PSAT Preparation (Grade 10)

The goal of this workshop is to raise students’ reading and grammar fluency—highlighting the fundamentals of reading and writing for a timed multiple choice exam, how to navigate the PSAT and what to expect on the SAT 1 exam. Also explored are the vocabulary and grammar likely to be encountered on the PSAT test. SAT 1 issues such as how to structure its timed essay (along with essay topics) are also covered. The workshop consists of:

• 49 mini-lessons on Latin and Greek root words and stems
• 14 units on critical reading skills
• 15 lessons on grammar and usage
• Five un-timed and timed practice tests

Offered: fall, spring, and summer. Approx. 30 minutes to one hour of homework per day during the summer. Recommended for students whose sophomore year PSAT scores show National Merit Scholar recognition potential.

SAT 1 Reading and Writing (Grades 11-12)

The goal of this workshop is to help students raise their most recent PSAT scores by at least 200 points, focusing on the exam’s reading and writing sections. The workshop covers test-taking under timed conditions, in areas like sentence logic (for sentence completion problems), efficient passage reading, and question/answer interpretation.

The exam’s reading section includes:

• Vocabulary sentence completions
• Short, long and paired passages
• Over 100 Latin and Greek word stems (with approximately 700 new corresponding vocabulary words)

Once students are proficient in critical reading strategies under timed conditions, we progress to the writing section (students are usually able to move through 15 essential grammar lessons quickly).

The writing section focuses on:

• Advanced grammar skills (with a 25-minute persuasive essay included at the beginning of the exam)
• Effectively outlining and developing topics for the essay portion
A complete evaluation of your child’s performance will be sent to you before their first test is given.

After students have completed the SAT 1 workshop, they have the option of continuing their college preparation with us via the Literature Subject test and the AP English Language or Literature test--both of which focus on a more specialized knowledge of literature and are used by colleges to place students in ability-appropriate literature courses.

Offered: Fall, spring, and summer. Expect approximately two hours of homework weekly.

ISEE/SSAT:
The ISEE/SSAT exams determine a student’s readiness for rigorous academic study at a college prep school. The exam’s verbal section tests the ability to complete analogies (SSAT only), pair synonyms, and use context to solve sentence completions (ISEE only). The reading section involves difficult, detail-oriented questions on a variety of passage types, and the essay section tests analytical writing skills. All sections have a strict time requirement. Although both tests are challenging, college prep admissions committees consider the SSAT to be the more rigorous exam. Students preparing for either of these exams should undertake a semester-long course in vocabulary development, critical reading comprehension, and on-demand writing skills.

College Prep Writing Program:
This program preps high school seniors for college-level analytical reading and writing—to help avoid the dismay many college freshman feel upon encountering their professors’ challenging expectations. (With up to 78% of freshman requiring remedial writing courses, many colleges nationwide have opened upperclassmen- & graduate-staffed writing centers to meet this need.)

As a result of these findings, we've designed a rigorous, analytical writing program for high school seniors, along with philosophical, informational, and abstract readings that reflect what’s found at the university level. This class is offered individually and on an application-only basis. Students need not be strong readers and writers—but they do need to be very motivated to tackle this course of study during their senior year. (Students suffering from “senioritis” will have a difficult time!)