ACT & SAT Math: Show What You Know

Math word problems: do you love them or hate them? 

Chances are you hate them. Most students struggle with math problems that contain more words than numbers. Translating sentences into equations is not always the easiest thing to do.  

Despite the challenge, there is no way around word problems. Most of the math questions on the SAT and ACT deal with more words than numbers. Remember, the SAT and ACT are tests designed primarily to test your reading ability, not your math skills. 

So how do you tackle word problems? How do you sift through the cornucopia of words to drill down to the important math equation? 

The answer is quite simple: use your pencil to draw and show what you know. Often by drawing the information you know, you can create an easy shortcut to the correct answer. 

For example, let's say you are given the following question (taken directly from the College Board website): 

A special lottery is to be held to select the student who will live in the only deluxe room in a dormitory. There are 100 seniors, 150 juniors, and 200 sophomores who applied. Each senior's name is placed in the lottery 3 times; each junior's name, 2 times; and each sophomore's name, 1 time. What is the probability that a senior's name will be chosen?

A) 1/8

B) 2/9

C) 2/7

D) 3/8

E) 1/2

So many words here! But don't freak out. Take it slow and start with your pencil: 

Draw one block to represent 100 seniors, another block to represent 150 juniors and one more block to represent 200 sophomores. Now, you also know that the senior's names are placed in the lottery 3 times. So draw two more blocks next to the senior's block, each identical to the block representing 100 names. Draw two blocks for the juniors, each representing 150 names. Finally, sophomores don't need an extra block. 

Once you have your drawing, now comes the easy part. Probability, you might recall, is nothing more than a fraction. The numerator is the number of desired outcomes and the denominator is the number of total outcomes. By using your blocks, you can see that the total desired outcomes (senior's names) is 3 blocks of 100, or 300. The total outcomes is all of the blocks added together: (3 x 100) + (2 x 150) + 200 = 800. In other words, the probability is 300/800 or 3/8. The correct answer is D. 

Even though this is a hard question according to the College Board, it becomes quite easy when you draw things out. 

When you are faced with math problems that seem to have no solution, start drawing! Getting your pencil to paper will help you organize what you know and guide you towards finding out what you don't know. 

Learn more test prep tips by contacting CROSSWALK, the Monterey Peninsula's resource for test prep and tutoring. Also, read 2400 SCORES: 24 Life Lessons to Demystify the SAT and Boost Your Score by Brooke Higgins for SAT-specific tips. 

Why You Don't Need an SAT Tutor

How important is an SAT tutor? Is it necessary to hire someone to get a student prepared for test day?

Truth be told, you don't need to hire an SAT tutor. There is a lot you can do by yourself. Even better, the DIY method is easier than ever with free SAT prep available from Khan Academy.

I've long been a proponent of the free resources available at Khan Academy, but after digging through the free SAT materials that are available on their site, I am more convinced that all students can do their own SAT prep.

The latest resources are boosted by a partnership with the College Board, the makers of the SAT. Perhaps the most useful tool is the full-length SAT practice test available to download. Also helpful are the numerous tutorial videos for math, reading and writing.

Per the video of Khan Academy founder Sal Khan and College Board CEO David Coleman, this free resource exists to disprove the theory that SAT preparation requires expensive courses and tutors. Performing well on the test requires diligence, attention to detail and practice. With the resources from Khan, anyone can do that, not just those families that can afford private tutoring.

Now, just in case a student needs to navigate these materials with a seasoned professional, a good tutor can certainly offer great assistance. Tutors, while not totally necessary, can offer tremendous support and guided practice. A tutor can inspire, motivate and point students in the right direction.

If you need a tutor, whether you live on the Monterey Peninsula or can Skype from anywhere, CROSSWALK should be your first stop.

But if the DIY approach is more your speed, check out Khan Academy and don't forget to read 2400 SCORES: 24 Life Lessons to Demystify the SAT and Boost Your Score.

If ACT and SAT Scores Were GPAs

One of the first activities I like to do with my ACT and SAT students is to begin with the end in mind. In other words, before we do any test prep, we research the SAT and ACT scores for the schools the student is considering. Armed with the knowledge of what score a student needs, the real preparation begins.

Understanding what score you need on the ACT and SAT is the most important step in your preparation. Once you know the score you need, you can figure out how many questions you need to answer correctly and how many you can get wrong, skip or guess (note: even if you skip questions on the ACT, be sure to get an answer in the bubbles as there is no punishment for wrong answers).

