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I received a perfect score on the SAT on March 9, 2019.

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I received a perfect score on the ACT in December 2016.

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Showing posts with label ACT/SAT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ACT/SAT. Show all posts

May 4, 2019

Reviews of SAT and ACT Test Centers: East Bay

Update: I've added a review of Skyline High School.

I'm in the process of trying out all of the test centers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Las Lomas High School

1460 S Main St, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Overall Rating: 9.5/10
SAT Test Center #05870
Evaluation Date: October 6, 2018

Parking (0.5/1 point): Sufficient
There was parking when I arrived at 7:35 (10 minutes early), but I don't know if the students who showed up later were all able to find spots.

Vending Machines (1/1 point): Drinks AND snacks

Waiting area (2/1 point): Very convenient!
Instead of making everyone wait in one huge line to get into the campus, these proctors posted a list matching each student with her testing room. They didn't check our IDs until we go to the individual classroom doors, so the check-in process was quick and efficient.

Proctors were stationed at several places around the school to help with directions so that we wouldn't have to find the room numbers ourselves. The room I was in even had a box of pencils available for students who forgot to bring their own.

Bathrooms (1/1 point): Easy to find

Wall Clock (1/1 points): Yes
The clock was mounted on the wall at the front of the classroom.

Desk type (1/2 points): Single seat with a 1' x 1' desk area attached

Temperature (1/1 point): Adequate

Distractions (2/2 points): Minimal
The floors were carpeted. The proctor had a snack partway through the test but was fairly inconspicuous about it.

Miramonte High School

750 Moraga Way, Orinda, CA 94563
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
SAT Test Center #05550
Evaluation Date: March 10, 2018

Parking (1/1 point): Plentiful
There was plenty of parking, but I had to drive through through several miles of two-lane roads to get to Miramonte from Highway 24. Drive by this center before your test date so you can account for things that may go wrong.

Vending Machines (1/1 point): Drinks AND snacks

Waiting area (2/1 point): Very convenient!
Instead of making everyone wait in one huge line to get into the campus, these proctors posted a list matching each student with her testing room. They didn't check our IDs until we go to the individual classroom doors, so the check-in process was quick and efficient. Heads up: the list was posted on a pole near the front of the school using two 8.5"x11" sheets of paper. It was inconspicuous enough that I missed it and had to circle back when I realized I didn't know which classroom to go to.

Bathrooms (0.5/1 point): Hard to find
The Miramonte campus has a lot of bathrooms, but most of them were locked. There were no signs leading to the bathrooms and nothing posted indicating which ones were unlocked.

Wall Clock (1/1 points): Yes
The clock was mounted on the wall at the front of the classroom.

Desk type (1/2 points): Single seat with a 1' x 1' desk area attached

Temperature (1/1 point): Adequate

Distractions (1/2 points): Average
There was no carpet on the floor to soak up noise, and once, during the Critical Reading section, I heard teachers talking to each other in the hallway.

Acalanes High School

1200 Pleasant Hill Rd, Lafayette, CA 94549
Overall Rating: 6.5/10
SAT Test Center #05349
Evaluation Date: October 7, 2017

Parking (1/1 point): Plentiful
There was plenty of parking, and the school is only a couple of blocks from the freeway.

Vending Machines (0/1 point): None!

Waiting area (2/1 point): Very convenient!
Instead of making everyone wait in one huge line to get into the campus, these proctors posted a list matching each student with her testing room. They didn't check our IDs until we go to the individual classroom doors, so the check-in process was quick and efficient.

Bathrooms (1/1 point): Easy to find

Wall Clock (0/1 points)
There was a wall clock at the front of the classroom, but the proctor wouldn't let me use a wristwatch on my desk as a timing device, even though the College Board's Web site states that watches are allowed. The proctor gave the five-minute warning TEN minutes before the end of one of the test sections, an error he corrected within a few seconds. He also ended the test two minutes before the wall clock matched the finish time on written on the board. It's possible that the wall clock didn't match the proctor's watch, but because he didn't allow students to use watches, it's impossible to know.

Desk type (1/2 points): Single seat with a 1' x 1' desk area attached

Temperature (1/1 point): Adequate

Distractions (1/2 points): Average
I took the SAT in a chemistry classroom, which didn't have carpet on the floor to soak up noise. Other classrooms may not be set up in the same way.

Campolindo High School

300 Moraga Rd., Moraga, CA 94556

Overall Rating: 8.5/10
SAT Test Center #05481
Evaluation Date: May 6, 2017

Parking (1/1 point): Plentiful
There was plenty of parking, but I had to drive through downtown Moraga and then uphill on a two-lane road for several miles to get to Campolindo from Highway 24. Drive by this center before your test date so you can account for things that may go wrong.

Vending Machines (0/1 point): None!

Waiting area (2/1 point): Very convenient!
Instead of making everyone wait in one huge line to get into the campus, these proctors posted a list matching each student with her testing room. They didn't check our IDs until we go to the individual classroom doors, so the check-in process was quick and efficient. They even allowed us to enter the testing rooms at 7:35, a full ten minutes before they were required to!

Bathrooms (0.5/1 point): Hard to find
I walked all over the campus and didn't see where the men's bathroom was. I also had a hard time finding my way back to the main parking lot after the test was over and had to ask a proctor to help me.

Wall Clock (1/1 points): Yes
The clock was mounted on the wall at the front of the classroom.

Desk type (1/2 points): Single seat with a 1' x 1' desk area attached

Temperature (1/1 point): Adequate
It was a cold morning for late spring (fifty degrees), and I had to keep both of my sweatshirts on for the entire testing period. Still, the temperature wasn't cold enough to make me shiver, and I wouldn't expect a school to heat classrooms in May.

Distractions (2/2 points): Minimal
The floors were carpeted. The testing room was so quiet that when a student coughed, I actually noticed the difference.

Antioch High School

700 West 18th Street, Antioch, CA 94509

Overall Rating: 11.5/10
ACT Test Center #183310
(This is also an SAT test center.)
Evaluation Date: December 10, 2016

Parking (1/1 point): Plentiful

Vending Machines (0.5/1 point): Drinks only (no snacks)

Waiting area (1/1 point): Inside
The proctors put desks in front of the building and efficiently checked IDs and admission tickets at the double doors. Students who arrived on time could get into their classrooms almost immediately and relax while the latecomers straggled in.

