Standardized Tests

Help With Standardized Tests

At Housecalls Tutoring, we believe that preparing for tests such as the SAT, PSAT, GRE, ACT, ISEE, or SSAT is like running a marathon: In order to succeed, students need motivation, stamina, and rigorous training. Rather than focus on tricks or quick fixes, we guide our students through a stimulating learning experience, customized to their needs and goals.

We recognize that standardized tests are often not indicative of a child's intelligence or future success in life. Nevertheless, these tests are important to admissions committees and are a necessary hurdle in the application process. Our goal at Housecalls is to create an individualized plan that builds on our students' abilities and interests, while providing them with the test-taking and time management skills necessary to succeed in the "marathon."

We as adults know, however, that the marathon doesn't end in high school, and therefore our lesson plans encompass more than just getting the right answer on a test.

Housecalls Tutoring proposes that improving critical reading skills, mathematical analysis, overall comprehension, and even the attitude toward testing itself can be applied in the college years and beyond.

The SAT

The History of the SAT

Today, over 2.1 million students take the SAT each year, making it the most popular college entrance exam in the US. The rival test, the ACT (see our ACT page for more info), is beginning to make some serious inroads here in New York, but the SAT remains the more common option among our students. The overall format of the SAT changed a few years back, but it remains the same tricky multiple choice exam with a challenging essay. At 3 hours and 45 minutes, the actual taking of the test, let alone the countless hours of necessary preparation, can be a grueling and stressful ordeal.

How to Excel on the SAT

The best way a student can prepare for the SAT may be to continuously excel in the core classes of his or her school. That said, the good news is that large parts of the SAT are actually very "coachable." Our SAT specialists have all mastered the development and nuances of the SAT. They know the ins and outs of individual sections, strategies, and scoring details. But what makes Housecalls different is our insistence on individualizing our approach according to your child's learning style. Dr. Gilgoff himself will take a detailed inventory before selecting the right SAT tutor for your child. Then Heidi Fisher, the chief of the division, will provide ongoing fine tuning and management of all the tutoring sessions.

It is this intensive team approach, combined with our endless efforts to help your child outsmart the exam, avoid distracters, and relieve stress that result in the best scores for your child.

Because the SAT is primarily an aptitude test, our curriculum uses multiple methods of learning - visual, verbal, and numerical - both to build on students' strengths and challenge them. Some students, for example, can learn thousands of new vocabulary words, while others work much better with root words, prefixes and suffixes. Important for all students, too, is the concept of distracters. A distracter is a carefully worded answer that sounds "right" - but definitely isn't - and both the Math and Verbal sections of the SAT are loaded with them. We have found that a student's ability to spot distracters, especially when they are not sure of an answer, makes a significant difference in the final score. At Housecalls, we will help your child learn how to discern among answer choices with very subtle shades of meaning, and master this often ambiguous exam.

The SAT and College Admissions

The SAT is only one part of the college admissions process, but it's a crucial one. In today's competitive admissions landscape, a strong SAT score can help balance out a weaker GPA. Conversely, if a student excels in a very rigorous curriculum but does poorly on the SAT, it's a red flag for many admissions officers. When it comes to the SAT, our supportive approach acknowledges the importance of the SAT while not being overly alarmist. The junior and senior years of high school are stressful enough! Let Housecalls help to relieve that stress by tackling the SAT with your child with a strategic, proven, individualized method.

Call or email today for more information. We look forward to working with you and your family!

The ACT

The ACT Exam

Although the ACT has been around for a long time, it has only recently begun to make real inroads here in New York. Historically, the ACT has been the test of choice in the Midwest and South, but around 2005, as dissatisfaction with the SAT grew, the ACT's popularity surged on the East coast as well. Due to some successful marketing campaigns many students now think that the ACT is a more straightforward and even "easier" exam than the SAT. Furthermore, it is true that all colleges now accept the ACT instead of the SAT. Nonetheless, the decision as to which exam to take should be strategic and individualized as there are significant differences between the two tests.

