The Center was moved by them. Americans’ SAT ratings had to be re-centered in 1995 because of a decline that is 15-year the 1960s and 70s that everyone appears to have forgotten about, as far as I can tell.

The ‘center’ was not 500 by 1995, therefore it was moved by them.

A student who receives a score of 680 on the Critical Reading in 2011 would have scored a 610 had they taken the test prior to 1995 in other words.

It’s like going into the Gap thinking you are a size 8 but discovering which you squeeze into a size 4. You didn’t instantly lose some weight; the sizes were made by them bigger!

Wild Goose Chase

That’s how I’d describe the last six weeks; adding to that a Universe that seems to be conspiring against me (is Mercury in retrograde?).

Next SAT is in two days and I’m pretty certain that I’m going backwards.

Fast.

And, I may actually have lost any semblance of SAT instinct that we ever had the chance of experiencing.

Imagine Who Gets the Largest SAT Score Increase I Have Been Able to Find?

 

Another mom! (an additional, and I believe we now have a trend.)

Her name is Stacey Howe-Lott and she’s a tutor who became interested in the essaywriterforyou.com SATs after she possessed a child, 3 1/2 years back.

I been on the lookout for people who have considerably improved their SAT scores so them how they achieved it, and so far, a 58+%* math increase from the 55th percentile to the 94th percentile is the largest I’ve found. that we can ask**

You can read Stacey’s commentary about how she was increased by her scores so dramatically in this post, and within the meantime, below are a few associated with highlights:

  1. Stick with the Official College Board Blue Book.
  2. Use the solutions within the relative back of this Blue Book or Khan Videos to understand everything you missed.

I’d love to hear from more individuals who have increased their scores dramatically.

*Stacey, I did that increase calculation correctly, right?!

**Thankfully Elizabeth King ‘s got my back. She emailed to inform me that I’d in fact presented the percentile information improperly unclearly. (And individuals wonder why it’s important to learn SAT math?)

Handwriting and Learning

 

An Atlantic Monthly article verifies what i am experiencing within my bones about writing things by hand (versus typing for a keyboard).*

Frank Wilson, author of The Hand: How its Use Shapes the Brain, Language and Human Culture, says, ‘Although the repetitive drills that accompany handwwriting lessons seem outdated, such physical instruction will help students to achieve success. He says these activities brain that is stimulate, induce increased language fluency, and aid in the growth of essential knowledge.’ He describes at length the role that is pivotal of movements, in particular the development of thinking and language capabilities, and in ‘developing deep emotions of self- confidence and curiosity about the world-all-together, the essential prerequistes for the emergence of the capable and caring individual.’

And on a note that is related we went to a drawing workshop at the Gel Conference with the founders of Zentangle, whom also rely on the power of hand-writing. I stocked up along with their beautiful supplies the second I acquired home, plus this Zentangle book, Yoga for mental performance, and I also have always been here to tell you that there’s a effect that is meditative this activity beyond anything you might ever imagine.

I highly recommend Zentangle being a family activity with teenagers.

A Few Great Links

 

Love:

  • Vi-Hart — A self-described ‘mathemusician.’ Rabbit Hole Warning. Discovered during the Gel Conference.
  • All things are a Remix — Does the phrase ‘you took my idea’ make you cringe? Check out Kirby Ferguson’s movies. Also discovered at Gel( recommend Gel, highly btw)
  • Education Quick Takes — Super-smart blog about education by up to date petroleum geologist, economic planner, and mom, Grace Nunez.
  • STEM Parent (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) — a spirit that is kindred. Just discovered.

My Wall of Math

The last thing I did before I fell off the SAT cliff, was read Dr. Tahir Yagoob’s book, so what can i really do to Help My son or daughter with Math When I Don’t understand Any Myself?

We consumed the entire book in BIG, voracious, eye gulps.

The title of this book shows it’s limited to parents trying to simply help their children with math — and truly, this is a must read for that reason alone. However, the book goes way beyond the parent audience, to anyone who would like to learn tried and tested study practices from an extremely smart man.

Dr. Yagoob’s bio from Amazon:

‘I have always been a researcher in astrophysics and an educator in mathematics, physics, and astrophysics. We’m constantly in search of new ways to comprehend things, and have over a quarter of a hundred years of experience in tutoring and math that is mentoring physics across the entire scholastic range, from students at elementary school to those in Ph.D. programs. We have also trained postgraduate pupils and postdoctoral researchers to become established researchers and professors in physics and astrophysics. I have published over one hundred research documents on astrophysical subjects in peer-reviewed international journals and am a member of the editorial board of the international peer-reviewed journal ISRN Astronomy and Astrophysics. To motivate and be encouraged are wonderful things and i’ve been influenced by different authors and their books from the time I can remember. Two people that stand out above the rest are Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan, who to this day are in my own consciousness, continuously driving motivation. By them, even if it is outside your usual genre list if you are young and have never read anything by either of them, I highly recommend reading at least one book. Despite the fact that some of their matter that is subject may out-of-date, their style is timeless.’