Job Discussion Forums

[El Macho]

[Bud Powell]

I don't disagree with anything stated by el Macho. I am sure that previously-issued tests are issued to test-takers after-the-fact, but those tests aren't recycled for reuse. I promise you.

And true, one can buy prep books that introduce practice material (Barron's Kaplan, et. al) for every test that will ever be administered. The vocabulary list and the Greek and Latin prefixes are quite formidable, and aren't likely to be memorized by anyone who enrolls in a one-week (or even a one-month) test prep program. For sure, some (but not all ) of the vocabulary words will appear on the test, and anyone who wishes to attain a mastery of the English Language will have a good working knowledge of the prefixes and suffixes but won't be able to define them out of context without extensive study.

The best test prep programs for PSAT, SAT, and ACT actually begin in sixth grade and continue until the student takes the test. The practice tests help the students to improve their skills in all academic areas, and the improvement in practice SAT scores generally correlate to an improvement in their middle school and high school class test scores. This isn't due to an increase in mastery of subject matter, but it is due to an increase in acquired reading and math skills resulting from increased practice.

One can prepare for the tests, but one can't really game the system. When I was studying for my masters degree, I worked for an ACT mill in the U.S that prepared kids for the ACT. The outfit held out the promise that the practice material would appear on the test. I got saddled with a couple of children of Korean immigrants who bought the BS hook, line, and sinker. They came in for four prep sessions before the test and kept the practice material to study. They scored well on the mathematics section, but they bombed on the verbal because they memorized the answers to the verbal test preparation exercises. They could compensate for the fact that math prompts were different from the practice material because they already had greater than adequate math abilities, but their verbal scores were really bad because they didn't have the necessary verbal skills to begin with.

God help the idiots who present their students with writing prompts for the 2016 writing section of the SAT. The writing prompt is slated to be eliminated in 2016 (unless something changes between now and then).

[Beyond1984]

Here's an excerpt from an article that may point the OP in the direction he wants to go:

""New Oriental seems to have cracked the SAT code," says Phillip Muth, associate dean for admissions at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Its 1,200 applicants from China this year had an average of 610 out of 800 on the SAT's reading section and 670 in writing, as opposed to 641 in reading and 650 in writing for U.S. applicants. In math, they achieved an average of 783, compared with 669 for U.S. students."

Some of the insider info is described below:

"On SAT grammar questions, Zhu and Wang followed New Oriental's advice to eliminate any answer containing the word "being" or a comma followed by "which." For reading comprehension, they avoided any responses including "despair," "befuddle," "bafflement," or "apologize." Such tips are typically based on analysis of prior tests. "It sounds ridiculous, but it works," says Wang, who has been admitted to the University of Southern California and New York University."

Full article here: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_20/b4228058558042.htm#p2

-HDT

ps: I would have to be paid a ton of money to do this kind of "teaching." Isn't there a better way to keep one well stocked with victuals and beverages??

[Bud Powell]

Voodoo works just as well.