This activity really demystifies things for students. Most students quickly learn that they don't need a perfect score on the test to get into the school of their choice. In fact, the score many students need is actually quite achievable.

Take Trevor for example. Trevor is interested in attending the University of Puget Sound. In our first session, we got onto the school's website and found out that most students that get accepted by the university score an 1800 or so on the SAT and a 27 on the ACT.

What boggled Trevor's mind is what the score would mean in terms of a GPA. An 1800 on the SAT expressed as a percentage would mean a 75% (1800/2400). Scoring a 27 on the ACT, when expressed as a percentage, means Trevor would also need a 75% (27/36) to get into the school of his choice.

In other words, Trevor needs to get a C on both tests. That's right, a C! Trevor is a normally a B+/A- student. When we went through the simple exercise of expressing his goal test score in terms of a percentage or in terms of a GPA, a big smile crossed his face.

"You don't need an A on this test," I told him. "You just need a C!"

This little nugget made the test preparation experience more enjoyable for Trevor. It was our first chance to get his attitude in the right mindset to let his aptitude shine.


No stress for Trevor. Just a clear direction and a focused approach to accomplish an achievable goal.

Try it for yourself: if the ACT or SAT were scored like your GPA, what would you need to get? A C average? B average? Something totally doable? I would like to think so.

Learn more SAT test preparation tips by reading 2400 SCORES: 24 Life Lessons to Demystify the SAT and Boost Your Score. Contact CROSSWALK here for personal test preparation on the Monterey Peninsula or for Skype sessions on your time and schedule.

How to Keep Up with CROSSWALK

October is already here? Unbelievable! The school year is already moving too fast. 

Good thing it is easy to keep up with CROSSWALK. No matter how fast the school year is going, we make it pretty simple to find out the latest and greatest in the world of tutoring and test prep on the Monterey Peninsula.

The easiest way to keep up with CROSSWALK is to follow our blog. Visit the CROSSWALK website homepage and on the right hand side of the screen you will see a "SUBSCRIBE" button. Input your email and all of our biweekly blog posts will be delivered directly to your inbox.

You can also keep up with CROSSWALK by liking our Facebook page. Blog posts, interesting educational articles and other content is posted there regularly. 

But wait, there's more! You can follow me personally on Twitter @brookewhiggins or post a review of CROSSWALK on our Yelp page. In fact, the first one to post a review on Yelp can qualify to win a free CROSSWALK t-shirt. How is that for incentive! 

And when in doubt, contact CROSSWALK via our contact page right here. 

Yes, things are moving fast but we can keep you up to speed when you subscribe to our blog, like us on Facebook or otherwise keep in touch. 

Remember, CROSSWALK is the Monterey Peninsula's local resource for ACT/SAT Boot Camps, test prep and tutoring. 

Read 2400 SCORES: 24 Life Lessons to Demystify the SAT and Boost Your Score right here. 

FREE and FAST Prep for the ACT

With the ACT just around the corner, some students are in stress mode. How can you prepare for the test with only a week to go? What can you do on the cheap? 

The bad news is that test prep takes some time. If you really want to move your score, you need to put in several weeks if not months. Test-taking is like any skill: the more time you have to practice, the better you can get. 

However, not everyone has the benefit of time. Especially those that will take the test in about a week. Further, not everyone can afford to hire a private tutor. 

So what can you do? 

First, don't stress. Stress out and watch your score plummet. Stress is your number one enemy. So take a deep breath and get into the mindset that test day is a fun challenge. Tests are just puzzles to solve, riddles to figure out or games to play. 

Now that you have the right mindset, download the free "Preparing for the ACT" right here. This is a free study guide that includes a full length practice test. 

Use this guide and do the following: 

• Read everything cover to cover
• Read the directions for each section so that you don't have to waste time on test day doing the same
• Try some of the practice questions
• Make note of how much time you have per section and how much time you have per question

All told, this should take about two or three hours. Doing more than that with a week left before the test will only stress you out. (Bad idea because remember, stress is the enemy.)

Reviewing the free study guide with only a week before a test is not the ideal plan, but it can help a lot. Again, the ideal scenario is when you have lots of time to prepare. Nevertheless, you can gain a good understanding of test strategy and content by reviewing the "Preparing for the ACT" study guide. It's fast, and more importantly, FREE! 

