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The student and I worked through a practice test section for math, 2 calculus sections, and the sentence improvement part of a grammar section, working on timing and reviewing rules and concepts as needed. We also had time for him to write out the outline for an essay, which I gave him feedback and suggestions on.

This session I went over with the areas of improvement that I would like to see in her essays. I read over two essays I had her write, and they are at a 9 scoring range, maybe 10 if lenient. She has good content and ideas, but the communication and level of argument is not up to par of what the SAT would deem as a critical thinker. She has good portions to work with for her essay, but she needs to refine it. We then just worked on practice SAT sections and she was able to complete a Critical Reading section fairly well, missing 3 (though ideally only 1 per section as we near her next test). She also was able to complete a Math section. She was second guessing herself and also had quite a few mistakes with her work. For Math, I had to review with her, special question types where the SAT uses symbols or weird structures that basically represent ways of substituting in new variables or representing an equation that she does not need to get thrown off by. The test is fairly straightforward and she needs to avoid being thrown off by something that looks foreign. She needs to be able to take a breath, reassess the problem, and realize that it isn't as foreign as it may look.

The student and I concentrated on timing strategy as well as algebra today. We looked at exponent and root functions especially, and talked through some strategies. The student will start taking timed sections for me for next time.

Following our first session a week ago, we progressed into the math section. Today's focus was on reviewing the student's previous homework assignment as well as applying some strategies for the math section. Although her math score was the highest of the three sections, it is the area she feels she needs the most help in. The student has the knowledge to do most of the math problems. However, some concepts and "hidden" information make it difficult for her to achieve a 700+ on the math section. Therefore, our plan is to focus on specific questions we can apply SAT-specific strategies to. She was able to grasp the various methods we discussed. In today's session, we were able to cover a couple of math concepts that are crucial for the SAT, and we will continue to go over more. In the next week or two, I hope to be able to explore new concepts and tricks with the student. The most important factor for success is the amount of practice that she does on her own. With adequate experience on multiple math questions, she should have no issue bumping up her overall score.

In our session today, the student and I focused mainly on reading comprehension and writing. We talked about the different strategies I had given her for the reading section before, and we decided that she needs to read the passage before completing the questions, rather than reading the questions first. We also discussed and practiced the strategies I had given her for the vocabulary section. The most important thing she could do to prepare for this section is review her vocabulary flashcards again and again. After, I had her complete a couple of the writing grammar sections. We reviewed all the grammar rules we had covered before, and I definitely saw an improvement in her mastery of the subject compared to where she was a few weeks ago. She knows the grammar rules a lot better and is therefore able to answer the writing questions more accurately. I think she will do great on this portion of the test. Next week, I want to do a focused lesson on all three subjects, though with particular focus on math and writing. For extra work, I instructed the student to keep going over practice tests, but to also go over the same problems that we have done together. Repetition of past problems will help solidify grammar rules, math equations, and vocabulary words that she'll need when she takes the test again in two weeks!