Award-Winning SAT Reading Courses & Classes in Thousand Oaks, CA

If you reached this page by searching for an "SAT Reading class near me," Varsity Tutors offers comprehensive SAT Reading courses you may wish to look into. We are a leader in the competitive test prep space because we specialize in providing students with the individualized attention they need to pursue their academic goals.

The SAT is a high-stakes exam taken by high school juniors and seniors across the country as part of the college application process. It is divided into four sections, one of which assesses a test taker's critical reading skills. If your student could retain more of the information they read, taking an SAT Reading prep class may prove to be a wise investment.

Students take the SAT in order to fulfill the standardized testing requirement on their undergraduate college applications. The SAT Reading section is scored with the assessment's Writing and Language section on a scale from 200-800. A student's score on this section is then added to their Math score (also on a 200-800 scale) to produce a final grade from 400-1,600. In addition, there is an optional essay section scored separately from the rest of the exam.

Colleges and universities each assign different weights to standardized test scores, and some may consider the Verbal Score more important than other sections. This becomes more likely if your student plans to major in a "Verbal" discipline such as English. Enrolling your student in an SAT Reading prep course may help them build the study skills required to feel more confident on exam day.

The entire SAT Reading section is comprised of multiple-choice questions based on provided reading passages, making reading comprehension and attention to detail the most important skills for the exam. Students only have 65 minutes to read all of the passages and answer 52 questions, so time management can also be a beneficial skill to practice during an SAT Reading class.

Most SAT Reading classes begin by helping students feel comfortable with the formatting of the exam. The SAT is a traditional pencil-and-paper test. The SAT Reading section consists of four reading passages (or groups of reading passages) about the topics listed below:

• One passage that comes from contemporary or class US or world literature
• One or a pair of passages from one of the United States founding documents or another passage from the Great Global Conversation that these documents inspired
• A social science selection related to sociology, psychology, economics, or related areas
• 2-3 science passages examining developments and foundational concepts in physics, chemistry, biology, or Earth science.

How Can SAT Reading Prep Courses Near Me Help My Student Prepare?

Taking an SAT Reading course can equip your student with the skills needed for each of these passages. For example, the Literature passage is likely to ask students to interpret who the characters are and what they want, as well as how the context of the story may impact them. If your student has a hard time relating to works of fiction, your student's instructor might draw practice passages from an English Language Arts textbook during SAT Reading prep courses to make it a little easier.

Understanding creative writing can also be difficult for some students, so your student's instructor may encourage them to try writing some original material. If your student has some experience with creative writing, it may be easier for them to relate to the process that goes into producing fiction. Naturally, answering questions about that process may then become easier.

Likewise, the Founding Fathers of the United States employed English mechanics that are very different from the standards of today. Some of the words they used are out-of-date, important concepts could be capitalized for emphasis, and certain words had multiple acceptable spellings. If your student has a hard time adapting to older written material, they may review it during their SAT Reading course until they are more comfortable with the English conventions of yesteryear.

If your student feels as though the 18th century is too far removed from their modern life, parallels may be drawn between then and now to make it more interesting. Modern political discourse is civil compared to the feud between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. It may also prove beneficial to look at how Founding concepts have translated to the contemporary United States. For example, how has the separation of powers prescribed in the Constitution been adapted throughout American history? Developing an appreciation for the past can help students interpret it in the present.

The passage on social science can prove tricky because the subject matters (psychology, economics, sociology, etc.) are rarely studied at the high school level. Your student may wish to review these concepts during SAT Reading prep classes to help them develop a frame of reference that can place these subjects within their proper context. Otherwise, students may feel that they are reading random words about a subject they have little understanding of.

Graphs and charts can also appear on this section, so your student may need to review them for the social sciences passage. Thankfully, students never need to use mathematics on the SAT Reading section, so interpreting data in graphical form is enough. Your student's instructor may provide practice problems about charts and graphs to make your student more comfortable with this segment of the exam.

Finally, scientific reading passages tend to be densely packed with pertinent information. If your student has a hard time concentrating on dense material, their instructor may demonstrate active reading techniques such as jotting down notes during SAT Reading prep courses. Not only can this help ensure that a student is concentrating on a reading passage, they may also be able to refer to their notes instead of the passage itself to answer a challenging question!

