Digging Out from Under
Yesterday Cici and I got serious about preparing for the PSAT that she will take on October 13. We need a baseline, I told her; something against which to measure your progress. She didn't object; she was ready to get started. She sat at my desk in our home office and took the test under actual test conditions. Well, almost. I timed each section of the test and gave her only two minute breaks between each section, and she used the same kind of answer sheet to record her answers. One hundred thirty minutes of testing.
So what wasn't like real test conditions? Well, Ping won't be at the real test cleaning the floor, dusting everything, moving things around. Little gong sounds and swooshing sounds and other distractions won't be happening at the real test. Cici didn't complain, though, she just worked right through the background noise.
I was pleased, even excited, about the results of the baseline test. With no preparation for the test at all, Cici still made respectable scores. She measures everything against an impossibly high standard because she compares her scores to my son's scores. He was a National Merit Scholar who scored at the highest level nationwide. He is one of the few students nationwide who was awarded a scholarship because of his 99th percentile composite score combined with his unbeatable g.p.a. Nevertheless, his scores set the bar for Cici and she wants to reach it.
In the 9th grade students take a standardized test called the SCORE. Cici had only been in America for a few months when she took that test. Her composite score nevertheless placed her in the 37th percentile nationally. In the 10th grade students take a standardized test called the PLAN. Cici made a quantum leap in the percentiles with her composite score placing her in the 54th percentile nationally. Her baseline PSAT composite score yesterday placed her in the 71st percentile nationally, another giant leap in the percentile standing.
Well that isn't so good, you say. Let's break it down a bit and you will understand why I am excited. She only missed four questions in the entire mathematics section, which placed her in the 93rd percentile nationally. We will study the questions she missed and I am convinced that she can ace that part of the PSAT. It is the Critical Reading and the Writing parts of the test that pulled down her composite score.
The Writing score (this isn't an essay, it is selecting the best way to write sentences on a multiple choice type of test) is largely a function of vocabulary, so yesterday we began to study the 250 most frequently used "big" words that appear on the PSAT with regularity. Seven words per day on average, studied on a cumulative basis, will complete the list and make a marked difference in her writing score.
The Critical Reading section is also something that can be improved through studying the techniques that help the test taker save time, avoid the traps, narrow the choices, and thereby significantly improve their score.
Today while I am at the office Cici will review the explanations in the book about each question that she missed yesterday. Then she will begin working through the preparation tips, section by section, in the book. When that is completed there are many drills in the book and we will drill drill drill before taking another practice exam in two weeks. We agreed that she will learn seven new words daily and that she will spend Friday evenings and a good part of Saturdays and Sundays preparing for the test. She should study all day on weekends, Ping said. No, I disagreed, she needs down time or she will burn out from studying too much. Then I quoted what Ping always says to me about Cici's education. This is Papa's job.
So what wasn't like real test conditions? Well, Ping won't be at the real test cleaning the floor, dusting everything, moving things around. Little gong sounds and swooshing sounds and other distractions won't be happening at the real test. Cici didn't complain, though, she just worked right through the background noise.
I was pleased, even excited, about the results of the baseline test. With no preparation for the test at all, Cici still made respectable scores. She measures everything against an impossibly high standard because she compares her scores to my son's scores. He was a National Merit Scholar who scored at the highest level nationwide. He is one of the few students nationwide who was awarded a scholarship because of his 99th percentile composite score combined with his unbeatable g.p.a. Nevertheless, his scores set the bar for Cici and she wants to reach it.
In the 9th grade students take a standardized test called the SCORE. Cici had only been in America for a few months when she took that test. Her composite score nevertheless placed her in the 37th percentile nationally. In the 10th grade students take a standardized test called the PLAN. Cici made a quantum leap in the percentiles with her composite score placing her in the 54th percentile nationally. Her baseline PSAT composite score yesterday placed her in the 71st percentile nationally, another giant leap in the percentile standing.
Well that isn't so good, you say. Let's break it down a bit and you will understand why I am excited. She only missed four questions in the entire mathematics section, which placed her in the 93rd percentile nationally. We will study the questions she missed and I am convinced that she can ace that part of the PSAT. It is the Critical Reading and the Writing parts of the test that pulled down her composite score.
The Writing score (this isn't an essay, it is selecting the best way to write sentences on a multiple choice type of test) is largely a function of vocabulary, so yesterday we began to study the 250 most frequently used "big" words that appear on the PSAT with regularity. Seven words per day on average, studied on a cumulative basis, will complete the list and make a marked difference in her writing score.
The Critical Reading section is also something that can be improved through studying the techniques that help the test taker save time, avoid the traps, narrow the choices, and thereby significantly improve their score.
Today while I am at the office Cici will review the explanations in the book about each question that she missed yesterday. Then she will begin working through the preparation tips, section by section, in the book. When that is completed there are many drills in the book and we will drill drill drill before taking another practice exam in two weeks. We agreed that she will learn seven new words daily and that she will spend Friday evenings and a good part of Saturdays and Sundays preparing for the test. She should study all day on weekends, Ping said. No, I disagreed, she needs down time or she will burn out from studying too much. Then I quoted what Ping always says to me about Cici's education. This is Papa's job.
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