Expert Tutors

Our ACT specialists have all mastered the development and nuances of this exam. They know the ins and outs of individual sections, strategies, and scoring details. But what makes Housecalls different is our insistence on individualizing our approach according to your child's learning style. Dr. Gilgoff himself will take a detailed inventory before selecting the right ACT tutor for your child. Then Heidi Fisher, chief of the division, will provide ongoing fine-tuning and management of all the tutoring sessions. It is this intensive team approach - combined with our endless efforts to help your child outsmart the exam, avoid distracters, and relieve stress - that result in the best scores for your child.

ACT vs SAT

The ACT attempts to measure how a student thinks as well as what they know, so the ability to analyze data is as important on the test as knowledge of a specific content area. It is true that there is less vocabulary to memorize, but there is a challenging science section that contains charts and graphs, as well as some very challenging math topics. While the SAT is at its heart an aptitude test, the ACT is an achievement test. This means that the SAT focuses more on a student's innate analytical ability, while the ACT considers the knowledge that a student is expected to have learned in school. Although this difference may seem subtle, some find that the ACT tends to be a little more straightforward than the SAT, and less based on wordy distracters. Therefore, if a student is facing confidence or concentration issues, the ACT may prove to be the better choice.

As we emphasize in all of our tutoring, each young mind learns differently, and for some students, the length of the SAT can prove to be daunting, especially if he or she qualifies for extra time. The ACT also will grant extra time when appropriate, but remains the shorter exam. Finally, unlike the SAT, there is no penalty for guessing on the ACT, so students tend to spend less time working through difficult questions.

Many parents express confusion about whether the ACT is the best choice for their son or daughter, and whether colleges will be skeptical if a New York student takes it in the first place.

At Housecalls, we have seasoned veterans specializing in all aspects of college guidance, and will help guide you with this crucial decision.

We have found that for most students, the best plan is to first administer our diagnostic exam, and then analyze the breakdown of scores section by section. If the ACT indeed proves to be the right choice, it is usually advantageous to focus all of a student's efforts on this exam alone. However, many families want to prepare for both the ACT and SAT, and have the option (thanks to "score choice") to submit either of the scores. As long as a student has the required focus and stamina, we will advise you on the timing and preparation for all your standardized testing.

The ACT and College Admissions

The ACT is only one part of the college admissions process, but it's a crucial one. In today's competitive admissions landscape, a strong ACT score can help balance out a weaker GPA. Conversely, if a student excels in a very rigorous curriculum but does poorly on the ACT, it's a red flag for many admissions officers. When it comes to the ACT, our supportive approach acknowledges the importance of the ACT while not being overly alarmist. The junior and senior years of high school are stressful enough! Let Housecalls help to relieve that stress by tackling the ACT with your child with a strategic, proven, individualized method.

Call or email today for more information. We look forward to working with you and your family!

The Housecalls Approach

We'll work hard to elucidate what each section is really trying to measure. For example, the Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning sections tend to focus on innate analytical ability, while the Reading Comprehension and Mathematics sections test the information that a student should have mastered in school. With that said, we often find that a school's curriculum may not have emphasized a certain topic, and our tutors are experts in teaching full lesson plans when needed.

Each child learns differently, and we have learning specialists available for students with special learning needs who may require extra time for the test.

At Housecalls, we find that a dual approach in tutoring works best. Our goal is to first strengthen each student's analytical ability, and then to identify and strengthen the core concepts. We'll keep the ISEE sessions upbeat and organized, each with clear and attainable goals. We'll introduce your son or daughter to a wide variety of reading passages that are similar to what they'll encounter on test day. We'll drill them on difficult math concepts, until they can tutor the problem to us! And finally, we'll work with your child to make sure that he or she consistently produces an essay that is meaningful, compelling, and on-topic.

Call or email today for more information. We have researched this exam extensively and can provide you with more information on the actual exam as well as our individualized approach. We look forward to working with you and your family!