Never too early to start vocab, but rest of prep probably can wait until a couple of months before the test. I had a friend tell me she thought that it was a mistake for her child to take a test in October, because it was before she had covered a lot of 8th grade math concepts, and her confidence went way down when she got bad scores. I had my child take December and January, but if I had to do it again, I probably would do December plus a flex test in late December (after classes end, before Xmas), plus maybe have a January back up if necessary. (We have disappointing December scores and are finalizing apps without knowing yet how well Jan scores are. Stressful!)

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Anonymous wrote:DS wants to change schools at the end of eighth grade. What is the best prep class/tutoring method for her? And how much time ahead should she start?

Thank you!!

October and December is a pretty reasonable schedule; your daughter can re-take if you're not thrilled with the October scores, but she doesn't have to register for December before you see the results of October, so you have time to think about it.

You might consider having her take the June administration for practice. Technically if she hasn't finished seventh grade she's supposed to take the Middle Level, but at that point it probably makes sense for her to take the Upper Level, since that's what she'll take come fall anyway.

The prep books are all pretty good as far as that goes; you might see if any of your neighbors or friends with older kids still have theirs. (I promise you they won't be using them anymore!), or you can get them at any decent bookstore. At the very least they'll give your daughter a very good idea of what kinds of questions appear on the tests, so she doesn't have to go in without that basic information.

There are also many effective tutors, ranging in price from ski-vacation expensive to second-mortgage expensive. I'd be happy to recommend some who have helped students improve their scores if you'd like to hit me offline — see below.

Peter

_____________________

Disclaimer: The anonymity here makes me uncomfortable; it's easy to be uninformed, personal, or simply mean-spirited if people don't identify themselves. For that reason, I have an account so you know whose words you're reading. I have more than 20 years' experience as a teacher and administrator in independent schools, and I hope I can be helpful to some folks. If you don't like something I've said, you're in good company — there's a long line of past students ahead of you. If you want to chat further, please feel free to contact me offline: peter <at> arcpd <dot> com

For my DC, I just sent them in cold in October. My plan was to then see where their shortcomings were and focus on those areas for a retest. However, they both scored in the 90s and we called it a day.

and take the first SSAT offered in October so that you can see how he does and then take it from there.

The above strategy sounds fairly sound, but I would make one change. If DC is taking the SSAT next fall, start building vocabulary now. Just plan on learning a few new words every day. It will help with so much more in the long run as well.

We signed up for the December SSAT and started once a week in-home one on one prep classes (with ongoing homework) in early October (the idea was to have about 2 months of prep). DC didn't crush the test but his scores improved by a significant amount compared to the prep tests he took (he did two tests just as if real (timed, etc.)) and he was accepted to 5 out of 6 schools applied to. We spent a great deal of time on the prep too, e.g., working through the reading comp questions/answers and memorizing vocab. words. In sum, set your child up to succeed by planning a long period of test prep (6-9 weeks), setting aside entire weekend mornings when the house is quiet and timed practice tests can be done, and ensuring your DC does the homework and then helping DC as needed (quizzing vocab words, going through math/reading comp, helping DC see themes and strategies).

DS wants to change schools at the end of eighth grade. What is the best prep class/tutoring method for her? And how much time ahead should she start?

Thank you!!