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And whether you're new or returning, I hope you get a ton of value from this week's newsletter. As always if you have questions, send me a reply. I'd love to help!
Balancing School and Test Prep: How Students Can Master Their Studies
Students often see test preparation and academics as competing priorities. They treat them in opposition to each other - they can either do my homework or do a practice test. If they work on a practice test that takes them away from working on homework and studying for classroom tests. They feel caught between keeping up there GPA and striving for test improvements.
This is how my student Elizabeth felt. When we started working together on SAT prep, she was taking 3 AP classes including AP Chemistry and APUSH (AP US History). Even though she knew that she needed to put in the work to improve her score, she was nervous about dedicating the extra time since that would “take away” from her challenging class load.
Once she got started she realized two things.
Learning to take a test doesn’t just apply to the SAT or ACT.
Several times throughout our work she would reflect on the test strategies we were learning and applying to her SAT work. “Kevin, you know that tactic that we worked on last time? I applied it to my recent math test. It TOTALLY worked. I knew exactly what I was doing and got the question right.”
Content carries over.
The same idea is true for content. Learning content - good solid content - doesn’t just apply to the classroom. It also applies to standardized tests and vice versa.
For example, Elizabeth said that learning punctuation rules for the SAT made her a better writer. “I have finally been able to use a semicolon correctly in my writing thanks to what we learned last week in our SAT class. I used it a couple times in my in-class essay the other day and it was super helpful.”
What we learn in one place, whether it’s grammar rules or methods of quadratics, will inform and sharpen not only your knowledge for the SAT, it should do the same for your work on academics.
Synergy not balance.
In short, the key to balancing test prep and academics is to let them each inform the other. They are only at odds if you treat them that way. In fact, the best way is to use be self reflective about both your academics and your test preparation so that each one informs the other.
Is your student struggling with how to balance test prep and academics. Using my Execution Self Reflection (ESR) framework, I help students get insights to both! Get started by taking my Test Prep Readiness quiz at the link below:
More to Read on my Blog
🗞️ For some related articles to SAT and ACT test prep check out these articles:
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Some Things I'm Loving
Being the giant nerd that I am, I’m always intrigued by new things happening in the world or in old thing presented in a curious way. Here are some things I’m enjoying this week:
Product I'm loving 🧾
The Apple AirPods Max are definitely not the cheapest pair of headphones I've purchased. In fact, I was reticent to purchase them specifically for the price. Instead I started with the Beats Studio Pro headphones just to test whether or not I would use over-the ear headphones. While the Beats were a great starter set and proved that I would indeed find lots of uses for them, the AirPods Max are hands down the best headphones I've ever experienced for amazing noise canceling and superb audio. Whether I'm doing work in a noisy classroom or tutoring virtually in a Starbucks, the AirPods Max always deliver. Definitely my favorite purchase of 2024!! (5 out of 5 🚀)
Podcast Episode I’m loving 🎙️
The Tim Ferris Podcast is one of the top business podcasts on the internet. Tim Ferris rose to notoriety with his 2001 book The Four Hour Workweek. In his podcast he interviews a wide variety of highly successful people from various backgrounds and industries to understand the tools and systems they use to be productive. In a recent episode, Tim interviews Sam Corcos the co-founder of Levels a health measurement company. I found the discussion to be incredibly valuable and insightful about the open way Sam runs his corporation and their use of virtual assistants as well as their detailed onboarding process for new hires. Give it a listen!
Book I’m reading 📚
If you've never read any Ryan Holiday, you're in for a treat, especially if you love ancient philosophy, history, and the occasional biography.
In his newest book, Right Thing, Right Now: Good Values. Good Character. Good Deeds Holiday details the reasons why justice is an imperative and motivating virtue. Using examples from throughout history, he details the nuances of justice and why it is critical to navigating our modern age. This is the third in Holiday's series on the Stoic virtues. Be sure to check out his first book on Stoicism The Obstacle is the Way which is a classic. (5 out 5 🚀)
PS - Extra bonus, if you love book recommendations Ryan sends out a monthly email of the books he's reading along with a detailed description and review. HIGHLY recommend, especially if you love books. You can sign up here.
Do you have recommendations of books, articles, or podcasts that have sparked an insight or ignited your curiosity? I'd love to hear from you!
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Upcoming Testing Deadlines ⏰
If your student is planning to test in 2025, here are a few upcoming test dates and registration deadlines:
SAT Dates and deadlines
May 3, 2025 SAT (Registration deadline April 18, Late registration April 22)
June 7, 2025 SAT (Registration deadline May 22, Late registration May 27)
ACT Dates and deadlines
June 14, 2025 ACT (Late registration by May 26)
Add these dates to your calendar - test dates and locations often fill up early. For the most convenient location, you want to ensure that you register as early as possible.
Does your student plan to take an SAT or ACT this spring? Click the button below to take my Test Prep Readiness Quiz and find out the areas your student should focus on in their preparation.
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Hi! I'm sending you Kevin's Newsletter because I think you'll find it super helpful. Kevin is a learning expert and an amazing resource for parents and students. If you want to subscribe to his free newsletter you can register here: www.kevinadoty.com/newsletter-parent.
Best regards,
Kevin A. Doty
Rocket Scientist turned Master Tutor
P.S. Have any questions? Feel free to reach out—I’m here to help!
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