Bathrooms (1/1 point): Adequate and clean

Wall Clock (2/1 points): Digital!
The clock was easy to read, so it gets extra credit. It was placed a bit awkwardly at the side of the room instead of the front.

Desk type (3/2 points): Large, counter-style desks with students spaced four feet apart
A counter-style desk gives you plenty of room to spread your papers out. It's worth driving half an hour to get a work space like that!

Temperature (1/1 point): Adequate
The strategy of dressing in layers definitely worked at this test center. I wore a jacket for the first few minutes of the test and removed it partway through the test.

Distractions (2/2 points): Minimal
The large desks made it less necessary to shuffle papers around, and most of the remaining stray noises were absorbed by the carpeting.

Pittsburg High School

1750 Harbor St, Pittsburg, CA 94565

Overall Rating: 8.5/10
SAT Test Center #05043
Evaluation Date: March 9, 2019

Parking (1/1 point): Plentiful
Park in front (the Harbor Street side) if you can, as you may find the back entrace to be locked if walk in from the School St. parking lot.

Vending Machines (0/1 point): None!

Waiting area (1/1 point): Inside
The proctors put four desks in lobby and efficiently checked IDs and admission tickets without making students wait in a huge line. Students who arrived on time could get into their classrooms almost immediately and relax while the latecomers straggled in.

Bathrooms (1/1 point): Adequate and clean

Wall Clock (0.5/1 points): An analog clock at the BACK of the room
You'll have to crane your neck to see the wall clock if you forget to bring your own timing device.

Desk type (2/2 points): Larger-than-average desks
The desks at this school are far from state-of-the-art, but their sheer size earns full credit.

Temperature (1/1 point): Adequate
The temperature was a bit below average, but because students weren't made to wait outside (and actually were made to stay in the hallways instead of going outside during break), things worked out okay for students who dressed in layers.

Distractions (2/2 points): Minimal
Carpeted floors helped absorb noise, but the walls were still noticeably thin when people in the hallway were talking. At least one proctor was always in the hallway during breaks.

Some of the students clearly weren't prepared to take the SAT when I was at this test center, but the proctors handled the situation admirably and patiently explained both the directions and why certain restrictions (such as not allowing water bottles on desks) were necessary. One of the proctors was fairly knowledgeable about testing procedures and may have been a College Board employee.

Clayton Valley Charter High School

1101 Alberta Way, Concord, CA 94521

Overall Rating: 7/10
SAT Test Center: 05131
Evaluation Date: October 1, 2016

Parking (1/1 point): Plentiful

Vending Machines (0.5/1 point): Drinks only (no snacks)

Waiting area (0.5/1 point): Inside
The proctors put desks in front of the building and efficiently checked IDs and admission tickets at the double doors. Students who arrived on time could get into the hallways almost immediately. However, we got into our classroom, the desks were arranged in groups of four. We had to move them into straight rows and move them back after we were finished. Since the SAT has assigned seating, we didn't get situated until all the desks had been moved so that the proctor could visualize where to seat us.

Bathrooms (1/1 point): Adequate and clean

Wall Clock (1/1 point): Yes

Desk type (1/2 points): Single seat with a 1' x 1' desk area attached

Temperature (1/1 point): Adequate
The strategy of dressing in layers definitely worked at this test center. I wore a jacket for the first few minutes of the test and removed it partway through the test.

Distractions (1/2 points): Average
The floor was made of commercial tile and could have reflected noise, but it didn't create a major problem.


Ygnacio Valley High School

755 Oak Grove Road, Concord, CA 94518

Overall Rating: 3/10
SAT Test Center #05500
Evaluation Date: January 21, 2017

Parking (1/1 point): Plentiful

Vending Machines (0/1 point): None

Waiting area (0/1 point): Outside
Despite the SAT admission ticket's claim that all test centers open at 7:45, students were not allowed into this center's hallways until exactly 8:00 A.M. They had to wait outside in the cold.

Bathrooms (0/1 point): Crowded
A line of students snaked into each bathroom during the 10-minute break between SAT sections. A faint sewage-like smell loitered in the hallways.

Wall Clock (1/1 point): Yes

Desk type (1/2 points): Single seat with a 1' x 1' desk area attached

Temperature (0/1 point): Very cold
After waiting outside until 8:00 A.M., students had to take the test in rooms without heat. The furnace did work for a couple of minutes, but it was very loud, and someone turned it off.

Distractions (0/2 points): Severe
Proctors' voices were able to pass through the walls from one classroom to another. The floors, paved with commercial tile, reflected and amplified small sounds. Honking geese strutted outside the windows. One of them actually walked into Mordor an open hallway and had to be chased away during the test.


Skyline High School

12250 Skyline Blvd, Oakland, CA 94619

Overall Rating: 5/10
SAT Test Center #05535
Evaluation Date: May 4, 2019

Parking (1/1 point): Plentiful

Vending Machines (0/1 point): None

Waiting area (1/1 point): Convenient but long wait
Instead of making everyone wait in one huge line to get into the campus, these proctors posted a list matching each student with her testing room. They didn't check our IDs until we go to the individual classroom doors.

However, instead of letting us into the classrooms at the scheduled time (7:45), we had to wait in the hallways an extra fifteen minutes until 8:00 A.M.

Bathrooms (0/1 point): Hard to find

Wall Clock (1/1 point): Yes

Desk type (2/2 points): Single seat with a large 2' x 1.5' desk area attached

Temperature (1/1 point): Adequate

Distractions (-1/2 points): Very severe
The proctor didn't collect our cell phones, which left open the risk that a someone's phone would buzz and create a distraction for everyone. She kept talking and giving instructions after time had begun and used her own phone's alarm as a reminder for when ten minutes were left. She even called the time incorrectly: "five minutes left" instead of ten. There was also a loud chime outside that rang every couple of minutes; it was designed to create a sound whenever particulate pollutants (dust or soot) were detected in the air.

The floors were not carpeted, which made the extraneous sounds harder to ignore.

