Practice Never Makes Anyone Perfect

One thing strikes fear into the hearts of most high school students across the United States: the ACT and SAT. Before a high school student can be accepted into most colleges or universities they must first take a test. Whether it is the ACT or SAT, students are forced to sit in a silent room for hours on end while answering hundreds of question about information they are supposed to know. The truth is that our students are suffering from such gruesome tests knowing that it could potential hurt their plans for the future. One teacher compares testing to “checking to make sure a plant is growing properly by repeatedly ripping it out of the ground and examining the roots. When the plant is placed back into the soil, it does not remain the

In classrooms all across America, students sit perched over their desks in the process of taking standardized tests. As the students take the tests, teachers pace nervously up and down the rows of their classroom, hoping and praying that their students can recall the information which they have presented. Some children sit relaxed at their desks, calmly filling in the bubbles and answering essay questions. These children are well prepared and equipped to handle their tests. Other children, however, sit hunched over their desks, pondering over questions, trying to guess an answer. They struggle to recall information that has been covered many times in class, but they can’t.

The current student spends a lot of time taking tests. A recent study suggests that “Starting in third grade, the typical U.S. student spends 20 to 25 hours each school year sitting for tests” (Dispatch) Of those twenty to twenty-five

“A theory of general psychology that states the differences between expert performers and normal adults reflect a life-long period of deliberate effort to improve performance in a specific domain. (Ericsson, K. A).”

The No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act entail that students with disabilities or special needs to be open to the overall education and determine the progress of the child. Three unsurpassed practice strategies for supporting young children on the autism spectrum (including Asperger's Syndrome) in an early learning environment. The first strategy is reinforcement. Reinforcement is a critical strategy of evolving and maintaining the enthusiasm of this type of student. A teacher must use objective or actions that the students would like or enjoy that can be obtainable behavior. In my field experience observed I have seen the Pre-K teacher use the computer and smartboard to interact with the class as well

Generally speaking, the SAT is a one-day test where students are forced to test in specific areas such as math, reading and writing in an allotted time period. An individual’s success cannot be measured by a snapshot of time. Many believe that time does not help reflect a student’s overall performance because there are multiple of variables that can happen throughout the time period and day to that individual. In addition, the SAT testing does not take into account other academic areas that a student may excel in. While a student’s GPA on their transcript can show administrators the student’s strengths and weakness since it reflects an accumulative of four years in high school, thus it is able to better represent a student’s academic

As I walked out of my dorm that morning for my 9am class, I checked my schedule to see where I needed to go. My first class was public speaking in room 232. My stomach instantly dropped. The calmness I once felt left my body in a rush. Public speaking was my worst fear. I stuttered and mumbled and shook each time I entered a crowded room. Speaking in front of a whole classroom has never been on my bucket list. I fretfully continued my journey to room 232. I attempted to give myself a pep talk along the way to help calm my nerves, but nothing was helping. I told myself that this was not

Keep in mind that high school students have a lot going on in their minds and something such as the SAT test can really be overwhelming. Students try their best to prepare themselves for months and months and then in the blink of an eye they are sitting down staring at a four hour test, trying to focus because it is so crucial to their future. Well, thoughts like this are what soar through kids minds’ in these moments, It happens oh so often, when kids show up to take their SAT test mentally exhausted because they could not get any sleep the night before. And then despite being exhausted before the test even begins, three hours into the test kids are almost brain dead at that point. But we have to deal with it because being only three hours in means we got a whole other hour of scratching our brains trying to gather ourselves mentally to finish the test. This brings up the question, how can a test that weighs so much on our future be given all in one day over the course of four long hours? Well, that is a good question; the simple answer is it shouldn’t be this way. Students should have the luxury of taking different sections of the tests on different days or at least have more than a five minute break in between every other section. By doing this, student will be able to regain their mental composure and not be totally mush brain by the time they are half way done the

Most importantly, the practice test administered at the end of the class allowed me to experience a realistic ACT environment, and to ready myself for the three and a half hours of critical thinking and rapid circle marking. I was more than a little anxious before the practice exam; I may have understood the concepts, but application of those concepts was its own beast to conquer. As I proceeded through the practice exam, however, I realized that the ACT was not the nightmare that I had expected. It was just a test, and I was armed with the resources to conquer

On October 10th students will have the opportunity to compete for a $1,000 prize by taking a SAT, new SAT, ACT or PSAT practice test. Students with the top score from each test category will be award a $1,000 cash prize. Students in 7th to 9th grade are eligible to take the PSAT; 10th to 12th graders can take either the SAT, New SAT or ACT practice test. Essays will be used as a tie-breaker if necessary. While the kids are testing, parents will be offered free workshops on the new SAT. The Challenges will be held at convenient venues in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angles, Mid Atlantic,

Summer freedom changes to football season and standardized tests for students as they return to school. Back-to-school shopping has barely ended when most students start taking their first big tests, such as the SAT. Friday night hype and school pride fades into a tired Saturday morning in school where it is the student with her bubble sheet and booklet, twenty other kids, and that one guy who will not stop coughing. Tests like the SAT are believed to show a student’s knowledge well-enough to affect the course of their future. Most students believe this to be unfair, even those who have adequate access to preparatory courses and materials.

In the past, a pen and paper test or an online test could more or less be trusted to provide an accurate score of a student’s academic level, yet the emergence of technology brought into question the validity and accuracy of non-proctored testing. To combat this issue, my institution, as well as many others, have implemented a blended approach to administer our placement tests. This approach combines the old school traditional in-class methodologies, alongside of online learning. Studies have shown that the concept and format of blended learning can improve the learning experience (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008, pp. 3). This approach was a driving factor behind the implementation of utilizing Accuplacer as the college’s exclusive placement test, as Accuplacer provides an online and proctored testing format.

Ericsson, K. Anders et al. “The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance.”Psychological Review, vol. 100, no. 3, 1993, pp. 363–406. doi:10.1037//0033-295x.100.3.363.

Growing up I was one to develop the mental mind block of fear. When it came to anything out of my comfort zone, I wanted no part of it. This problem I faced had many effects on my life and still tries to get the best of me today. One of the effects it had on me was a lack of communication skills. When it came time to talk in class I was the one hunkered down at my desk hoping the teacher wouldn’t call on

The SAT is a standardized test widely used for college and university admissions in the United States. It was first introduced in 1926, and its name and scoring system have changed several times throughout the years. Many students around the world that want to pursue post-secondary institutions in the US make it a point to write the SAT at least once in their high school career to better their chances of getting a higher score. This test has three parts to it – one reading, writing and one math. In order to achieve the best score that they can possibly get and be placed in the highest possible percentile, students may decide to attend SAT preparation classes starting from the early years of High/Middle School. The unfortunate reality of these extra preparation courses is that they are quite expensive, and due to this, they mostly cater towards to higher or higher-middle class families. Courses that provide extra preparation such as Ivy Global are not very affordable to many families and so students. According to many statistics and news reports, the higher the test taker’s family income, the higher their scores in the test. This has been a topic of great controversy as we have grown in the modern society