The biggest misconception about the SAT is that it directly measures intelligence. Many students choose not to study for it because they believe their intellectual capacity is enough to earn the score they want. In reality, the SAT is a better indicator of how well the students have prepared than how smart they are. Getting a high score requires both mastery of the material and knowledge of the test taking strategies.

There is a wide range of material students have to know. The math section deals with many topics including, numbers and operations, algebra I and II, geometry, data analysis, statistics, and probability. The critical reading section requires students to be fast and active readers and have good comprehension and an extensive vocabulary. The writing section is graded on a very specific rubric. Students can learn exactly what is needed to satisfy each requirement on the rubric and earn a high score without being particularly good writers. Needles to say, a fair amount of studying is necessary to become proficient in all this material.

The SAT is a unique test and therefore demands unique test taking strategies. The score on each section of the test can be maximized using certain tricks and strategies. Knowing when and when not to guess, for instance, is a very important skill. As with the material, the test taking strategies are very teachable.

From 3^rd graders to high schoolers to college students, there seems to be a major misconception about what it truly means to “study for a test.” The common definition seems to be “that thing you do the night BEFORE you actually take a test.” And you know what? Sometimes that works. If you’re studying spelling words, or memorizing a list, studying close to the test is definitely beneficial. But let’s face it, high schoolers and collegiates: you’re not studying for spelling tests any more. The subjects you’re working on are harder, and the ideas you’re learning are more complex. The material has changed, so the way you’re studying for it has to change too.

Here at the Study Hut, we try to find out tests dates as soon as is humanly possible. Most tests require AT LEAST a week of prep time to be truly prepared (especially if you’re in an AP or Honors class).  Some tests require more, some less. Of course, as the class goes on, you’ll discover how much time you need to prepare. But that amount of time is NEVER one evening. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you can’t guarantee a good grade off one night of studying.

My most successful students are the ones that make a plan, and follow through with it. For example, I recently had a student who had a Social Studies chapter test coming up. He wasn’t doing particularly well on tests, so we set up a plan. We set aside a certain amount of time each night so that he’d be studying only one section at a time. That way, the night before the test, HE HAD ALREADY STUDIED THE WHOLE CHAPTER! All he had to do that night was review the concepts he was having trouble with and strengthen his understanding. No cramming, no headaches. And he did markedly better on his test! He broke the work down into manageable bits over the course of a week, instead of stuffing everything into his head the night before. And it made all the difference.

Well-roundedness—it seems like a harmless enough idea on paper, but the drive to become a “well-rounded” student is pushing today’s students to the limit.

Grades alone are no longer enough, so our kids are spreading themselves thin trying to be the combination of athlete, artist, musician and scholar that will catch a college’s attention. This is in addition to coping with being a teenager, which comes with its own slurry of issues.

Films like, “Race to Nowhere”, are bringing to light a problem that many parents and educators have been aware of for a while—our students have too many academic and extra-curricular responsibilities and not enough time for themselves. They spend so much time trying to be what colleges want that many don’t figure out what their own passions are, which leaves them vastly, and ironically, unprepared for college and the real world.

The Study Hut tutors, many not too far from our own high school experiences, understand the pressures that our students deal with inside and outside of the classroom. We know that our work is more than teaching academics and study skills. We take advantage of our positions as role models to help guide healthy emotional and social development, so when our students do decide where they want to go, they are able to get there.