College Park High School

201 Viking Drive, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523

I tried to sign up for this center a few days before the registration deadline for the December 2016 ACT, but it was already fully booked. If you want to test here, you may need to sign up earlier than normal.

April 30, 2019

How Fast Will My Score Go Up?

Using my students' past score increases, I made the tables below. They roughly predict how much your score is likely to increase after five or ten tutoring sessions.

If you compare the ACT and SAT scores from the tables, you'll find that improvements tend to happen more quickly on the ACT. All else being equal, the ACT is an easier test to prep for.



Subject Tests include Math Level 2, SAT Chemistry, SAT Physics, SAT Biology, and SAT Literature.

Remember that these are average score increases. Your scores may go up slower or faster based on your background knowledge, how hard you're able to study, and how well-rested you are on the day of your official ACT or SAT.

Nerd Alert

Since the difficulty of earning each successive ACT point ramps up rapidly as scores approach 36, I came up with a technique to compare score increases from student to student even though they start at different initial scores.

I went through my students' records and eliminated any that didn't have final test scores from a real SAT or ACT sitting. I used the highest practice SAT or ACT score each student received before working with me as that student's initial score, with the final score being the one from the official test sitting.

That sample potentially biases the results: students who stopped tutoring before taking the test may have chosen not to e-mail their scores to me. This survivorship bias could make my results look better because students with low scores might choose not to tell me about them.

However, I'm also setting a very high bar by taking each student's highest score before working with me but only using an official test result as the final score. I could easily have used average scores for both the initial and final scores instead.

I also decided not to remove the scores of students who didn't complete all of my assigned homework. This has the effect of moving the bar even higher because those students received smaller score increases.

There's no way to know to what extent these biases affect the results. Without more information, I made the assumption that they cancel out.

Now for the fun bits: ACT scores can get to 36 but no higher, so it makes sense to use a function with a horizontal asymptote. I reflected an exponential decay function across the x-axis and moved the asymptote up to 36.5. (Since a 35.5 rounds to 36, and since the ACT's curve allows students to get some questions wrong and still get 36 on some sections, a 36 isn't truly a "perfect" score with respect to getting all of the questions right. That's why I'm using 36.5.)

I modeled ACT scores using the transformed exponential decay function (with number of sessions as the independent variable) and then took the log10 of both sides. You can derive the decay function yourself using the information in this post. If you get it right, I'll give you a free session.

Because the relationship is now linear, the data give us the regression below, which has a reasonably nice fit (R2 = 0.47) given the small sample and a couple of outliers.


I then plugged the slope of the best-fit line back into the original exponential decay function to generate the ACT score increase table at the beginning of this post.

(If you're a chemistry nerd as well as a math nerd, you may have used a similar technique to plot the data for a first-order reaction, which is also modeled by exponential decay. Finance nerds will recognize that a logarithmic axis is used to chart stock prices, which are modeled using exponential growth.)

I then modified the function so that it would asymptote to 1600 and generated the table of SAT score increases.

Here's a similar regression for my Subject Test students. Note the steeper slope and the larger value of R2, which suggest that Subject Tests are easier to prep for.


Because I work personally with every student and teach a variety of subjects, including ACT, SAT, Subject Tests, and AP tests, the samples used for this analysis aren't large. Remember that these are just averages across small pools of students, so your own results may be quite different.

If you'd like to find out more, please contact me using the form at the bottom of my tutoring information page.

April 2, 2019

How to Read Your SAT Score Report

The College Board makes score reports available online as soon as multiple-choice scores are available.

To view your scores, log in to your College Board account.

You'll see a Web page like the one below, which will have your most recent score at the top of the page:


In this case, my March 9 SAT score is at the top, since it's the most recent test I've taken. If you click on the yellow View Details link, you'll see a detailed score report for that test:



Scroll down to the Test Scores section:


The white boxes with the words Reading Questions, Writing and Language Questions, Math with Calculation Questions, and Math without Calculator Questions are actually links.

For example, if you click on the Reading Questions link, you'll see this:


The Reading Questions, Writing and Language Questions, Math without Calculation Questions, and Math with Calculator tabs at the top of the page provide a quick way to switch between sections of your score report.

The numbers (1, 2, 3...) in the Question column are also links. If you took the SAT during one of the months when the QAS (Question-and-Answer Service) is offered (March, May, or October), you can click the links in order to pay $18 for QAS and view the original test questions along with the College Board's answer explanations:



Be aware that data tables are currently not displayed properly on the College Board's Web site, making some questions unreadable:


If you didn't take the SAT in March, May, or October, you won't have the option to view the original test questions. This is something to keep in mind if you plan to take the SAT "just for practice." You won't get much benefit from the test if you can't review your work!

If you'd prefer to get a diagnostic score at home, take the first test in the College Board's Official SAT Study Guide and then review your work using the detailed answer explanations in Mike Barrett's SAT Black Book. You'll find links to both books at my SAT book review page.

February 16, 2019

ACT Practice Tests

Here are six official ACT practice tests.

2018-19 ACT Practice Test

2016-17 ACT Practice Test (This is the test Compass Prep usually uses as a diagnostic tool.)

2014-15 ACT Practice Test

2011-12 ACT Practice Test

2008-09 ACT Practice Test

2005-06 ACT Practice Test

Since the ACT has slowly changed over time, start with the most recent version and work your way down the list.

I strongly suggest printing the tests out onto real paper. It's almost impossible to take notes, cross off answer choices, or double-check your bubbling unless you're working on paper!

If you need more practice tests, you can buy the Official ACT Prep Guide.

Have fun!


December 8, 2018

On Big Companies and Free Practice Tests

Big test prep companies offer free practice tests because it's a great way for them to make money.

They pay marketers, proctors, graders, administrative staff, bondholders, and shareholders - not to mention real estate costs - so you can get a score for free.

In exchange, you've become what salesmen call a warm lead: someone who's demonstrated interest in their product.

There's nothing wrong with this as long as you understand how the process works. Test prep companies offer practice tests, which are valuable to you, so they can get your attention, which is valuable to them.

