Award-Winning Private SSAT Tutoring in Boulder, CO

"The student and I continued to go over the verbal section of the test. We did some more timed practice analogy and practice synonym problems. We stressed the concept of omitting problems. We also reinforced the concept of using the root word to possibly eliminate answer choices. Lastly, we looked at the reading section. We did some timed passages, stressing the concept of picking easy passages first. I started to quiz him on the vocabulary words he is looking at between sessions, and reminded him to take some time this week to review the words- even if for just 10 minutes a day. "

"Today's session focused strictly on writing. The first thing the student and I did was go over the rules for the writing session of the SSAT, where I would read all of the information, and he would write down the most important things mentioned. We went over definitions of important terminology such as "point of view" (1st, 2nd, and 3rd person), "setting," and "tense." I made sure he could provide me with examples of each of the terms, using examples of his own based on the definitions provided and examples given by me. Then we went over the breaking down of a story's plot, in order to understand the different elements needed in his story according to Freytag's pyramid (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution). After giving definitions and examples of each pyramid element, I had him provide me with his own examples, based on his most recent book. Afterward, I had him read information from the test prep practice site, relating to the middle-level test. After he read, I had him explain to me what he understood of what he had read, to make sure he had no issues furthering his knowledge on the test's rules. He then read a sample expository middle-level essay, to get an idea as to what his own essay would need to look like once he takes the writing section. He had to then identify the Freytag elements of the story, based on what he learned from the pyramid, to make sure the sample essay followed those rules. Then, for the remainder of the session, the student was given two prompts from me, for which he had to write two essays (timed), which would be evaluated by me at home, to account for spelling, grammar, and punctuation accuracy, as well as creativity. I then provided him with his homework for the next Sunday session: a YouTube session relating to the middle-level and upper-level test, where he would take notes and explain to me what he learned before we are to review his essays together. "

"The student and I began our session with a timed math section. She did very well and demonstrated that she is utilizing her test-taking strategies and that she is able to solve problems with concepts we have covered. She did very well with problems involving percentages and two-step problem solving. Her performance was strong, and she earned an estimated score of 600. We then reviewed the strategy for her verbal section and completed a timed verbal section. She used her strategies well and was very thorough. She did very well on the synonym section but didn't fare as well on the analogy section. We reviewed the questions she got wrong and a couple of questions she may have been able to figure out. She did not mix up the order of her analogies with this section so that was an improvement. We plan to meet one additional time before her test date. I expect she will be able to achieve an improved score on her test day based on her hard work and excellent application of her new test strategies. I also expect her math will be stronger since through our sessions she has had exposure to more challenging concepts. "

"Today the student and I worked on a math section of the SSAT Middle Level examination. As this was our first session, I used his work to gauge his current math level. We discussed good test strategies, including eliminating answers and time management. He had a great attitude and is clearly a very bright student with a strong background!"

"We spent the first hour of our session reviewing the student's middle level SSAT Math practice test. She scored 6 right and 19 wrong. Her mother shared that because she was having difficulty she had the student answer all of the questions. Some take away concepts that we will practice for the next session are understanding the thinking behind word problems, and identifying the important portions and using them to solve. When we began to review I noticed it was more so the thought behind solving the question that was difficult for the student more than the concept itself. Her homework this week will focus on the following math concepts: percentages of numbers, and word problems with graphs. She will also work through some basic algebra practices understanding variables and how to solve for them. This test also included area and perimeter but we will focus on the basic geometry sections next time. If time permits I would like for her to complete the diagnostic test for math. I'd like to have her work out her answers and eliminate answers on paper even though she is reading from the computer or tablet. She is to continue practicing her vocabulary and analogy types. Next session we will continue with a focus on math and I will give her a verbal diagnostic. We finished the section with a focus on inferences. The key for her will be identifying the details and then justifying her inference choices with evidence from the text. I have attached an inference practice."

"A great session! We began with several practice questions in different subjects to gauge her content knowledge. With several literary fiction passages, including poetry, we looked at author's tone, mood, and purpose. The student did extremely well, only hesitating some with point of view. We also worked through several medium range analogies; she was able to accurately mirror the analogy relationship and select the correct answer, using knowledge of word roots, prefixes, and suffixes. When a word was unfamiliar and this strategy did not work, she accessed prior and similar information to make educated guesses. She is obviously very strong with verbal and reading strategies and I believe she will continue to progress steadily. We also worked with mathematical concepts at a moderate level of difficulty. She demonstrated knowledge of percents, fractions, and probability, needing very little prompting or guidance from me. She has asked for some strength-building in percentages. In particular, she did well with word problems and using supplied information to set up equations and work through the problems. We will continue to develop from these subjects, focusing mostly on formulas, as some (i.e. area, Pythagorean) were unfamiliar. I have assigned vocabulary study to her for future sessions. Using the SSAT review, she has already begun to make study aids (flashcards) for learning unfamiliar vocabulary. I praised her for taking this step, which will prove beneficial in all future learning, but especially in the reading and verbal sections of the test. Prefixes, word roots, and suffixes will also be very important. I have shared an online resource, a chart, of commonly used word parts with her to review. I have asked her to go through her current vocabulary flashcards and underline prefixes, roots, and suffixes to help her recognize and learn them. The more she knows these, the easier she can decode unfamiliar vocabulary. We completed our session with a quick "quiz" assessment of prefixes. She did perfectly, scoring 10/10, with my only assistance suggesting associative vocabulary. In our next session, I plan to introduce a higher level of difficulty in reading passages, study analogy relationships, and continue working through mathematical concepts, guiding as necessary. We will also discuss the writing section of the SSAT and the choices available to her."

"This was my first session with the student. He is clearly smart and was willing to begin working right away. He favors math and did well with some practice problems. We reviewed a couple of math laws since he couldn't always remember them based simply on their names. We also worked on vocabulary and reading comprehension. He was proactive about looking up new words so that he could make better choices when answering vocab questions or completing analogies. When it comes to reading comprehension, he is not always reading the entire passage before tackling the questions. Since he will try to answer the questions prematurely, he is getting some wrong answers. This is something we will work on more in the future. I will teach him strategies to read the passage while looking specifically for important information. Overall, our first session was very positive, and I look forward to working with him more in the future!"

"We focused mainly on geometry. Specifically, we discussed about types of triangles and how to find the perimeter and area of a given triangle. Then I assigned the student to do two pages of homework that involved finding the perimeter/area of rectangles and squares. Towards to the end, we briefly touched on proportions and percentages, which we will cover more next time."