Perfect Rebuttals for the Objectionable Reader

My students and followers of this blog hear me repeat all the time that standardized tests are simply reading tests. Don't get confused by grammar, science or math sections of the test. Since each section of the test requires excellent reading comprehension skills, the test is essentially a reading test. 

And as my students know, one way to get better at a reading test is more reading. 

Nevertheless, sometimes simply explaining the connection between reading and test scores is not enough to motivate a student to read. Objectionable readers come up with excuses to avoid reading. 

Luckily most excuses to avoid reading are predictable. They typically fall into three categories: lack of interest, lack of knowledge and lack of time. 

Just like a salesperson prepares rebuttals for objectionable customers, here are three rebuttals for the most common reading excuses. 

Excuse: Reading is boring. 

Rebuttal: Reading is only boring when the material is boring. Find something interesting to read and reading will be interesting. The beauty of reading is that if you are not interested in the story or book, you can put it down and find another one. Pick books, stories or magazines that are interesting to you. Don't judge all reading by one book. If you are curious about something, find a book about it! 

Excuse: I don't know what to read.

Rebuttal: There are many ways to find out what you can read. Ask a friend. Ask a teacher. Ask a librarian. And per the previous rebuttal, read what is interesting. You can even read things in different formats. Graphic novels, audio books and e-books are all ways to approach reading. Find what works for you and go from there. Pick an author or a genre and try it out. If you don't like it, pick another. If you like it, keep reading books from the author or in that genre. 

Excuse: I don't have time to read. 

Rebuttal: Reading doesn't take much time. Twenty minutes a day will go a long way. Try reading for ten minutes in the morning when you first wake up as a way to ease into the day. Or find a pocket of time during the day to pick up a book. That could be when you are waiting in line, during a car ride or just sitting around. Sacrifice a small portion of your television or gaming time and make reading part of your routine.

Read, read and read. You have heard it before: more reading means increased test scores. Now you have some solid rebuttals if you or your student objects to reading. 

For more tips on how to improve your SSAT, SAT, ACT, PSAT or GPA, contact CROSSWALK today. 

CROSSWALK Sponsors Olympic Day

A big thanks goes out to Tim Hutten and his fellow olympians for hosting the inaugural Olympics Day on Saturday at Hartnell College.

Tim and a handful of olympians put on an excellent morning of exercise, nutrition and inspiration for local youth. Athletes representing water polo, diving, triathlon, marathon and track shared stories and advice on how to set goals and strive for achievement. Kiddos engaged in stretches, games, relay races and more in an effort to get active and excited for sports.

CROSSWALK was proud to sponsor the event. Academic achievement is not much different than athletic achievement. Both rely heavily on goal setting, consistent practice, resilience, grit and how to balance success with failure. Further, the brain develops along with physical activity meaning kiddos become smarter with more physical activity.

Thanks again to Tim Hutten and the local olympians. CROSSWALK hopes to be a sponsor next year!

CROSSWALK is the Monterey Peninsula's local resource for test prep and academic tutoring. Contact CROSSWALK today before the summer academic slide sets in!

Summer ACT and SAT Test Prep

With summer around the corner, it is time to carve out some time for test prep. Rising Juniors and Seniors would be wise to use the summer months to prepare for the upcoming SAT and ACT.

CROSSWALK is offering its annual summer workshop series over the following dates and topics:

• 6/20/17: SAT and ACT Overview and General Strategies 
• 6/27/17: SAT and ACT Reading Strategies for Success
• 7/5/17: SAT and ACT Math Strategies for Success
• 7/11/17: SAT and ACT Writing Strategies for Success
• 7/18/17: SAT and ACT Science Strategies for Success
• 7/25/17: SAT and ACT Essay Strategies for Success

All classes are held at the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach, CA. Students can also Skype into sessions if you cannot make the class in person. 

Pay for each class individually or save money and pay for the entire program. Whatever is best for your situation. 

To sign up, contact CROSSWALK today. 

Summer private tutoring, either face-to-face or via Skype, is also available. Contact CROSSWALK to learn more. 

No Time for SAT & ACT Learning Plateaus

The truth about learning is that it comes in fits and starts. We learn a lot and then the learning stalls. With practice, we learn again but it will stall out again.

Studies show that learners experience plateaus in between bursts of learning.

Musicians know this all too well. And so do learners of a foreign language. They both find themselves frustrated at times when progress stalls then, after time, they experience major jumps in their progress.

The only way out of the plateau is to keep plugging away. Once you understand that learning plateaus are normal, you can accept them and push through over time. 

The challenge with the ACT and SAT learning plateaus is time. With a testing window, for most students, of about six or nine months, there isn't enough time to push through a plateau.

Consider Tristan, a hypothetical student. Tristan might take the SAT or ACT twice, and like most students, he would likely see an increase between the first and second sitting. But if Tristan were to take the test again, he would likely plateau and not see much of a score increase. Most data shows a little increase on a third sitting, but not much.

The problem here is that by the time Tristan can learn from his mistakes and take the test a fourth time, he is faced with college application deadlines. There just isn't much time from Tristan's junior to senior year to push through any plateau. 

Strategically, pushing through a plateau may require experimenting with different tactics. There is some risk to messing with strategy but if the plateau remains, it might be worth considering.