They pay for this by charging $125-250 an hour for tutoring, ten sessions at a time, paid up front. Their tutors typically make $25-40 an hour, and the difference ($100/hour or more) is used to pay administrative costs and provide investors with a profit.

The breakeven point between teaching at a public school and working as an independent tutor is around $90/hour. Tutors who accept less than half of that amount typically have SAT scores of around 1400-1500. Those are good scores, but if you're paying $150/hour, your score target is probably already at or higher than 1500.

This is not going to change, as these tutors aren't being exploited. Test prep companies have large expenses every month that aren't going to go away if there's a recession. Most workers, including tutors, accept lower pay in order to have their employers shoulder that burden.

If you have time, it's best to take responsibility for your own education. Practice taking the SAT and ACT yourself, then compare the two scores. You can then choose SAT or ACT prep books and study on your own.

If you need a tutor, you have lots of options, including highly qualified independent tutors like myself. Go in with your eyes open, and you'll make a great choice.

November 17, 2018

UC Schools Have Become More Selective

It's gotten harder to get into University of California schools: not just for your friends who were seniors last year, but for everyone.

I've included data below for the high school graduating classes of 2017 and 2018 with the information for UC Berkeley and UCLA highlighted.

While GPA ranges across the board have increased only slightly, test scores are consistently higher, and the percentage of applicants admitted has consistently moved lower from 2017 to 2018.

UC Data: Class of 2017



UC Data: Class of 2018



Audrey Slaughter was kind enough to share a Compass Prep article with me that breaks down ACT and SAT test score data from the past few years.

Compass finds that median scores haven't changed much, but more students are have been scoring at the high end of the range (1400-1600):
At the most competitive colleges, high test scores can be viewed as “necessary but not sufficient.” It is extremely difficult to gain admission to Stanford with a low SAT score, but getting a great score is far from a guarantee of admission. The net effect of the growth at the top ranges is to make a high score more essential but less sufficient.

After the dust settles each April, we often hear that “this was the worst year ever.” For 2018, that assessment feels fair. ACT and SAT scores at colleges have trended up over time, but it’s not simply higher scores that create anxiety — it’s also the added unpredictability. The combination of increased applicant numbers at competitive colleges and a higher percentage of top scores magnify the uncertainty that students experience.

So How Do I Get In?

In the end, grades, test scores, and a college degree itself are only imperfect measures of what really matters: your dedication, creativity, and life goals. Schools like Stanford know that, and they're looking for much more than just great numbers on your application.

Does your life thus far show that you have the potential to win a Nobel Prize or found your own company? That's what schools are looking for. Those are the things that get an alma mater noticed.

As a nation, we're obsessing more and more about the scoring well on the things that measure success without necessarily getting better at achieving success itself.

Test scores and grades matter because those are the things we've chosen to measure - but don't forget to live a life of dedication and meaning. It's that life that will get you involved in amazing extracurriculars and help you write essays that will get noticed.

Yes, UC schools have become more selective. Become the kind of person they would like to select.

November 8, 2018

The Four Best Places to Find a Tutor

Update: I've added a link to Northgate High School's peer tutoring program.

Are you looking for a tutor? Our capitalistic economy provides a dizzying array of educational options, and part of my job is to help you sort through them, even if you end up working with someone else as a result.

Why would I purposefully direct you to tutor who's a better fit for you? Most of my business comes from word of mouth, and I believe that following the Golden Rule and giving to others will benefit me indirectly. (Check out this animation about win-win scenarios.) What's best for you is often what's best for me.

Full-time tutors start at $45/hour, and tutors with perfect SAT and ACT scores are $180-600/hour. Use the guide below to evaluate your options.

Peer Tutors

Most schools offer free or low-cost peer tutoring. I used to work as one of those tutors when I was in eighth grade. That's the lowest-end option and is suitable for help with homework, since those tutors are likely to be most familiar with the local curriculum.

If you go this route, you'll probably want to do sessions multiple times a week to stay caught up in school.

Using peer tutoring to get A's in math and English is an excellent way to prepare for the SAT and ACT and will reduce the number of sessions you'll need with a test prep specialist.

Similarly, you can get a peer tutor multiple times per week for an AP class and wait until March to hire a test prep specialist to help you prepare for the corresponding SAT Subject Test and AP exam.

You can find your school's peer tutoring page by searching Google for your school's name plus the word tutoring.

Northgate High School's peer tutoring program meets in the Multimedia Center.

I also have students with perfect SAT/ACT Math and Calculus BC scores who currently work as private tutors. They're good options at the high end of the peer tutoring spectrum.

Tutoring Companies

Medium-sized companies (JC Education, Lafayette Academy, Zenith Tutoring) and big companies (Kaplan, Princeton ReviewTried and True TutoringCompass Prep) charge two to five times what they pay out to tutors. They offer tutoring in the range of $45-250 an hour.

You'll be getting a lower-paid tutor, but the service is convenient, as those companies are one-stop shops for help in all subjects, including college admissions counseling.

In general, the larger the company, the more standardized its product will be. I personally go to huge corporations for commoditized services where I want predictability: gasoline (World Oil), book delivery (Amazon), and health food (Odwalla). Standardization is less of a benefit in situations where you have to learn a skill like swing dancing, writing, or math.

Mid-Tier Independent Subject Tutors

You can also hire independent educators through Web sites like Thumbtack and Wyzant, and you'll also find some advertising on NextDoor. You'll probably get more for your money than if you go through a big company.

A credentialed teacher who can tutor in most school subjects will run you about $70/hour, depending on the area you live in.

$70/hour is theoretically a bit low in California: the average high school teacher makes $75,000 a year. In order to be incentivized to tutor full-time, which is 20 hours a week of tutoring with 20 hours of driving and prep, the teacher needs to make around $75/hour AFTER paying business expenses and the extra taxes involved in being self-employed. That could end up being more like $90/hour gross of expenses, but I use $70/hour as an average because that's what I tend to observe in the market.

Of course, there are great tutors who charge less than $70/hour, just as there are great teachers who make less than $75,000 a year. (Un-unionized private school teachers - I used to be one - come to mind.) Just be aware that in general, you get what you pay for, and if you want something great at a relatively low rate, you have to be willing to evaluate a number of tutors to find the diamond in the rough.

