Master The Tests…
Don’t let the big tests in life master you.
Test Ready for Fall 2021
The back-to-school season often feels, at least to adults, like a return to sanity. After the last couple of years, who doesn’t want to fall back into familiar routines? But while classes may start slowly, the SAT and ACT are already upon us. Fall prep for juniors and seniors alike has already started. Will you be test ready? Summer may bring a welcome break from school, but local students certainly kept the dreaded brain drain at bay by working diligently towards the August SAT and September ACT. Chariot Learning proctored full-length practice tests just about every single week. How busy were we since school let out? We proctored 16 different practice SATs and ACTs online, at our office, and at the Brighton Library. It’s good to be seeing students in person again! How many students came to these tests? Would you believe 82 different students from 23 different schools, including…
Test Ready for Spring 2021
If you live in New York, you can be forgiven for missing the beginning of spring, which currently feels a lot like winter. But spring has sprung nonetheless, promising a veritable bouquet of high stakes tests, from APS and Finals to the SAT & ACT. Juniors who put the work in now still have a chance to ace all these exams before summer even starts. Will you be test ready? Local students certainly made the most of Winter 2020 testing opportunities despite the global pandemic. Chariot Learning proctored free full-length proctored practice tests across greater Rochester just about every single week. How busy were we during the coldest months? How many students came to our remote proctored practice SATs and ACTs? Would you believe 129 different students from 29 different schools, including many from outside Upstate New York? Outstanding! We’re especially proud of the students who sat for three or…
Exercise in Repeatedly Recalling a Thing
“Exercise in repeatedly recalling a thing strengthens the memory.” Do you despise testing? Perhaps you’d feel more open to the tremendous value of testing if you knew that one of humanity’s great philosophers and scientists fully endorsed the practice. Aristole saw the connection between repeatedly recalling a thing (testing) and remembering a thing (learning). The testing effect, as it is called, powers academic performance in a way that mere reading never can. All those students who adopt reading and rereading texts as their primary study strategy miss out on the educational impact of active recall of targeted information. Psychologists Henry L. Roediger III and Jeffrey D. Karpicke contributed much to our understanding of the testing effect in their review of a century of research into learning. They also conducted their own insightful research into the subject. Considering that the title of their findings was Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests…
Test Ready for Winter 2021
Has 2020 just been a bad dream, or did big chunks of society really shut down in the face of a global pandemic. We hope everyone reading this article persevered through this trying year with all the grace, grit, and gratitude required during a time of shared suffering. And while 2020 introduced new concepts like cancelled tests or a full month of SATs and ACTs, we’re hoping to get back to testing business as usual in 2021. Will you be test ready? Even though we haven’t administered in-person practice tests since March, plenty of students took advantage of our Fall 2020 online proctored testing opportunities. Chariot Learning proctored full-length proctored practice tests over Zoom just about every single week. How busy were we from September to December? We proctored 17 different practice SATs, PSATs, and ACTs, all online. Kudos to our school, library, and professional partners for promoting these tests…
Why Take the PSAT?
This time of year finds us answering a lot of questions about the PSAT, from parents eager to arrange prep to others wondering if their teens should take the the October test at all. And, really, the question deserves consideration. Just about every high school has its juniors, and sometimes even sophomores, sit for the PSAT. Schools have good reason to administer these tests, thanks to the wealth of score data the College Board sends back. But is the test worth any single student’s time? Why take the PSAT? The College Board describes many benefits to taking the PSAT, but only a couple of them seem persuasive. Consider each one: Discover Your AP® Potential BAD IDEA, at least if you are already a junior. By that time, qualified students with access are already enrolled in several AP classes. 10th graders who haven’t already tried AP European or World History might…