Learn more ACT and SAT study tips by contacting CROSSWALK, the Monterey Peninsula's local resource for private tutoring, test prep and SAT/ACT Boot Camps. 

Read "2400 SCORES: 24 Life Lessons to Demystify the SAT and Boost Your Score" by Brooke Higgins right here. 

How Long Do You Prep for ACT and SAT?

The next ACT test is scheduled for September 13th. Undoubtedly, I will field a call from a parent or student looking for test prep help on September 10th. 

Same goes for the SAT. With the next test scheduled for October 11th, someone will frantically call me October 8th trying to schedule some test prep. 

Here is how the calls usually go: 

Parent: Can we schedule some tutoring before Saturday's test?

Me: We can definitely schedule some tutoring, but I doubt that it will do much good. 

Parent: What do you mean?

Me: Test-taking is a skill that takes time. It is hard to learn a new skill overnight.

Parent: Oh (awkward pause follows) 

The moral of the story is that learning to improve your SAT or ACT score is like learning a new skill. Standardized test-taking is not a skill frequently practiced in schools. Most tests in school require you to memorize content and spit it out the next day. But the SAT is not a content-based test. Even the ACT relies less on content memorization and more on problem-solving. 

And since you don't frequently practice the skills to manage contextual problem-solving in school, you must put in the requisite practice time in order to get better. 

All told, getting better at the ACT and SAT takes time. Lots of time. You can't do it in one week and you probably can't even do it in one month. 

The CROSSWALK students that move their scores the most work on it for months at a time. Ideally, you have all of junior year to hone your craft. Spending a year to learn a new skill should be a realistic goal. 

So avoid the frantic call days before the test. Put together a study plan that covers at least three months. Even better, plan on prepping for a whole year. 

This doesn't mean you need to meet with a tutor for a whole year. There are plenty of things you can do on your own. 

But the most important thing is to schedule the time. When time is on your side, you can vastly improve your score. 

Learn more SAT and ACT study tips by contacting Brooke Higgins and CROSSWALK, the Monterey Peninsula's local resource for test prep and academic tutoring. Brooke Higgins is the founder and lead instructor at CROSSWALK as well as the author of 2400 SCORES: 24 Life Lessons to Demystify the SAT and Boost Your Score.  

Good & Bad News About SAT Smartphone Vocabulary Apps

Lamentably, flashcards are now passé.

Call me old-school, but in my day I spent a lot of time writing vocabulary words on one side of an index card and their definitions on the other side. I would tote around stacks of cards to class, the library and home. 

Nowadays, it is all about using your smartphone to study. And why not? Smartphones are portable, easy to use, and fun. A good smartphone app for learning SAT vocabulary can mean no more lugging around flashcards all over the place.

The good news is that there are many very useful SAT Vocabulary apps, some of which are free. The bad news is that few of them mirror the context vs. content approach crucial to the SAT. 

First the good news: with so many useful apps available for both iPhones and Androids, students have many portable vocabulary-building options. While I have explored several, including SAT Vocabulary by Du Nguyen and Virtual SAT Tutor by Ivy Standard, my favorite is SAT Vocabulary by Magoosh. 

Magoosh offers several test prep applications that all share the same clean layout and easy-to-use interface. The SAT Vocabulary app offers different levels of study: Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. Each level cycles through a series of words that you define by multiple choice. If you get a word wrong, or don't know it, the words will cycle back several times until you master the definition through repetition. Most importantly, you can track your progress. 

Despite the multitude of smartphone apps, there is bad news: none of the apps I researched provide vocabulary questions in context like those found on the SAT. The Sentence Completion questions on the SAT don't simply task students with defining a word or uncovering the definition via multiple choice. Instead, they are presented with a sentence that has a blank or two blanks. Based on the information in the sentence, students must figure out the missing vocabulary words(s). 

Since none of the apps I found offer this style of questioning, something is definitely missing. Even Magoosh, which ultimately provides the vocabulary words in a sentence, does not display this contextual information until after you answer the question. 

All in all, there is good news for SAT preparation on the go: many apps will help build vocabulary. The bad news is that few capture the context-based questions that students need to practice for the test. 

If you know of any helpful apps, particularly ones that leverage the context-based approach, by all means contact me and let me know or simply post a comment to this blog. 

For more SAT tips, read 2400 SCORES by Brooke Higgins available at Amazon. Contact Brooke Higgins and CROSSWALK to schedule your private tutoring or Boot Camp for SAT, ACT and more.