Some students may also have a hard time relating to scientific material. Your student's instructor might identify ways in which science has positively changed the world, such as the invention of the internet, to make it seem more relevant to their everyday lives. Alternatively, practice passages may be drawn from scientific topics that your student finds interesting to make them more relatable. If your student is fascinated by Earth Science, reading passages about it can help them prepare even if their actual SAT Reading section has a passage on biology instead.

While a lot of different topics are covered, students do not need any prior knowledge to answer SAT Reading questions. That said, a general knowledge base about the topics above can help a student digest written information more quickly. Taking an SAT Reading class could be a great way to help the student in your life build a solid background in the topics most likely to appear on test day.

Similarly, many students practice test-taking strategies during SAT Reading prep classes. For instance, multiple-choice questions might contain enough information to answer another item on the exam. A student who knows to keep an eye open for opportunities to leverage an exam against itself may be able to correctly answer a couple of questions that they otherwise could have missed.

Since students only have 65 minutes for the entire test, it can prove beneficial to take practice tests to get a feel for what the time available feels like. There is no penalty for guessing on the SAT, so an SAT Reading class might go over how to eliminate incorrect answer choices and take a guess if your student gets stuck. Your student cannot afford to spend 20 minutes on number 17, after all!

In addition, students can take practice exams during SAT Reading courses to gain firsthand experience with how the test works. If your student consistently performs better on one section of the test than another, the results of a practice test may help identify the areas of opportunity future SAT Reading classes should focus on. Alternatively, a student who memorizes the directions in an SAT Reading prep course doesn't need to read them on exam day, potentially allowing them to apply a little extra time to the rest of the test.

If you would like an example of the types of questions your student might review during an SAT Reading prep class, consider the sample question below:

• This question is based on a provided written passage
  • In the context of the passage, the author's use of the phrase "her light step flying to keep time with his long stride" (line 3) is primarily meant to convey the idea that:
    • Ethan and Mattie share a powerful enthusiasm.
    • Mattie strives to match the speed at which Ethan works.
    • Mattie and Ethan playfully compete with each other.
    • Ethan walks at a pace that frustrates Mattie.

If you feel that your student would not have answered this question correctly, they may review critical reading techniques during their SAT Reading courses to help them identify the context that gives a particular line its intended meaning. If you would like to look at more practice questions, your student's SAT Reading prep class instructor can show you additional problems.

Varsity Tutors offers two different SAT Reading prep classes to help as many students as possible to pursue academic success. Our first SAT Reading class consists of private one-on-one tutoring. Your student can spend as long as they need to on any concept, and any questions they have may be addressed in a timely fashion. In contrast, large SAT Reading courses generally follow set curricula that may not be adjusted based on the needs of an individual student.

A private tutor can also take the time to get to know your student on a personal level, potentially allowing them to foster a learning environment where your student is more comfortable asking questions as necessary. Tutors may also be able to adjust their approach to suit their pupil's unique learning style. For example, auditory learners might need to read material out loud in their head in order to fully grasp it, while visual learners might prefer to draw a little star to highlight important concepts. Either approach is workable, but classroom teachers often need to choose one at the expense of the other.

Furthermore, your student's one-on-one instructor may even be able to design study sessions around your student's interests to create a more engaging SAT Reading course. For instance, a student with a passion for business might practice reading dense passages on economics to prepare for the social science passage on the exam. If a student is actively engaged in the learning process, they are likely to get more out of it.

Alternatively, you may choose an SAT Reading group course. An SAT Reading course is comprised of a teacher, your student, and several classmates preparing for the same exam. Students are free to help each other out as needed, potentially creating a collaborative learning environment that helps everybody pursue their goals.

This format adds a little bit more structure to the learning process, which some students might find beneficial. You also get more value for your money while retaining the right to arrange a separate SAT Reading prep class if your student needs more personalized attention to grasp a particular topic.

We also try to make it easy to find "SAT Reading classes near me." Our Live Learning Platform facilitates digital study sessions, providing the benefits of attending an SAT Reading course with an instructor in the same room without actually needing to arrange such a meeting. If you're interested in tutoring, we'll try to match you with an instructor who fits your scheduling needs. Alternatively, we offer multiple SAT Reading prep courses concurrently to help you find one that fits your life. Nobody should need to rearrange their life just to accommodate an SAT Reading prep course!

If you would like us to connect you with the "SAT Reading courses near me" you have been searching for, please contact an Educational Consultant using the info provided below for more information. Varsity Tutors is dedicated to helping as many students as possible reach for their academic goals!