In our performance-based world, we try to measure success objectively, and that means testing. See our approach to test preparation and test-taking skills.
A tutor can help students become stronger independent learners by developing a customized approach to organization, and cognition.
We see education as a process that involves far more than learning the basics, pushing for higher grades, or finding the right college.
A private and locally owned firm, we work with students from fifth grade to graduate school with one single mission – to improve educational performance.
Whether attending public or private schools, our students become achievers and see results – higher school grades, stronger standardized test scores, and college admission to their choice of university or graduate school.
Our unique teaching method helps students find the right path to higher skills and a brighter future.
Admission to a highly competitive college has never been more difficult. Inundated with thousands of applications, top universities accept fewer than one in five applicants and elite universities around one in ten applicants.
Given the high academic record of their applicant pool, colleges rely on the ACT or SAT exam to filter out the students most likely to succeed on their campus.
Not only is admission an important reason to score well on the ACT and SAT, but scholarships and financial aid are also dependent on it as well. The higher a student scores, the more likely the student is to get into a good school, and the more likely it is for that student to get offered a decent amount of money off of tuition.
This means that there is an incredibly high amount of performance pressure placed on students. How does someone perform well on something?
Practice and preparation, and a lot of it. It is an “open secret” that a student must prepare for the ACT in order to achieve their desired test score.
This should come as little surprise – students spend time studying for chapter tests and finals at school, and the ACT is a big test. The real question is how to prepare.
We find that the least successful method of ACT and SAT Test preparation is a short series of large classes. Students learn too differently to design a test prep class that can address the individual testing needs of a diverse group of teenagers.
Another method that students sometimes turn to is simply taking a practice test alone. While these tests are useful, a student usually cannot fully grasp what it is they are doing wrong.
They might learn a bit more about certain science or math concepts, but maybe the root of the issue is that they do not know the best way to read a graph.
This is when having a test prep expert sitting by their side can be extremely helpful, because instruction from that person can help teach them the tricks of the trade.
The best ACT test prep programs are one-on-one settings with an instructor who has the ability and experience to identify different learning styles and translate years of test analysis into straightforward lessons, customized to the strengths and needs of the individual student.
To put it plainly, when it comes to learning everyone is different and individualized attention can make a world of difference.
Students and parents alike mistakenly believe anyone can prepare for test day in a short period of time with minimal effort. But real success on the ACT requires a sustained commitment to preparation.
Students will retain more information, gain more confidence and comfort and deliver higher scores if they work on preparation on a regular basis over an extended stretch of time.
The ACT is a backward-looking test. It is designed to measure how well students have mastered basic skills in reading comprehension, mathematics, grammar, and science. It builds time as a necessary component of the test.
Preparing for the SAT exam requires a different mindset and discipline than the ACT. And yet, we encourage students to take both tests because students tend to favor one test over another, and also colleges prefer to see a student show initiative in sitting for both college admissions tests.
Here at Mackler Associates, we understand exactly what ACT test prep entails and have the tools and resources to help students understand it as well. First of all, we want to see your student succeed, and students can tell this, which makes them want to succeed too.
Second, we cater the individual to a standardized test, something that is essential to success but can be an incredibly difficult task. We have worked with hundreds of students with vastly different abilities and profiles, and yet at the end of the program, these students see success and real results.
In our performance-based world, we try to measure success objectively, and that means testing. Starting in elementary school and extending to graduate school, students face an alphabet soup of tests – ISEE, SSAT, SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT.
Consequently, many students feel a general, continuing, and growing sense of unease about testing.
Some feel anxious. Some express outright panic.
That’s where we come in. Test anxiety and feelings of panic can cause test scores to plummet. No matter how much someone prepares for a test, if all they can think about is how they have to perform well or else they won’t succeed at their goals, they aren’t going to do well.
So not only will our ACT and SAT prep classes help with actual test material, they help to boost the student’s confidence in the process.
