Emotional issues can result directly from the feeling of underachievement in school. Many children and adults with ADD/ADHD have challenges in school, which impacts their mood and overall well-being. This is why we recommend, educational support, tutoring and test prep for our families.
For any family who needs an academic or test-prep tutor, I recommend our partners Prestige Prep. They also have a philosophy of holistic, low-stress tutoring that provides real tangible results.
Academic Tutoring
For over a decade, Prestige Prep has helped countless students move past old patterns and self-limiting beliefs to succeed in school and on tests. In addition, Prestige Prep has several books that help students and parents deal with the emotional stress of test preparation. These books, Test Prep Sanity and Test Prep Sanity for Students are invaluable for navigating standardized tests while maintaining your sanity. I recommend this company for your educational needs. Give us a call, and we’ll put you in touch with them.
Call 646-807-8900 to be connected to Prestige Prep today!
At Prestige Prep, the philosophy is very simple…
Students need to be prepared for every facet of their exam. Since these exams test more than materials (they test emotional strength, test-taking skills, organization, and stamina), tutoring must cover materials, emotional strength, test-taking skills, organization, and stamina.
In addition, we know how much the home environment affects a student’s performance and how stressful this time can be for parents. We keep a strong line of communication with parents and ensure that they understand the process and how to best help their children succeed.
Finally, we know that each student has different specific needs to reach his or her full potential. While all of our tutoring covers the basics, such as homework and mock exams, we customize our tutoring to fit the needs of the specific student. Some need to be pushed while others need their anxiety relieved. Some need to spend a lot of time relearning the foundations while others must learn how to apply their knowledge to new types of questions. With one-on-one tutoring, we can focus a student’s time and energy on what will benefit him or her most, and what will lead to the highest test score.
Our main goal is to help students score as high as possible on their exams. Along the way, we look to change the way they view their own ability to succeed, and we give them systems and tools they can use on all future challenges.
Understanding the Tests
One of the most common questions we get from parents is “my son does well in school, why is he struggling on standardized tests?”
The answer is that standardized tests are different from school exams. While they may test the same material, the way that they test this material is very different. For the most part, school exams test the material that students have recently covered in exactly the same way the material was presented. Students who don’t fully understand the material but who have strong memories can flourish on these types of exams.
Standardized tests, on the other hand, demand that students apply their knowledge to new types of questions. This demands a deeper level of understanding and more confidence in one’s own ability. In addition, these tests cover a wide array of topics, some of which students haven’t seen in years.
Seeing these differences, it’s not surprising that some students who excel in school have difficulty on standardized tests. They’re not prepared..
How to Prepare
Great SAT tutors (just like great ISEE tutors and great ACT tutors) understand what the exam is really testing and prepare students for the specific questions they will encounter. This means reviewing the foundations and ensuring students can apply their knowledge to new types of questions. This also means test strategy and stamina-building (The SAT and ACT are each around four hours long).
But great tutoring requires more. These tests can produce a lot of anxiety, and students who focus on their anxiety have trouble focusing on the exam. This makes sense when you understand that the brain can concentrate on only one thing at a time, so if a student is filling his or her brain with “oh my God! This test is so important! I’m so nervous!” he or she can’t concentrate on the actual questions.
We have researched anxiety thoroughly and have specific strategies and techniques that help students accept and eventually move past their anxiety to excel on their exams.
For Parents
Students aren’t the only ones who feel anxiety around standardized tests. This can be a very stressful time for parents, as well. And if a parent is anxious, the child will feel it. That child may not admit it, he or she may even pretend not to care about the exam, but the anxiety is there. So it is very important for parents to feel calm and to keep their home a relaxing place. Sometimes, it’s not easy.
A great tutor understands what parents are dealing with. The tutor keeps parents up to date with their child’s progress and helps them understand how to best help their children excel on their exam. Each parent-child relationship is different, but there are some simple steps that all parents can take to help their children feel more comfortable and perform better.
This area is crucial, and it’s almost always neglected, so we’ve written a book about it: Test Prep Sanity: How to help your child excel on standardized tests without driving each other crazy. It includes:
- How to frame the exam so your child feels motivated
- How to handle complaining
- How to handle rumors from other parents
- The best time to register for an exam and how to do so
- How to ease tension and create an environment to help your child succeed on test day
and much more!
Each family receives a copy of our book. We are also available for conversations about tutoring and our process at almost any time.
An Entire Process
We have helped thousands of students get into the high schools and colleges of their dreams. We are wildly successful because our tutoring covers every aspect of test preparation: materials, emotional strength, confidence and stamina. Our students enter their exams prepared and confident, and their scores show it!
Academic Tutoring needed?
Call 646-807-8900 to be connected to Prestige Prep today!
