SAT, ACT & Test Prep in San Jose

Start with the test and the date. Everything else in the plan depends on how much time there is.

Points get lost two ways: the student hasn't learned the idea yet, or knows it and runs out of time. Those need different teaching, and one practice section usually shows me which.

A Plan That Fits the Time Available

Three months out, there's time to rebuild the math underneath the questions. Three weeks out, we pick the few things most likely to move the score and practice them until they're automatic.

Either way, we agree before we start on what the time can cover.

Tests We Can Work On

SAT and ACT

The math and reading the test asks for, and how to use the time. We practice on the version your student will take.

AP Exams

The course content, plus what the exam does with it: free-response writing, the scoring guidelines, the timing. Tell me the course first, so we can check it's one I teach well.

Placement and School Entrance Tests

Send me the name of the test and whatever the school gave you. We'll work out what's on it and practice with real sample questions.

Finding Out What Needs Attention

A recent score report, one timed practice section, or this week's homework gives me a place to begin. A full practice test is worth the morning only when we need the whole picture.

Then I have the student walk me through a few answers, right and wrong. How they got there tells me more than the score does.

The Same Wrong Answer Can Need Different Teaching

Take a question like this: a $40 jacket is 25% off, so what's the sale price? One student writes $10. They found the discount and stopped, so what they need is practice reading the question. Another student divides 40 by 25. That student doesn't know what a percent is yet, and no amount of timed practice will fix it.

Same wrong mark on the score report, two different lessons. The first student practices underlining what the question actually asks. The second gets percents taught from the beginning, with money and a hundred-square grid.

Every mistake we go over ends with one specific thing to try next time.

Practice and Pacing

Timing comes after understanding. Once the student can do the work, we practice under the clock and look at where the minutes went: the question they fought with for four minutes, the easy one they rushed.

We also practice skipping a hard question and coming back to it, on tests that allow it.

Common Questions

Usually not. With a few weeks, we pick the handful of things most likely to pay off. If there isn't enough time to help, I'll say so in the consultation.

No. A recent score report or one timed section is often enough. We'll do a full test later, when the student is ready to see what has changed.

Yes. The student tries a section of each, and we compare how the questions and the pacing felt. We also check what the colleges on their list accept.

Some of it is not knowing what's coming. We practice with the real directions, format, and timing until test day feels familiar. We also talk through what happens when they get stuck on a question, and what to do next.

Related program: Academic Tutoring