Top-Tier Test Prep Specialists

Finally, there are independent specialists, each of whom focuses on one academic area and does it very well.

For example, I have a master's degree in chemistry from Stanford and perfect scores on most standardized tests, so I tutor mainly SAT/ACT, Math Level 2, calculus, and AP Chemistry. Audrey Slaughter specializes in college admissions counseling and spends a large portion of each year visiting college campuses and keeping up-to-date with changes in her field.

Specialized tutoring runs up to $600/hour and works best to address specific needs rather than as a long-term solution to raise grades. You may want to consider hiring a peer tutor to come multiple times per week and then supplement with a specialist two months before the AP test or four months before the SAT.

Tutors with perfect SAT and ACT scores are relatively rare, as they could be working at Google or founding startups instead of spending their weekends with high school students. They're usually high-value educators with multiple qualifications.
My own tutoring service compares favorably with other top-tier options. If you'd like to have ACT score gains of 5-10 points, SAT score gains of 180-350 points, or perfect scores on Subject Tests and AP tests, please contact me so I can help you create a study plan.

January 29, 2018

ACT July 2018 Test Date Not Available in California

As of this month, the ACT is no longer offering the July 2018 test date in New York or California:
With the new July test date this year, the ACT is now offered on seven national test dates each year. Unfortunately, ACT is unable to offer all test dates to students in New York and now California because their “Truth in Testing” laws would require us to release another test form each year beyond those that we already release, and that is cost-prohibitive for us.... 
California requires that a testing company release 50 percent of the tests it administers. The statute specifically requires that, if that number includes fractions of a test, the number be rounded up; so, administering six tests would require releasing three of them, but administering seven tests would require releasing four. ACT is forgoing its July test date in California so that we may comply with those requirements. 
Students who were planning to take the ACT this summer will have to schedule for the upcoming April, June, or September dates instead.

November 5, 2017

Bay Area SAT Scores: How Does Your School Compare?

Here's a list of the top eleven Bay Area public high schools based on their students' average SAT scores. (I've updated the school list: I had mistakenly included Monte Vista HS in Danville instead of Monta Vista HS in Cupertino.)

  1. Lynbrook HS in San Jose (1430)
  2. Mission San Jose HS in Fremont (1430)
  3. Monta Vista HS in Cupertino (1410)
  4. Henry M. Gunn HS in Palo Alto (1400)
  5. Saratoga HS in Saratoga (1390)
  6. Palo Alto HS in Palo Alto (1370)
  7. Dougherty Valley HS in San Ramon (1350)
  8. Miramonte HS in Orinda (1340)
  9. Los Altos HS in Los Altos (1330)
  10. Lowell HS in San Francisco (1310)
  11. Campolindo HS in Moraga (1300)



You can search for your school directly by visiting Niche.com and typing your school district's name into the Location box:


Compass Prep maintains a similar list organized by the number of National Merit Semifinalists at each school. The Compass list is much more comprehensive: it includes all public and private high schools with at least one semifinalist, and the data are also broken down by county and income:


We all have a tendency to compare ourselves to our neighbors. If you're just average in Santa Clara or Alameda County, you're better than you think.

October 19, 2017

What If I Missed the PSAT?

Did you miss your opportunity to take the PSAT this year?

The good news is that if you're not going for National Merit Semifinalist status, you can take an officially released College Board PSAT diagnostic test and receive similar results.

There are three ways to do this:

  1. Go to a tutoring center and take a practice test. The center needs to use an official SAT or PSAT test, not one written by a third party. Non-official tests, especially ones written by Peterson's, contain mistakes and unrealistic questions.

    The Bay Area options I'm aware of are Lafayette Academy, which uses real College Board practice tests but teaches SAT classes using Peterson's book; Compass Prep in Marin, which uses College Board materials for both practice tests and tutoring sessions; and Zenith Tutoring in San Francisco, which uses College Board material for practice tests and their custom video curriculum for classes.
     
  2. Download an official PSAT test and take it at home.

    The Verbal and Math sections of the PSAT cap at 760, so the PSAT only compares accurately with the SAT when your scores on both sections are still below 700. If you think you'll score higher than that or if you need the benefit of answer explanations, I suggest taking a practice SAT instead.
     
  3. Take an official SAT test at home.

    My students use the SAT Black Book's answer explanations to review their own practice tests before tutoring sessions. The combination of self-review and tutoring results in rapid progress and higher scores.
I'd be happy to schedule a phone call to discuss your practice test. Contact me using the form at the bottom of my tutoring page and include your phone number. I look forward to chatting with you!

September 26, 2017

How to Create Your Own SAT/ACT-Approved Timing Device

Update: I've added information about screwdrivers you can buy to open up your watch.

If the watch that you use as a timer makes any noise, your ACT or SAT proctor may confiscate it and threaten to cancel your scores.

The "silent" setting removes a watch's hourly chime but usually doesn't disable the stopwatch function's beeping sounds. Amazon.com carries silent watches, but you're not likely to find a silent watch within driving distance. Fortunately, you can turn any $10 watch into a silent one by physically disabling its speaker.

I now offer a watch repair service in case you don't want to do this yourself. Ask me about it during your next tutoring session!

Put a piece of tape over the circular speaker on the watch's back cover and replace the cover.
The instructions below, written by a student at College Confidential, describe how to physically remove your existing wristwatch's speaker in only three minutes. The modification won't harm the watch in any other way.
Using one of those small screwdrivers, you can pop open the back cover (really, really simple). Once you do this, the back cover will actually have a yellow, circular piece of paper taped to it.... Almost EVERY digital watch has this piece of paper glued onto the back cover. All you need to do is peel it off with a knife.

You're done: all you neeed to do now is screw the back cover back on. This should all take 3 minutes; it's extremely simple. 
If you don't have a screwdriver small enough for the screws on your watch, pick up a $2 eyeglass repair kit at Safeway (flat-head only) or a precision screwdriver set at any hardware store (flat-head and Phillips head).

The circular piece of paper the student describes is the watch's piezo speaker. Visit this watch repair page if you want to learn more.

