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An Introduction

I believe that test prep helps students achieve higher scores in three ways: first, through review of all of the basic components that comprise each of the SAT's three sections; second, by training students to recognize these components in order to break down more difficult problems; and third, by giving students confidence through practice and recognition of the SAT's predictable, repetitive nature.

Below, you'll find some of my thoughts on each of the three SAT sections, as well as PDF samples of the Tutor Ted curriculum.

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Math

I hear so many of my students talk about the math section as if their scores were a foregone conclusion. "I'm bad at math." Not so! The material that the SAT tests does not go beyond Algebra II, and the vast majority of it students learned in Algebra I and Geometry.

My approach to this section is to re-teach these basic math concepts and to show them how the SAT frequently employs each. I teach my students how to recognize the problems that they can attack so that they can maximize their score witha minimum of frustration.

Click here for a sample page from my math curriculum.

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Critical Reading

At the beginning of the tutoring work, many of my students dread the reading portion of the test. The passages are intimidating and the questions seem to be ambiguous. Since the SAT is a standardized test, every right answer must be unequivocally correct. And in order to create empirically correct answers, the questions must derive directly from the reading. I teach my students to hunt down the correct answers through careful re-reading of the text.

Plus, I try to make as much fun as I possibly can of the SAT's over-the-top political correctness in their choice of reading materials. I mean, I appreciate Frederick Douglass as much as the next guy, but when is enough enough?

Click here for a sample from my reading curriculum.

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Writing

Even though the Writing section is new to the SAT Reasoning test, it is not new at all. It's been around for decades, first as the SAT II: Writing test, and before that as the Test of Standard Written English.

This section is easily the most coachable of the three because it simply relies on recognition of certain grammatical structures. Within only a couple of sessions, I introduce my students to every single grammatical element that will be tested. About half of my students score at a 700 or higher on this section of the test.

What about the essay? In the end, it's an overhyped element of the new test -- it counts for less than 1/3 of the overall writing score. My students walk into the test with an arsenal of evidence to cite and a five-paragraph structure on their minds.

Click here for a sample of my writing curriculum.