I know it’s nerdy, but I actually kind of enjoy taking standardized tests. (Embarrassing example: I spent a summer studying for the LSAT for fun.) Do I love the tests themselves and think they’re a perfect measure of a student’s ability? Absolutely not. But I’m fascinated by the patterns of how they work – and I’ve discovered that I’m good at taking standardized tests simply because I’ve figured many of those patterns out.
So why choose me?
Students and families have MANY choices when determining how to best prepare for the ACT. Here’s what sets me apart:
#1: I will be your tutor. Unlike many agencies who hire and train a variety of tutors who have various levels of experience and expertise in the ACT, you know exactly who will be working with you. I have spent thousands of hours tutoring hundreds of students in the ACT and have honed my skills through experience and on-going education to help students achieve significant improvement. In addition, when you (student or parent) call about a question, I will be the one picking up the phone and can give you first-hand feedback and recommendations about your (or your student’s) progress.
#2: I don’t have a “one-size-fits-all” model for tutoring hours. Based on a student’s starting score and ability, I can give you a better idea of how many hours I think we’ll need to help him or her achieve an optimal score. I have worked with some students for four or five hours total, others for fifteen, others for twenty hours. In most cases, I will recommend that students complete my full curriculum (which takes 3-8 hours, depending on the student’s ability and group size), and then complete a minimum of 5 full-length ACT practice tests before their exam date.
#3: My students see as much (and usually more) improvement in their ACT scores in less time than students working with other agencies. Most agencies recommend a minimum of 20 hours of tutoring to achieve a three- to four-point increase in score. Since Fall 2022, my students’ scores increased an average of 4.647 points overall per person (final scores ranging from 21-35), and many of them have spent less than 15 hours (and some less than 10 hours) tutoring with me.
What Will We Do?
When preparing students for the ACT, I use the curriculum I developed in 2021 after tutoring the ACT for 15 years. This curriculum covers grammar rules (English section); algebra, trig, and geometry concepts (Math section); contextualization skills (Reading section), and how to analyze and interpret graphs (Science section). Equally as importantly, if not more so, this curriculum teaches students the tricks and patterns of the ACT exam – and strategies for approaching the questions. This “base material” can be done individually OR in a small group of 2-4 students. (*See Rates & Payment Options for a breakdown of Individual vs. Group Tutoring rates.*)
Once students see and understand these “rules” for approaching questions on this standardized test (and get some refreshers on the background concepts needed on the exam), the ACT becomes a lot less daunting.
After the “base material” is complete, students will then take a minimum of five full-length ACT exams to practice and internalize these strategies. (This requires approximately 3 hours of work outside of tutoring each week.) During our sessions, we will go over the questions a student misses by talking about how to identify the question type and then covering the content and strategies needed for correctly answering the question the next time around.
My goal is to make the ACT seem familiar and recognizable – almost mundane – so that when you sit down to take the ACT at a testing site, you will know exactly what to expect, reducing any apprehension you may have felt otherwise!