the topic-based HW chapters until we have completed all topics that the student needs to know.
Practice Tests: Timed or Untimed?
Most weeks, practice tests don’t need to be completed all in one sitting. They can be split up, taking each section on a different day or time. Often, students will take each section timed, but sometimes we may experiment with taking practice tests untimed so as to have an opportunity to think through each question, before going back to timed.
A couple times throughout tutoring, students will take a full timed practice test. We make sure to do this in the middle of the program and at the end.
Homework Commitment
Test prep tutoring requires a HW time commitment, and students will get out what they put in to studying. We create a HW plan together that fits with each student’s schedule. Typically, at least 2 hours of HW per week is required, and the time commitment can be up to 5 hours for students doing intensive weekly practice tests (such as during the summer).
Online Learning
Online sessions are held over Zoom. I provide each student with their own Google Drive folder, containing all the practice tests and materials they will need. I use Kami, a virtual whiteboard, to annotate PDFs with a stylus pen during our sessions. The notes are saved directly onto the PDFs in their Google Drive folder and can be accessed at any time.