Finding SAT Prep Courses For Your Child’s Needs

How to find SAT prep courses for your child’s needs?

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Parenting never ends, and so too when you’ve already got teenagers. As your child grows and begins to venture into more challenging responsibilities, parents have a huge role to play as well. One of these has to do with the SAT’s. While many others may find the SATs a breeze to go through, a majority is also of the opinion that it takes a lot of effort and preparation. There’s no easy way out.

That said, here are some tips for you to keep in mind, in finding SAT prep courses for your children:

Understand the needs of your child

No two children have the same academic needs. Not even if they’ve been in the same class all their life, or if they’ve tackled the same subjects. As you browse through the course outline of varying SAT prep courses, it’s imperative, therefore, for you also to understand the needs of your child. Remember that these are courses to help improve scores of your child. Hence, you have to meet that goal by understanding your child’s needs. Ask the following questions:

• What subjects/areas do my children have difficulty with?
• What are the strengths of my child that don’t need much attention or focus on studying?

Through answering these questions, you have a better assessment as to whether or not specific SAT prep courses are the best match to that of your child’s needs.

Choose a challenging course

Encourage your child to take up a rigorous course, one that’s harder than what he or she is used to at school. That way, throughout the study process, your child is also trained in thinking and understanding the concepts better. The SAT really is, in essence, a test designed to test the taker as to how much they’ve learned or grasped in school. If they’ve been lagging a bit behind the usual standard, taking a challenging course will put them back on track. This will help you ensure that your child gets all the prep they need for their exams.

Set a specific goal

Each SAT prep course has its strengths and weaknesses, too, as to topics covered in relation to the scoring system of the SAT. It’s your job, therefore, to help your child set a specific and measurable as to the score goal of your child. You can do this by looking through previous SAT exams and the division of topics, difficulty level, and scoring system. Then, work through each area as to the specific scores that your child should aim for.

In this manner, you can better match the SAT prep course with that of your score goals. Is it in reading comprehension that you know your child can score the highest on? Or would they prefer writing instead?

Encourage reading

Another way for you to filter through the myriad of options that may be available to you is for you to choose the prep course that best encourages reading for your child. The SAT is going to have a lot of reading involved. If your child is not the type to read a lot or enjoy reading, then they’re only going to have a hard time keeping up, come test day.

As the SAT prep course usually expands through a sequence of one to three months, that means your child is also getting three months’ worth of reading practice. This can come in handy once they take the final SAT.

Consider your child’s schedule

The SAT prep course that you choose should also be one that fits into your child’s schedule. Remember that they have to take this simultaneously while attending classes and other extracurricular classes. While the SAT prep course is highly encouraged, it ceases to be effective once it starts to have a burning up effect on your child.

Browse through each course outline provided by the SAT courses you’re looking to enroll your child in. Then, try to create a study schedule based on each course topic covered, plus the current schedule of your child. Choose the one that fits best with that of your child’s current schedule.

Browse through reviews

All thanks to technology, the Internet truly is one of your best resources. As you also browse through multiple SAT prep courses, it helps to read through each of the reviews carefully. Most of these are written by those that have taken the class before. If there’s anything that speaks to be a red flag for you, then perhaps it’s best for you to choose another one instead.

Conclusion

The SAT is one of the most challenging standardized examinations that your child will ever have to go through. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to passing and acing the SAT. But, there are ways for you to get your child ready. One of the most effective is through going through prep courses. As you select from the many available options, follow these tips, and you’ll be more assured of landing the prep course that genuinely fits the needs and preferences of your child.