Test Prep

Testing can be a high hurdle.

I can help.

I offer 1-on-1 preparation for a range of tests. For the SAT and SSAT in particular, I offer an Intensive Prep package in addition to my regular Sustained Tutorial package.

In a Sustained Tutorial setting, I take time to learn how a student deals with various types of questions on the test, filling in gaps in knowledge with mini-lessons as we go, and coming back to the most challenging ideas over time so that a student can build the mental muscles that schools and colleges are trying to test for. Students bring the homework problems they most struggled with for us to discuss, giving them more agency in the process and giving me a chance to adapt my teaching as I learn more about a student’s strengths and weaknesses. For building both knowledge and skills, Sustained Tutorial is the ideal.

But if a test is just around the corner, there is not always time for progressive skill-building or more gradual adaptation to a student’s needs. Intensive Prep fills the gap by making sure students have all the knowledge the test requires, particularly in self-identified weak areas. It can be done in 4-6 hours, either spread over two weeks or in a single weekend. I send to students a week ahead of time a collection of official practice questions collected from areas the student has identified as weak points. I review a student’s answers and prepare a collection of mini-lessons that we work through efficiently in the time we have. Afterwards I provide a series of study cards covering the main areas we discussed, as a substitute for the repetition that continued tutoring would provide.

  • College

    I have helped a number of students prepare for the SAT and ACT, both in classroom and 1-on-1 settings, and have seen consistent improvement. I have helped students increase both mastery of content and comfort with test-taking situations, as well as awareness of the patterns in which types of mistakes the test is expecting students to make.

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  • Secondary School

    I have helped a number of students prepare for the SSAT Middle and Upper Levels, and have seen consistent and sometimes dramatic gains. While this is not a test I ever took, my experience with it is extensive and I have trained others to tutor for it, and developed materials for others, before I began working independently.

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  • Graduate School

    I am new to tutoring the GRE, but it has many similarities to other general standardized tets, and I have a strong grasp of the test content. I would be happy to work with you on it.

    For specialized tests for professional school, I may be able to assist you as part of your preparation, depending on your needs. More likely, I can help you connect with another tutor who is more specialized in that area. Feel free to call for a free consultation!

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Method

My method for test prep is distinguished by an emphasis on two things: pattern recognition, and trusting the house.

There are some tests out there, like IQ tests or the old old SAT, that try to throw creative challenges at you that you couldn’t have anticipated. The idea behind these tests is that what is important is not so much any particular knowledge or skills as the ability to quickly intuit a solution where others are left in the dark. Most standardized tests today are not like that—they have a limited, well-defined area of content they test, and a fairly constrained set of approaches they use to ask about that content. This means that one of your main tools to manage the test experience for yourself is pattern recognition: get familiar with each type of question asked in an area, and learn to recognize quickly which type of question you are facing.

What is trusting the house? Unlike some state standardized tests, major national standardized tests are all thoroughly planned out to ensure that students can’t succeed without the knowledge and skills the test purports to measure. That means success doesn’t look like “outsmarting” the test—you just need to learn the content, and learn what they expect you to be able to do with it. From there, it’s all pattern recognition.

It’s also worth noting that there’s a clear upside to the thorough design of these tests—you’ll rarely, if ever, have to play the game of “choose the better answer,” because you’ll be able to be confident that there really is one right answer. This can save you a lot of stress, even when you’re feeling unsure about which answer is the right one (and it’s worth noting that those who put too much emphasis on finding a better answer rather than the right answer often feel unsure of how to find the right answer themselves).