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Recent Tutoring Session Reviews

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"I met with the student on Wednesday to check his homework. We spent most of our time going over a long packet I had given him. He completed 30 math problems, 30 synonyms, and 5 reading comprehension passages for homework. The student did great on the reading comprehension and synonyms, and he did very well on the math as well but he could have done better if he had slowed down. Given that the student got all of the math questions right when there was a gift card on the line, I think maybe a small "carrot" may help the student on test day. I'll send him homework for Sunday."

★ ★ ★ ★

"In this session we began with general test-taking strategies for each section. Since her mother is mostly concerned with Math for the student, we spent extra time on that section (Mathematic Achievement). We moved into the essay portion and the student wrote, in real test time, the essay portion. We reviewed and went over strategies for essay writing. "

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"Today we focused on the Reading Comprehension and Verbal sections of the upcoming test. The student seems to be particularly strong in the Reading Comprehension section. We spent some time going over word roots and it does not seem to be too much of a problem for him if explained properly. We will need to work on timed practice tests a bit more so that he can get used to being in a timed environment."

★ ★ ★ ★

"Today the student and I started our session with an essay-writing tutorial. We worked specifically on how to plan an essay so all of the details relate back to his topic sentence. We wrote two separate essays using this method. He and I also reviewed several math concepts and the verbal reasoning section. He does exceptionally well in the verbal reasoning section."

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"He is a very bright student with great aptitude and a surprisingly rich vocabulary. He was a ton of fun due to his creativity. We began by practicing context clues with sentence completion work, and followed up by working on reading comprehension. He was very good at finding the information within the text and applying it to the questions below, and he was able to pinpoint the exact spot where he found each piece of information. We ended the session by working on an essay prompt, which we outlined and he will be writing for homework."

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"Today I had the student complete a full-length practice test in its entirety. We wanted to determine how he would do with having to sit still and test for an extended period of time. I also want to gauge exactly where he currently stands with regard to the subject matter on the ISEE. He did well with maintaining his focus on the practice test, and didn't seem to be overly stressed by the fact that there was a timer running for each section. I recorded his times at the top of each of his answer sheets for future reference. There were some questions he found difficult on the Quantitative Reasoning section, so we will simply have to go back over them next week and see where the difficulty was with those. My guess is that is simply due to the fact that they presented certain material he has not yet covered in his schooling. I will score the exam myself, along with read over the essay he wrote following a sample test prompt, and bring this information back next week for extensive review and discussion with both him and his mother. That way, we can set up a plan for where to go next in our tutoring sessions so as to prepare him for his exam in the best way/s possible. "

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"Today Student 1 and I went over the two sections she did: Verbal and Math Achievement. She'd already done the MA section, but she did it again after a math review with her dad. And she got 2/3 right! This ended up being very helpful because we were able to go over the ones that she still had trouble with. So we were able to hit home a few more math lessons. Then, we went over the verbal section. She needs to study her root words and also try to connect the word she doesn't know to other words. She should at least decide whether it's positive, negative, or neutral. That way, she can cross off the words with opposite charges and narrow down her choices. I asked her to do the final lower level reading section on the test prep site. Student 2 and I went over her verbal section and math achievement. We went over all the math problems she got wrong, and I'm sure that next time she will get even fewer wrong! For the verbal, I made connections with similar words, discussed negative and positive charge, and encouraged her to look up words she doesn't know while reading. For Friday, I assigned her a section in her new prep book."

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"It was our math intensive day. We reviewed and really drilled on the divisions, including those involving decimals, which was the student's first exposure to it, as well as some of the basic geometry. I decided to cram the division while introducing fractions and decimal points together. I have confidence in her learning ability. I emphasized the importance of complete memorization of the multiplication table, which is the major assignment I gave her. "

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"Today, we started by reviewing the student's essay. This essay was much better than her first essay in terms of organization and focus. She got a 5.4/6. The lowest points came from spelling and style (how formal vs casual the writing style is). We talked a little bit about how to make conclusions more impactful and poignant, but she has improved significantly since the first time in this area. Next, we reviewed math, specifically fractions. I introduced fractions, which she was quick to remember from school. Next, I reviewed equivalent fractions (how to tell if fractions are equal to each other). Lastly, I reviewed how to add fractions, and how to find the least common denominator as necessary."

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"During this tutoring session, I started off with math. We covered factors & multiples and fractions (improper fractions, mixed numbers). We went over the concepts and some examples, and then we did some practice drills. The student is getting better at slowing down and taking the time to think about the problems, so in this math lesson, he was able to get almost all of the answers correct. We also went over the flashcards he made for last session's vocabulary list. He has a pretty good memory, and I believe that using the vocabulary words in sentences helps him to remember the definitions. I assigned him new words for next week, along with some extra words he got wrong while practicing drills for the verbal section. After that, we did some practice drills for verbal (fill in the blank). We went over the ones he got wrong, and even without my help, he was able to tell me the correct answer choice because he already knew. I think that he can benefit from being more confident about his abilities in verbal, especially because this is his stronger subject. I also assigned him an essay to write for the next session, and I want to see if he makes use of the ISEE essay format."

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

"The student was 'spot-on' focused today. She moved quickly to the diagnostic tests for the ISEE-Lower Level. Once there, she was able to complete 3 different tests within our hour long tutoring session. What is most noteworthy about her performance today is threefold: she scored in the 90's on each diagnostic, with each test she had fewer questions/required fewer prompts from me, and she improved her time over the course of the 3 tests. All in all, this was a very strong achievement. It was a pleasure for me to see the kind of growth she is making as she readies for the upcoming test."