Every year, the California public school system imposes the STAR Test on elementary, middle, and high school students as a means of assessing the average progress in classrooms. Generally, teachers tend to take a break from regular material to prepare for the tests, which cover everything that the state deems standard for education. Students study English, math, history, and science for the STAR Tests. As a rule of thumb, most students find that there is not much new information to cover for each section; instead, it is almost strictly review. However, it does help for students to spend some time preparing for the STAR, as some of the material may not be easily recalled.

STAR testing is done toward the end of the school year, about a month before summer recess, so much of the information is covered early in the year and may be forgotten, especially for the history section, which is based on facts instead of general concepts, as in the cases of math and English. STAR testing is sometimes criticized as not be representative of what students ought to learn: some students take sciences out of the usual order, and some repeat math classes, which alters the average learning curve. However, as long as the STAR Test is in place in California, teachers strongly encourage students to do their best and score well in all subjects. Of course, the test reflects directly on the school and the teacher, and higher scores indicate better instruction. Furthermore, the break from regular material that STAR Test preparation offers allows students a great chance to catch up on old material or to get ahead on future subjects. Studying for the STAR Test also greatly reinforces what students have already learned, as well, which certainly improves retention and comprehension. Although the STAR Test may be flawed, at the very least it encourages students to study and reinforce all of their completed work.

With AP tests just around a corner, I’m sure a lot of you are just now realizing what that whole last year of extra long AP homework assignments and tests were for. The AP class is meant to mimic the difficulty of a college course, and as a high school student it is very important to do well in both the class, and the test. Why is it so important? Because if you do well it shows you are ready for the level of classes that you are going to encounter at the college you’re applying at. If you do poorly, it shows a lack of preparation to tackle such high difficulty courses. Passing the test also gives you a head start to your college credits, and at times can even save you from taking a class. So it is important that you go into this test as prepared as possible.

To help gauge your preparedness, we at the Study Hut have two days where you can take a free AP practice test of your choosing. These are actual College Board tests, so it’s as close to the real thing as you can get. Study up, and come by the Hut on Saturday 4/21 or 4/28, and the tests will be administered from 8am-11am. If you are interested in taking advantage of these practice tests, send a confirmation email of the date, and test you would like to take to Samantha@studyhut.com

Study your notes, and if you feel like the year has gone by and you’re just as lost as you were in the start, buy an AP Study Book, which are available at most bookstores. They contain all the information you need in a refined way, and also have practice tests with full explanations.

Study hard boys and girls, and prove to them you’re ready for college!

Every day of my life, people ask me “How is it that every single tutor at the Study Hut is a genius? Is it even possible for one building to hold that much knowledge?”

Ok, maybe they don’t say that, but I can tell they were thinking it. It certainly felt that way to me when I first started working here. I looked around, and I saw all of the different things the kids were studying, and how well the tutors knew the material, and I started to worry a bit, because I couldn’t believe I had to live up to such awesomeness.

Then, I started to see how exactly the Hut dynamic worked. It turns out that, while they are incredibly intelligent, Hut Tutors do NOT, in fact, know everything. It’s so much better than that. The Study Hut has an incredibly diverse body of tutors. Every single one of us comes from a different background, from different areas of study, and we’re all focused on one goal: helping any kid that walks through our door. I’m confident, that there’s not a single problem that your kid can come in with that at least one of us couldn’t solve.

And it’s great to see. There’s such a community dynamic here that you just don’t see in other places. I’ve seen three tutors team up to tackle a math problem, while two other tutors talked about the best way to write an essay, while another worked with two SAT kids on vocabulary. When one tutor can’t figure out a problem, there are 20 other people around them perfectly willing to help. We’ve got tutors that have lived overseas, worked in laboratories, taught classes full of students, and a million other things. And we’ve got all of these different types of people working together in the same place.

So, as individuals, we may not know everything. But as a group, there’s not much we can’t do.