Otherwise, the hope is that students understand that we all plateau with learning. Six to nine months may not be enough time to push through the SAT and ACT plateau.

Perhaps the big lesson here is that we need to continue to remind our students that they are more than a test score. 

For more SAT and ACT test advice, contact CROSSWALK.

Los Recursos en Español Para el SAT y ACT

A pesar de que los exámenes estandarizados del ACT y SAT están en Inglés, existen algunos recursos útiles en Español.

Primero, el College Board (la organización que produce el SAT) ofrece un sitio de web con información en Español. El sitio, accesible aquí, contiene vínculos para aprender más del examen y más del proceso de admisión universitaria.

Con respeto al ACT, su información está disponible en un guía en Español aquí. ACT, Inc. (los que producen el ACT) incluye un examen de práctica y varios consejos para los estudiantes en su guía. 

Ambos recursos presentan información útil para los dos exámenes. 

Igual, existe mucha más información en Inglés que el Español. Obviamente, los que producen esos exámenes estandarizados piensan que el hecho de que los exámenes están en Inglés significa que solo necesitan producir muchos recursos en Inglés. Lamentablemente, los hispanohablantes tienen una desventaja cuando tiene que ver con la preparación para un examen de SAT o ACT.

En este momento, CROSSWALK está trabajando en un recurso para el SAT y ACT que está en Español. No será un guía sino un libro que dará consejos útiles y pasos recomendados para lograr el puntaje más alto. 

Mientras tanto, contacte CROSSWALK hoy día para aprender como podemos ayudarle en su proceso de preparación para el SAT o ACT. Nosotros hablamos Español y queremos apoyarle.

New August Test Date: Best Month for SAT?

This summer marks the first time the CollegeBoard will offer an August test date for the SAT. 

The reason behind this, aside from the obvious revenue generation for the CollegeBoard, is that this new timing may benefit students greatly. 

Instead of trying to cram in a test during the busy school year, students can use the summer months to prepare for test day stress-free. Since stress is the enemy of performance, a summer date would allow students to focus strictly on test performance with few other academic distractions. 

Another plus is that the August test date allows seniors an earlier opportunity to book a good score. This might mean less stress in September for an October test. Or, in the case that a student does not get a good score in August, they would have the chance to retake the test in October before many college applications are due. 

Additionally, students won't be faced with a gap between test prep and test day. Many students use the summer to prepare for the SAT and subsequently experience a delay from when they finish test prep (usually early August) and when they take the test (usually early October). An August date would significantly reduce this delay. 

However, the August date has its downside. 

First of all, while there are fewer academic distractions, summer distractions abound. For many students, summer brain drain is faster than a melting popsicle. 

Secondly, as this excellent article from the The Atlantic points out, the CollegeBoard may be challenged with finding suitable test centers to administer the exam. Schools may still be out for summer meaning counselors are not available to proctor exams. 

So is the August date the best? Only time will tell. Personally, I would encourage many to try the August date assuming they spend some time over the summer prepping. As long as you can avoid the summer meltdown, the end of summer might be a stress-free opportunity to get the score you want. 

If you need help this summer prepping, contact CROSSWALK. We are currently planning our summer Skype and small group programs to help students achieve the SAT or ACT score they need. Contact us today to learn more. 

3 Ways to Encourage Students to Read

Truth be told, the SAT and ACT are just reading tests. 

Sure, there are sections and questions about Science and Math. But these are just glorified reading tasks since each section and question requires significant reading comprehension. A word problem in Math, for example, is more about understanding how to translate words into an equation than doing the calculations.  

So, how do you get better at a reading test? No surprise here: you have to read. 

The more pertinent question is how do you get your student to read? How can you get someone excited to read, read and read some more? 

While there is no silver bullet that will automatically get all students to read more, here are three ways that might work for your situation: 

1) Reading Bingo: A reward system for reading can work for some students. Create a bingo card (3x3 or 5x5) and place the names of challenging and interesting books in the squares. Once a student reads three or five books in a row, they can earn a prize. I tell students that they can pick some books, I will pick some books and together we agree on other books to fill up the bingo card. That way they are choosing books that interest them as well as finding new and interesting ones that I recommend. Despite the obvious extrinsic motivation of the reward, there is some intrinsic motivation in reading what is interesting 

2) Create a Routine: Make any task part of your routine and it is easier to accomplish. Most of us are accustomed to checking emails, doing our exercises or otherwise following a routine for our daily tasks so why not reading? Set a routine of reading twenty minutes a day. Twenty minutes is not too much. That might be during breakfast or before bed time. Whatever it is, set the routine and hold to it. Once reading is routine, it will be easier to do. 

3) Read Together: This last one may sound a bit cheesy for the older kiddos, but there is much to gain from reading with our children. Consider a family book club. Agree on a book to read (or you can take turns choosing the book), read it together and talk about it. Reading together offers an excellent way to dialogue and bond with your child. The fact that you model the reading is also extremely powerful. 

Since reading is so important, it is worth trying one of the above suggestion to get your son or daughter to read more. Don't forget that the joy of reading is choosing books that are interesting. Find good books by searching online, asking friends or checking at your local library. 

The SAT and ACT reward those students that make reading a big part of their life. If there is any one way to get better at the SAT and ACT, it is reading. 

For more test prep tips and ways to succeed on the SAT and ACT, contact CROSSWALK today.