sAt/Act Improvement

Dr. Wayne Adams

Fall Exam Dates: SAT on Nov 6 and Dec 4, Mar 12; ACT on Oct 23, Dec 11, Feb 12.

THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE recently made a small reduction in Bright Futures scholarships in 2022 by eliminating the $600 annual textbook stipend for scholarship winners. All other provisions remained the same. As you know, the major screening hurdle for qualifying for Bright Futures is the SAT or ACT score. The 100% level requires an SAT superscore of 1330 or an ACT composite of 29. The 75% level requires an SAT superscore of 1210 or an ACT composite of 25. Many times parents will tell me, “My student has excellent grades, but has not scored well on the SAT and/or the ACT.” I believe THERE ARE FOUR MAJOR REASONS GOOD STUDENTS DON’T SCORE WELL on these exams. REASON #1: Most high school students lack key fundamentals such as having had phonics, grammar, “recall” vocabulary, critical thinking, and the mathematics needed to do well on these exams. In many cases, they “overthink” to find the answers. According to multiple research, the vocabulary for a senior in high school is about the same as for an eighthgrader. Unfortunately, this is no lol! My students learn “new ways to learn” that greatly increases both learning and remembering vocabulary and dramatically improving their English/Writing and Grammar abilities. REASON #2: Educational directions in most high schools do not match what is required to do well on the SAT and ACT. Pre-calculus, most geometry, and most algebra courses poorly prepare for these exams. Recently, I tutored a 7th grader who had not had algebra or geometry. His baseline score as we started was 375. When he took the actual ACT exam, he scored very close to a 600 in math. REASON #3: Most Prep Classes in high school are woefully inadequate. Recently, I learned that a leading private high school used the worst SAT prep book on the market today and the students were bored to death. In other words, prep classes are seen as “fluff” breaks between the real “academic” work at school … yet the SAT and ACT results often have more impact on students’ future (admissions and scholarships) than most classes in high school. REASON #4: Students don’t know how to achieve and maintain their peak “Mental Performance Zone” on the SAT, ACT, and other tests in life. I am convinced half of a student’s doing his/her best is mental. One of my highest scoring students said, “Dr. A, my biggest problem is test anxiety.” So I wrote a guide which we use in our classes that has proven to greatly help my students in “doing their best on the SAT and ACT, and in life. THE GOOD NEWS IS …I consistently find that students respond incredibly well and improve in our classes. My role is to quickly help them determine where they need to work and to be a resource as they progress. Instead of my lecturing, we work together to determine a student’s baseline level, then then structure their learning around their needs. In our classes, there are no “good or bad” scores. Instead, they simply indicate where we need to work to improve. It is very satisfying to see their motivations soar when their perspective changes from “Can I do this?” to “I can do this.” to “I can do this well.” and then to “Let me show you how well I can do.” They discover that real competition is internal and - when they do their best - external results take care of themselves. Learning the strategies often result in comments like, “Cool” and “That makes it a lot easier”. More important, they learn how to “learn for a lifetime”. REWARDING COMMENTS … “I have been offered a $32,000/year academic scholarship at a great school and they also want to offer more on the athletic side.” “Just got news that I have been early-accepted to my dream school, (Top 5 school).” “Dr. A., thank so much for helping me with my college application essay. Your changes and additions, not to mention cutting its length, were incredible. Thank you!” “Our family is working together through your book How To Survive And Thrive As A Freshman At A Secular University. Things have changed a lot since we went to college. Thanks for helping us prepare for what is coming soon.” “Your counseling about college admissions, and especially your guide Negotiating with Colleges, has been ‘eye-opening’ and very helpful in cutting our college costs. Thank you so much.”

If You Would Like To Talk More About How I Can Help You, please contact me at 727-253-0639 or at wwa0811@ mykolab.com.

Dr. Wayne Adams is one of the leading SAT and ACT tutors in the country. His students normally improve around 200+ points on the Writing, Reading, and Math, and 4 – 7 points on the ACT composite. They have been admitted to “9 of the Top 10” universities in the country, “18 of the top 25”, and many schools in Florida. These schools include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, U Chicago, Duke, U Penn, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Notre Dame, Emory, UC Berkley, UCLA, USC, UNC (Chapel Hill), NYU, Northeastern (Boston), Boston College, Georgia Tech, Air Force and Merchant Marine Service Academies, Penn State, LSU, Auburn, UF, U Miami, FSU, USF, UCF, Florida Atlantic, Florida Gulf Coast, FIU, New College of Florida, Stetson, and Julliard – Manhattan - New England - and Berkley Conservatories of Music. Many have received academic, athletic, or music scholarships. He also tutored three juniors who were national merit finalists on the PSAT. He is a former Dean of a Graduate School of Business and Full Professor, and began college teaching at the University of Maryland in 1968. He has degrees and advanced studies at Harvard, Yale, Vanderbilt, Columbia International, and Luther Rice.