This is the second in a series on our experience with Academic Approach. You can read the first post here and watch a Facebook Live I did on what parents need to know about the ACT and SAT with Andrew Ferguson of Academic Approach here. We received a few free sessions and are now continuing on with the program at our own expense. All opinions are mine, or my teenager’s.
My teen daughter gets anxious about tests. Standardized tests are no exception. But I confess that I was still taken aback when I was driving her to a practice SAT test at Academic Approach a few Saturdays ago. As we wound our way through the tree-lined neighborhood near the office, I offhandedly asked, “How are you feeling about this?” and expected to get a shrug or comment about the early hour in return. That didn’t happen.
Instead, she replied, “I’m nervous.”
And she said it in her small voice, the one that breaks my heart.
“But it’s a practice test. Not low stakes, this is no stakes. No biggie. What’s going on?” I asked.
Turns out that, whether it counts or not, she’s pretty intimidated by long hours of testing on 12th-grade level reading passages and complicated math in pretty regulated conditions. Fair enough. Academic Approach does a good job of making it feel like the real thing.
As I watched her walk in, I sent her all my positive en
ergy and I couldn’t help but wonder what if this had been the actual SAT test. I know that nerves are normal, but this felt like a bit more than just a few little butterflies bouncing around in her stomach. She wasn’t in a great mindset to blow it out of the water.
Turns out that she did pretty well on that practice test, as her Academic Approach tutor Hannah was happy to report the next day. My daughter was even happier to hear that she has improved considerably from her first practice test.
When we sat down the three of us, we were able to talk a bit about my girl’s confidence, or lack thereof, and make a game plan for getting her to a better place before both the next practice test and the real test.
That plan involved – surprise, surprise – more practice. Coming from Hannah, that sounded reasonable, because she explained why.
Practice proves to her that she knows what she’s doing.
Practice builds confidence. And it also leads to better reading technique and familiarity with the math problems, which I expected would come from tutoring.
The skills that I did not expect but that have also come from tutoring and practice include experience regulating emotions when encountering a challenge, appreciation of the importance of positive self-talk, and the knowledge that you don’t have to be perfect all the time to have self-confidence.
I love that all these skills that will serve her well not just on standardized testing but in the classroom and in life. What she’s learning has both short-term and long-term benefits.
This week, my girl took the PSAT.
When I asked her how she was feeling about it the day before the test, she said, “I got this.”
She said it in her confident voice, the one that makes my heart soar.
“Really?” I said, surprised and in a moment of total parental fail.
“Yeah,” she said, seemingly unphased by my surprise. I’d be worried if I hadn’t seen my scores go up. But I know that I’m getting better and I know that with two practices tests I’ve taken and the mini-practice tests Hannah has had me do for my homework, I know that it’s not a fluke.”
She added that she knows what each section is, how much time she has on each, and how to pace herself. “Last year, I had no game plan. I do know, but it’s all from Hannah. She gave me strategies, and we’ve adjusted them to work with my quirks. So I know I got this.”
This makes me so glad. Glad that she’s not nervous. Glad that her confidence is growing, Glad that we have Hannah and Academic Approach. Glad that we have a few more practice tests ahead before the SAT and glad that her confidence and mastery will both continue to grow.
Prior Post: How parents can handle teen eye rolls
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