I opened up my own watch and removed a spring that would otherwise complete the electrical circuit that contains the speaker. (If you remove the spring, replace it with some pieces of Kleenex to create some pressure inside the watch so that the watch's buttons still work.) Destroying the speaker as the student suggested is crude but equally effective. A third solution is to cover the speaker with Scotch tape, breaking the circuit between the speaker and the rest of the watch.

The College Board takes its testing rules seriously. Make sure you modify your watch before test day to avoid any problems!

September 22, 2017

Tutoring Plan for a 34+ on the ACT

California is an SAT-centric state. Students start with the PSAT and naturally progress to the SAT. That means that California is also a reading comprehension-centric state, since the redesigned SAT is known for difficult Critical Reading passages, tricky vocabulary questions, and complicated word problems.

The ACT, on the other hand, is a test of speed and accuracy. Reading is involved, but most students struggle with simply finishing on time.

Since it's easier to improve speed than reading comprehension, my students tend to improve about twice as fast on the ACT as they do on the SAT. Consequently, if you want an elite score of 1520+ on the SAT, consider going for the equivalent 34+ on the ACT instead.

Here's the plan I follow with students who want elite ACT scores:

ACT English

ACT English requires two skills: punctuation  and vocabulary. It's similar to SAT Writing, but it doesn't have any vocabulary questions, and you get less time per problem.

Punctuation is straightforward to learn. The ACT recycles the same kinds of English questions over and over again, and if you practice the rules, you'll eventually get all of the questions right.

You'll need to bring in your ACT Reading skills to do questions involving adding/deleting sentences, modifying phrases to make them more relevant, and putting sentences in order. ACT Reading is easier than SAT Reading, so you might need to study a little harder for ACT English to compensate.

If you need an elite score of 34+ on the ACT, we'll set your English goal at 34 or higher.

ACT Math

ACT Math is a race against time. Students often tell me that they could do almost every problem on the test if the time limit didn't exist.

Paradoxically, the time crunch can work in your favor. Almost everyone feels rushed, so ACT Math often has a lenient grading scale. If you increase your speed a little bit, your score will go up dramatically.

Because the ACT is a standardized test, it has to use the same kinds of tricky questions over and over. After some practice, the test will seem more familiar, and you'll be able to work faster.

Every ACT Math question is multiple-choice, and you can always use a calculator. Once the problems start to seem familiar to you, you'll often be able to eliminate three or four of the five answer choices and pick your answer in less than ten seconds. Getting through the first two-thirds of the Math section this way will leave you with plenty of time to tackle the hard questions near the end.

Because the Math section has a generous curve, more of my students score at a perfect 36 than on any other section of the ACT.

ACT Reading

I regularly see students get large, quick score gains on the Reading section. The passages are all eighth-grade level, unlike the SAT's historical-document passages, and the questions themselves are also easier.

The problem with ACT Reading, as with the other sections of the ACT, is limited time. Fortunately, everyone else is struggling with the same problem, so if you practice to increase your speed and accuracy, your score will go up faster than you think.

Obtaining background knowledge is another way to read faster. A passage about Louis Armstrong will be much easier to work with if you know something about jazz, for example. If you regularly struggle with the fiction and humanities passages, read novels and biographies. If you'd like to improve on the social science and natural science passages, read the economics- and science-related articles in Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal.

If you want an elite 34+ on the ACT, go for a 35 or 36 in the Reading section.

ACT Science

Every time I open a scientific journal, I have the same feeling you probably get with ACT Science: "What am I supposed to do with all these charts and tables? How am I supposed to get through this article in a reasonable amount of time?"

The fact that an M.S. from Stanford feels this way should encourage you. ACT Science passages are taken from cutting-edge research that even tenured professors have to work to understand. Everyone feels challenged, even students who get perfect scores. Small improvements in speed will eventually put you in front of the crowd and within reach of the scores you want.

The answers to ACT Science questions are in the passages, but having background knowledge will still help you find information in those passages more quickly. If you haven't had biology or chemistry in high school, you may want download a science podcast or pick up a related book at the library.

I teach note-taking techniques that will help you avoid information overload on the test. If you need a very high score on the ACT, shoot for a 34 or higher in the Science section.


It's possible to achieve large score gains on the ACT if you're organized and disciplined. I've hand-picked the best ACT books on the market to help you do just that. 

While you're at it, see how some of my current students are doing!

September 21, 2017

Tutoring Plan for a 1520+ on the SAT

During the first tutoring session, students ask me how I plan to help them get the 1520+ scores they need in order to get into elite colleges or apply for scholarships.

Here's a brief overview of The Plan:
Be absolutely positive going into the test.

SAT Reading

The revised SAT's Reading section is pretty challenging. One of the five passages will be a historical U.S. document with difficult language and unfamiliar concepts. The science and social science passages, with their focus on recent research methodologies, aren't easy either.

The good news is that every Reading question has an objectively correct answer choice and three that are objectively wrong. Reading questions are like math questions: you can always find unambiguous evidence in the passage for the right answer as long as you know what to look for.

Having background knowledge also helps. Because the U.S. history passages often deal with the Constitution or early feminism, it's a good idea to review those topics in your History book.

If you'd like an elite score of 1520+ on the SAT, you'll need to aim for a 370/400 or higher in Reading. We'll start with official SAT practice tests so you can learn the question types and move on to the more difficult AP English Language questions to help you over-prepare.

SAT Writing (Grammar)

SAT Writing requires three skills: punctuation, reading, and vocabulary.

Punctuation is straightforward to learn. As with Math, the SAT recycles the same kinds of Grammar questions over and over again, and if you practice the rules, you'll eventually get all of the questions right.

Questions about adding/deleting sentences, modifying phrases to make them more relevant, and putting paragraphs in order rely on skills that you'll be practicing for the Reading section anyway. Once you've figured out what the author's saying, you won't have any problem identifying the correct way to edit each passage.

Vocabulary questions are the most challenging. The answer choices are almost always eighth-grade level words that are synonyms of each other: for example, question 10 on practice test 1 includes the words satiated, fulfilled, complacent, and sufficient. Studying from flash cards won't help you identify the words' subtle differences in meaning. Fortunately, I can show you study techniques that will help you learn several hundred vocabulary words for each book you read.

