When parents purchase tutoring services for their children to help them improve their ACT performance, they tend to just be looking at getting a numerical score improvement and nothing else. This can be short-sighted and is definitely not the entire picture of what quality ACT tutoring services can provide for students.
The following are six major reasons ACT tutoring can help your students beyond simply improving their scores.
Improves Reading –
According to The Nation’s Report Card, less than 60 percent of all high school seniors are only reading at a “basic” reading level. Only 37 percent of all high school seniors are reading at a proficient level for their grade. What this means is that they cannot read at a level where they are fully assimilating grade-level text such that they can synthesize new idea from multiple texts. This is exactly what they will be required to do in many college courses.
As we know, in college, they will be required to spend the majority of their time reading their textbooks and doing homework on their own. They will attend classes for less hours per day. The reading load is far higher in college than in high school. This is the reason so many students drop out of college in their first year. They do not have the reading skills to survive college.
If your child is one of the 60 percent of students who is not reading on grade level, not only will their ACT scores be disappointing, they will struggle to survive college. ACT tutoring begins with a short reading comprehension test to ensure they are reading on grade level. Reading remediation begins with the student’s current instructional and independent reading level and helps them progress up to college level reading, which is what the ACT provides in their reading passages.
If your child is not reading on grade level, that is where work needs to begin, not at the ACT reading passages. Those are at their frustration level. There will be no progress at that level until they are actually reading at that level. ACT tutorial services supply reading remediation that is engaging, effective and efficient at raising reading levels.
Improves Vocabulary –
In order to succeed in college, students need to have a high vocabulary. Sadly, since 60 percent of students are poor readers, most don’t read enough. According to researchers Reutzel and Cooter, since they don’t read enough, their vocabularies are below grade level proficiency as well. ACT tutoring that includes reading remediation, where warranted, helps students improve their vocabulary and their word attack skills, including using word parts to ascertain the meaning of unknown words.
Students will poor vocabularies will struggle in college.
Improves Mathematics –
The same is true of mathematics as it is with reading. Sadly, many students, and their parents, did not learn mathematics in such a manner as they can utilize it in real life to solve real world problems. The ACT will ask for many real world problems to be solved. If your child learned mathematics as though they were supposed to simply memorize and regurgitate formulas, they may struggle with the ACT. As with reading, only 25 percent of all high school seniors scored proficient on the last NAEP mathematics testing, according to The Nation’s Report Card.
ACT tutorial services help students learn how to use mathematics to solve real world problems. That is what they will be expected to do with mathematics courses in college.
Also, there are all too many secondary school students who somehow made it through 13 years of school who have not mastered their multiplication tables and/or fractions sufficiently to help them advance in even basic algebra. Since mathematics knowledge builds upon prior knowledge of other mathematics principles, this places those students who don’t have the basics at a distinct advantage.
Students who have not mastered their multiplication tables will be stymied in performing well on the timed ACT examination as well as in college courses, where they will be spending, on average, four hours of study time for every one hour of class. College is a full-time job.
An equally tough road lies ahead for students who do not have their fractions down cold. It stymies their ability to do basic algebra. They will not do well on the ACT without solid fractions skills.
ACT tutoring of mathematics begins with a short assessment that ensures your child has their basic mathematics skills in place, so they can succeed on the ACT. Any skills that are lacking must be remediated before attacking ACT practice exercises. Also, these skills must be remediated in order to ensure success in college.
Eliminates Testing Faux Pas –
There are some students who don’t test well because they do not fully understand how to attack standardized tests. For example, some students do not understand that they are not looking for the “right” answer, they are looking for the “best” answer. Simple mistakes, such as failing to read every possible answer can reduce scores. Simple questions asked at the outset of tutoring can help a tutor train your child to learn how to navigate standardized testing successfully.
Improves Chances for Scholarships –
When your child does well on the ACT, they will be more likely to qualify for scholarships than other students who do not have as impressive scores.
Provides Confidence –
Even for the minority of students who are proficient in their grade-level skills, ACT tutoring helps students be more confident that they will do well on the testing. Some students who are proficient don’t do well on standardized testing because they have test jitters. Practice eliminates their concerns, as they see how well they will be able to do.
ACT tutoring helps prepare your child for the rigors of college, not just for the rigors of the test.
