*Collaborative Post*
Many students believe that performing well in their Advanced Placement (AP) coursework will translate to success on SAT/ACT testing as well as AP testing and subject testing. Although there is some merit to this assertion as students are able to acquire the requisite knowledge in order to succeed on such tests, test taking skills necessary to achieve high scores on these very competitive exams cannot be taught in a student’s AP coursework. This is where test preparation tutoring can be instrumental in enabling a student to master test taking skills.
The gap between classroom learning and exam performance
Although a student has excelled in AP coursework, they might not have the skills to prepare for tests or academic competitions. For example, an excellent student of AP Calculus might not be as effective at the math portion of the SAT as he or she expects due to the different approaches to solving math problems in the test as opposed to AP courses. An AP Lit student might not be as effective at the SAT’s written portions because of the greatly different essay prompts from the test as opposed to the course. In both of these cases, students must learn test-taking skills, time management, and study skills to better prepare themselves for academic competitions.
Each test has its own philosophy or approach to testing. In an AP class, you have the opportunity to have your understanding of material judged over time through projects, class discussions, and sometimes even a year-end exam. However, in competitive tests, students are generally expected to have their understanding of a subject tested through a test given within a short period of time and their performance is solely based on how they do on the test.
The skills overlap. But they’re not identical.
Strategic skill development through targeted tutoring
The benefit of having an AP tutor in Newark is that students learn not only how to perform well on an AP exam, but also how to prepare for other competitive tests given by organizations such as the SAT, ACT, and subject specific competitions. This is to say that AP tutoring is not simply a way for students to get help with their class work. As students work in their AP classes they learn how to apply what they have learned in order to complete certain work given to them in their classroom. The work given to students in AP tutoring sessions, on the other hand, are test questions to be completed in a timely manner in order to receive optimal scores on competitive exams given by organizations such as the SAT, ACT, and subject specific competitions. In summary, the skills of a student who is tutored for AP exams can be greatly enhanced by AP tutoring.
The student knows a lot of Chemistry but runs out of time on practice tests. The tutor will show the student how to improve his time management skills by going through his work, teaching him how to work through questions and test in the best way possible, and on test day teach him how to prioritize his time, tackle problems, and keep track of time, work efficiently and make sure he doesn’t lose too many points on any one question by knowing when to move on.
These tests come in different flavors and the tutor will be able to see what are the student’s strengths and weakness, where are they losing the most points. Whether it is for lack of knowledge of a few critical concepts or for lack of test taking strategies or a combination of both, the tutor will have a solid assessment of where the student is and what he needs to work on. Also, the tutor will assess the proportions of foundational material to test taking strategies that the student will need to master in order to score well on the test. For example, a student who excels in class and gets excellent grades on homework and class work but struggles on tests will find that the proportions of foundational material to test taking strategies needed to score well on the test are skewed dramatically in favor of test taking strategies. On the other hand, a student who is very good in tests but struggles in class work will find that the tutor assesses that the proportions of foundational material to test taking strategies are dramatically in favor of foundational material, needed to excel in class work.
However, managing time for tests is a skill in itself that can be learned with practice, with tutor’s guidance and with immediate feedback. The main aim is to learn to distribute time for each type of a test question, to learn when to stop wasting time on a particular question and to move on to the next one that can be answered correctly and then to learn to keep track of time inside of one’s own head while under a lot of stress and pressure.
Also by reviewing a student’s approach to solving problems, a tutor can help the student to gain great insight in how he or she studies. The tutor can have the student explain step by step how he or she solved a problem and then review with the student the patterns and errors that the student used in solving the problem. The tutor can then work with the student to develop a study plan to help the student master any skills that the student needs to master and also work with the student to learn strategies on how to approach problems that the student has difficulty solving. The insights that a tutor can help a student to gain on how he or she studies will definitely help the student to become a better student in the long run.
Subject mastery versus test mastery
Many students who excel in AP classes with excellent grades in school struggle in competitions and test taking. On the other hand, there are many students who receive average to below average grades in school but can perform exceptionally well in competitions. Thus, there is a huge distinction between test taking mastery and subject matter mastery. The student must learn how to apply the knowledge in a test setting.
The tutor must realize that although a student knows the material, the material can be presented in very different ways on a test. Thus the tutor’s role is to help the student apply what he/she knows to test questions that are unfamiliar until studied by the student and the tutor together.
Tutoring also can help students who have problems like these by going through these type of problems in the tutoring sessions before the student encounters them on the test.
Building confidence through structured preparation
In addition to knowing material and scoring well, there is a large gap between the scores of high-achieving students on AP exams and their performance on competitive exams. Students with good academic performance sometimes have poor scores on exams such as the SAT, ACT, PSAT, and AP exams. For example, a student could be very prepared for their test in school, study hard for their exam, and receive poor scores because of test anxiety.
But for students who feel they receive sufficient support in their regular studies, but need to increase their AP test scores, tutoring provides the key benefit of practicing within a simulated test environment. A quality tutor will have a student work through mock AP tests as well as practice and review for specific test questions, as well as go through test day itself, from start to finish. By practicing in this environment, the student can prepare for not only unexpected test questions, but also how to manage their stress levels while trying to arrive at the correct test answer within a limited time frame.
Long-term academic habits that transfer beyond testing
A good tutoring program can help students establish effective study habits to prepare for their AP test, but also to be good students in other high school classes, and be prepared to do well in college. Many successful tutors consider a major part of their job to teach their students effective review strategies, including how to break down very complex material into smaller sections that the student can study. In addition, a good tutor can help students become independent learners. This means the tutor can help a student to identify when he or she needs extra help with a concept, and find the best study tools to assist the student in mastering that concept. As a result, the student is not spending a lot of time studying concepts in which he or she already has achieved a high level of understanding.
A student who is taught how to methodically and systematically work through complex analytical problems will find that the study techniques that they have been taught to work through AP problems will help them to do very well in college and in the workplace, for it is in these settings that the student will be called upon to work through complex problems in order to arrive at an answer.
Measuring success beyond scores
In addition to helping a student receive better test scores, an effective tutor can impart a number of skills to a student in order to handle complex problems in a more strategic fashion. As a result, students that have described themselves to be “more confident” students in general, in addition to merely being better test-takers. For instance, in school, a student is usually given a number of problems to complete as homework. Rather than spending a great deal of time going through each and every step of each and every problem in the hope that by some stroke of luck he or she will somehow become a better student, a student with the strategic skills to handle complex problems learned from a good tutor can complete his or her homework in half the time while still getting 100% of the answers correct. In addition to completing his or her homework in a shorter amount of time, the student can also use the rest of his or her time to read ahead for the next day’s lesson in school, complete extra credit work, or even pursue outside interests. Furthermore, by going through
In addition, students will benefit greatly from learning how to better evaluate themselves as students. This will enable the student to study most effectively by recognizing their strengths and weaknesses, and help them make the best academic decisions. By not spending so much time studying for a subject in which he or she already excels, the student can be able to better focus on studying for subject(s) in which he or she is lacking. These are just two ways in which a student will greatly benefit from studying for the AP test.
While improved test scores are the obvious result of academic tutoring, the many rewards a student receives can extend far beyond any single test. As a result of their academic tutoring, a student who has learned to answer a complex question on a competitive test in a strategic manner will be well equipped to face not only the challenging AP test but also other high level tests such as college admissions tests, scholarship exams, and professional certification tests. Furthermore, preparation of a student for a test in an academic tutoring setting can transform their ability to solve complex problems in any academic setting.