If you want an elite score of 1520+ on the SAT, we'll set your Writing goal at 370/400 or higher.

SAT Math

I received a perfect 800 on the SAT's Math section in January 2017. 

SAT Math questions can seem intimidating at first. They look like problems from an IQ test that you can't really study for. The good news is that everything on the test consists of middle and high school math concepts combined in unusual ways.

The SAT is a standardized test, so it has to ask the same kinds of tricky problems over and over again. It won't warn you that a particular problem is about factoring, graphing a line, or similar triangles — that would defeat the purpose of making the problems seem hard — but it will never deviate from the Common Core curriculum.

After we've reviewed a few practice tests, you'll start to see how that SAT recycles the same ideas over and over. The problems won't seem as tricky any more, and you'll be able to do them much faster.

Every SAT problem has an efficient solution that takes 30 seconds or less. With practice, you can learn how to identify that solution and implement it quickly.

Because SAT Math is worth twice as much as either Reading or Writing alone, I prioritize this section with most students, and we aim for final scores of 780 to 800. 


It's possible to achieve large score gains on the SAT if you're organized and disciplined. I've hand-picked the best SAT books on the market to help you do just that. 

While you're at it, see how some of my current students are doing!

September 20, 2017

September ACT scores are available!

September ACT scores are now available (sort of).

The ACT score release date is actually a date range. For the September test, your scores are supposed to be released sometime between September 19 and November 3, depending on how soon your particular test is graded.

My students started getting scores back on September 18, a day before the earliest date in the range and only nine days after they took the test. I've noticed that scores are usually available about a week and a half to two weeks after the test date, regardless of when scores are "supposed" to be released.

Unfortunately, you might not get an e-mail notification when your scores are ready. You'll have to log into the ACT's Web site periodically and check.
Yes - keep checking until your scores show up!
This raises an interesting question: If early decision and early action deadlines are in early November, will schools look at the October 28 ACT?

Some schools do and some don't: it depends on whether your particular ACT score report is actually delivered in time to be considered. Call the schools you're applying to and ask, or save time and get a college admissions expert to help you.

July 1, 2017

Which Cities Still Have August SAT Test Centers?

The August SAT has proven to be a popular offering, and centers are filling up quickly. My favorite test centers, Campolindo and Antioch High School, are no longer available.

The list below shows how many are still open in various Bay Area cities.

Once you know whether you'd like to use the August date for the SAT or for Subject Tests, register as soon as possible to reserve a seat. The registration deadline is Friday, July 28, and the late registration deadline is Tuesday, August 15.

East Bay

Alameda: 1
Antioch: 1
Berkeley: 1
Brentwood: 2
Castro Valley: None
Clayton: None
Concord: 2
Danville: None
Dublin: None
El Cerrito: 1
Hayward: 1
Lafayette: None
Livermore: None
Martinez: None
Moraga: None
Oakland: 2
Orinda: None
Pittsburg: None
Pleasant Hill: None
Pleasanton: None
Richmond: None
San Leandro: 1
San Ramon: None
Union City: 1
Walnut Creek: None

South Bay

Atherton: None
Campbell: None
Cupertino: None
East Palo Alto: None
Fremont: None
Los Gatos: None
Menlo Park: None
Milpitas: None
Mountain View: None
Palo Alto: 1
San Jose: 9
Santa Clara: None
Saratoga: None
Stanford: None
Sunnyvale: 1

Peninsula

Belmont: 1
Burlingame: None
Colma: None
Daly City: None
Foster City: None
Millbrae: None
San Bruno: 1
San Carlos: None
San Francisco: 4
San Mateo: 2
South San Francisco: None

Marin County

Larkspur: None
Marin City: None
Mill Valley: None
Novato: None
Petaluma: 1
San Rafael: 1
Sausalito: None


I compiled the above list for the normal SAT (not Subject Tests) using the College Board's Test Center Search Tool on July 1.

June 16, 2017

How to Conquer the SAT's Supporting Evidence Questions

Supporting Evidence questions, also known as Command-of-Evidence questions or Evidence-Based Pairs, include the dreaded words, "Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?"


The trickiest ones tempt you with two seemingly correct answers. Fortunately, I've found a quick, objective way to answer them.

You're welcome!

I'll illustrate using question 17 from College Board SAT #1. Since Supporting Evidence questions always come in pairs, we have to do questions 16 and 17 together.

16. The passage indicates that the assumption made by gift-givers in lines 41-44 may be
A) Insincere.
B) Unreasonable.
C) Incorrect.
D) Substantiated.

17. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 53-55 ("Perhaps...consideration")
B) Lines 58-60 ("According...relationship")
C) Lines 63-65 ("As...consideration")
D) Lines 75-78 ("In...relations")

Lines 41-44: "[G]ift-givers equate how much they spend with how much recipients will appreciate the gift (the more expensive the gift, the stronger a gift-recipient's feelings of appreciation.)"

In order to address everything the questions want us to, it's a good idea to pick up your pencil and draw boxes around important phrases. Even otherwise normal words like because or may can matter.


If you're a strong reader, you can answer #16 by considering the main point of the passage, which I'll summarize in my own words:

Gift-givers think that expensive gifts will be appreciated more than cheap ones, but there's evidence that they're wrong.

Choice (A), insincere, is off-topic. It's possible to be wrong and sincere at the same time.

Choice (B), unreasonable, sounds okay at first, but there doesn't seem to be support for it in the passage. The author mentions research which suggests that gift-givers overspend, perhaps because they're not good at predicting what gifts others will appreciate (lines 22-30), but being bad at predicting (due to limited awareness of others' feelings?) isn't the same thing as making unreasonable decisions.

Choice (C), incorrect, is easier to defend than (B). The passage gives us the answer in lines 44-47: "Although a link between gift price and feelings of appreciation might seem intuitive to gift-givers, such an assumption may be unfounded." You might be tempted to cross of (C) because those lines contain the word may, which suggests only a tentative conclusion, but remember that the word may is also in the question stem. We even drew a box around it, remember?

Choice (D), substantiated, is the opposite of the word we want. Gift-givers may believe that their assumptions are substantiated, but the author of the passage doesn't share their opinion.

