The child has vision but need devices. 15 yrs old. 1st semester HS student. Strong determination.
Practice ACT test first 3 attempts (Math 31,34,35), English a little lower at 24-28-28
SAT (1st attempt - 1570 - with no practice)
SAT (practice math early mid 700’s, English - 580-620)
Child has very strong abilities in the math and sciences (done calculus HS level about 40% completed @15) but slightly low on the CR and reading portions only. The child still has a lot of time. In order to improve English (realistically). How can one improve when the reading is more using a device (Versa) and has to go back and forth… this will lose some of the concentration and possibly even miss. What possible activities can the person partake in order to improve their chances in the next 3-4 years from now? The person is going to take around 2-3 APs a year and some honors math, physics and sciences. What is the best way to improve reading… possibilities?
This is early days so that reading score may improve naturally. For most people the best way to improve a reading score is to do lots of reading. Novels are fine. If the reading level of the novels is decent, there is no reason go memorizing a lot of vocabulary. However given that your child has a documented disability, your best course of action is probably to make sure he has accommodations such as extra time, when it comes time to take the SAT or ACT. It can be a challenge to get these accommodations so it’s probably not too early to find out what you need to do.
Remember there are lots of great colleges that are not in the Ivy league. My oldest turned down Harvard for a college that was much stronger in his area of interest. (Computer Science.)
Agree with mathmom that the first item to deal with is appropriate testing accommodations for both the ACT and SAT. Note that this can be handled now, even if the plan is not to take the tests until junior year.
I don’t think it is the best use of time for a 9th grader to be taking lots of practice standardized tests, especially when the underlying skills are still being developed.
Your child is 15. The test is meant for 17-19 years olds. Stop forcing it. Your daughters skills will grow organically. By the time she’s at the end of her junior year, she’ll be fine.
A child with a vision impairment is certainly not precluded from attending an Ivy League school. However, he/she must be academically qualified for the school Kids with physical issues or learning disabilities are not given a special set of rules to qualify under. Some suggestions might be:
–Perhaps your child could qualify for extra time on standardized tests to compensate for the time needed to use the machine for reading. You have lots of time to pursue this with your HS.
–Agree with @mathmom My S began reading for pleasure and his skills improved dramatically. He read stuff like John Gisham, Robin Cook, and Ian Flemming novels but it made a noticeable difference. And more important than a test score, as a young adult he still enjoys reading for pleasure when he can.
–I also agree that it is a huge mistake to focus on Ivy League schools with any HS freshman. You need to see how things evolve over the next couple of years academically, you need to realize that admission to an Ivy is always a crapshoot, and there are so many amazing colleges and universities out there that to focus on schools in one sports conference is unnecessarily limiting.
Elite schools (as most colleges/universities) have offices of disability services. Students with disabilities - visible and invisible - attend these places all the time. As long as she can achieve at the same level as other competitive students with reasonable accommodations, she’ll be fine.
She’s only 15 and a freshman; it’s a little early to be obsessing over any specific kinds of schools or even college in general. I’d focus on just making sure she has the accommodations she needs to succeed in high school. Let things happen. You might discover that she really wants to go to Big State U and cheer for the team.
When I used to teach the SAT verbal/critical reading students would ask me all the time what they could do to raise their scores. I would tell them to read. Then they’d say “Read what?” Read anything! One of my students who was into ROTC started reading military history books and biographies about veterans, and another one read a lot of classic literature mixed in with sci-fi. I had a perfect 800 and I hate the classics - I read basically anything my mom brought into the house and a lot of YA literature, especially dystopian teenage sci-fi/fantasies. LOL! I will say that Amazon’s Kindle software has some improvements to make it easier to read and it might play nice with your child’s accessibility devices.
Also, allow her to develop and pursue some interests. Don’t push too hard, but lots of colleges value well-rounded students who pursue interests and passions through hobbies and clubs. Might she want to play an instrument, dance on the dance team, compete in Math Olympiad or volunteer for a women’s shelter?