I encourage students to do Supporting Evidence question pairs in the order that they show up on the test. This practice builds the strong interpretive skills that are necessary for AP English and academic reading in general. It's also less stressful than skipping around the test.

If you're stuck, though, you can match up the lines from question 17 with the answers in question 16 and eliminate any answer choices that don't pair up:

17. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 53-55 ("Perhaps...consideration") This pairs with (D) in question 16.
B) Lines 58-60 ("According...relationship") This doesn't pair with anything, so cross it off.
C) Lines 63-65 ("As...consideration") This matches (C) in question 16.
D) Lines 75-78 ("In...relations") This matches (C) in question 16.

Note that we were able to eliminate choices (A) and (B) in #16 and choice (B) in #17 just by looking at #17 first. You have to pay careful attention to what the passage as a whole is saying, though, because lines 53-55 will give you the wrong answer if you take them out of context.

Assuming that you get #16 right, you're still going to have to choose between (C) and (D) in #17:

C) Lines 63-65: "As for gift-recipients, they may not construe smaller and larger gifts as representing smaller and larger signals of thoughtfulness and consideration."

D) Lines 75-78: "In theoretical terms, people fail to utilize information about their own preferences and experiences in order to produce more efficient outcomes in their exchange relations."

Both choices seem right. From a certain point of view, (D) seems like a better answer because it provides a broader philosophical and scientific explanation for what's going on in the passage.

Unfortunately, (D) is wrong!

The SAT wants us to provide evidence that the author believes XYZ, not proof that XYZ is actually true. That's why question 16 starts with the words "the passage indicates."

The SAT, AP English, and the academic world in general greatly value the distinction between an author's beliefs and the world that exists outside of the author.

Realizing this changes our approach:

The answer to a Supporting Evidence question has to support all the ideas in the question that comes before it.

All we have to do is check the Supporting Evidence answers (from #17) against the words we boxed in the original question (#16).




The assumption is in line 51: "Why do gift-givers assume that gift price is closely linked to gift-recipients' feelings of appreciation?"

C) Lines 63-65: "As for gift-recipients, they may not construe smaller and larger gifts as representing smaller and larger signals of thoughtfulness and consideration."

Lines 63-65 address line 51, which mention the assumption and the gift-givers that #16 is asking about. The word "may" in line 63 matches the boxed word in #16.

D) Lines 75-78: "In theoretical terms, people fail to utilize information about their own preferences and experiences in order to produce more efficient outcomes in their exchange relations."

Lines 75-78 are too general to directly tell us directly about the assumption that gift-givers are making. Remember, we're not looking for proof that the author's argument is true, and we don't want the broad implications of his theory. We just want evidence that the author believes that the gift-givers' assumption may be incorrect.

The answer is therefore (C).

More Tricky Questions

Let's apply this technique to the trickiest Supporting Evidence pairs on SAT Practice Test 1: #36-39 from Virginia Woolf's "bridge and procession" passage.

36. Woolf indicates that the procession she describes in the passage
A) has come to have more practical influence in recent years.
B) has become a celebrated feature of public life.
C) includes all of the richest and most powerful men in England.
D) has become less exclusionary in its membership in recent years.

The passage alludes to "recent years" in line 19 ("but now, for the past twenty years or so...").

The procession is a metaphorical graduation ceremony. Woolf describes it as "the procession of the sons of educated men" in lines 10-11, and lines 12-17 depict the men in the procession moving from public schools into careers.

Choice (A) is off-topic. The passage talks about everyday things like working and making money in lines 12-45, but it doesn't refer to the procession's influence or whether that influence has become more practical.

Choice (B) is off-topic. We normally celebrate at graduations, but the passage itself doesn't mention a celebration.

Choice (C) uses extreme words ("all," "richest," "most"). The passage lacks the equally extreme language that would be necessary to make (C) correct.

Choice (D) works. The procession now includes women, so it's become less exclusionary ("we go ourselves," line 24). (The pronoun we refers to women: "we" address our "brothers" [line 12], and "we" are the "daughters of educated men" [line 64] as opposed to the "sons of educated men" [lines 10-11].)



37. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 12-17 ("There... money") Off-topic
B) Lines 17-19 ("It... desert") Off-topic
C) Lines 23-24 ("For... ourselves") This part of the passage describes what's happened in recent years (line 19), and the inclusion of women has made the procession less exclusionary ("along the tail end of the procession, we go ourselves," lines 23-24).
D) Lines 30-34 ("We... pulpit") Tempting as this choice is, it's talking about the future ("in another century or two"), not the recent past. It's also not clear that Woolf is still talking about the procession, which she hasn't mentioned since line 24.


38. Woolf characterizes the questions in lines 53-57 ("For we...men") as both
A) controversial and threatening.
B) weighty and unanswerable.
C) momentous and pressing.
D) provocative and mysterious.

We can find the answer to this question directly by looking a little bit above and below the lines in question:

"The questions that we have to ask and answer about that procession during this moment of transition are so important that they may well change the lives of all men and women for ever. For we have to ask ourselves, here and now, do we wish to join that procession, or don't we? On what terms shall we join the procession? Above all, where it is leading us, the procession of educated men? The moment is short; it may last five years; ten years, or perhaps only a few months longer." (lines 53-59)

The bold-faced words lead us directly to choice (C), momentous and pressing. The other three choices contain words that are off-topic.

Unfortunately, none of the choices in #39 contain lines 53-59. It's a good idea to check all of the choices regardless of where we think the answer might be, just in case we've done #38 incorrectly.


39. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?
A) Lines 46-47 ("We...questions") This choice mentions questions, but it doesn't talk about the questions being momentous or pressing.
B) Lines 48-49 ("And...them") "Very important questions" = momentous, "questions" = questions, and "very little time" = pressing.
C) Line 57 ("The moment...short") This choice says that the questions are pressing ("the moment is short"), but it doesn't say they're momentous.
D) Line 62 ("That...Madam") Off-topic


Now that you've learned to conquer the hardest Supporting Evidence questions, try your hand at some more SAT practice tests!

Be sure to growl like a conquering Viking. You can't get kicked out of a practice test... can you?