“We*” are launching a new mentoring program this month. The curriculum is set, but there is some local flexibility. Any thoughts?
- Alpha Kappa Alpha, "ASCEND".
Specifically; how much emphasis would YOU put on standardized testing prep, and with whom?
Program Initiatives
What grades are most of the students in? What is the budget for materials and/ or tutoring? Are most of the kids minority and low income? Are there members of your chapter who would be good at standardized test prep? Are these kids applying to CUNY ? In general, I would put a fair amount of emphasis on test prep. As the article shows, low scores can really hold a student back. Who would do the test prep depends somewhat on budget. For example, can your chapter pay for SAt prep with an established company?
Thanks!
High School freshman, mostly. Three middle schoolers. Mostly minority, low to middle ( middle means college educated, maybe two parents) income. First time with young men. Several on the basketball team.
Our chapter is in N Cal, but it’s a similar situation at the California publics.
We don’t currently have tutors or a budget for it, but I could pursue some. I think I could at least get HS volunteers and Blue Books, and a spot at our Boys and Girls club.
My concern is that focusing on these kids that could hit that sweet spot and benefit a LOT, could be exclusionary. I’m thinking the kids with college prep classes as freshman, and who could get from low to mid 500’s or 600 on M and V.
At our annual baccalaureate, very few of these kids are going to UC’s.
Many other things are understood and being addressed, but I don’t think a lot of our kids take the test once, let alone twice. My own daughter “only” took it once, and it took until her younger brother for me to get behind a blue book and taking it twice. And it really paid off.
At least for admission.
It strikes me that the real problem is inadequate preparation for college, starting in infancy. Or even prenatally.
Okay, thanks.
Preparation for college prenatally? Really?
FWIW, the ASCEND program is not exclusively about college prep.
“Students in the ASCEND℠ Program will have an opportunity to receive academic enrichment and life skills training to support their journey to college or vocational employment.”
The article is incorrect with these statements.
UC ELC means that a qualifying applicant may be admitted to a UC campus with space available (in practice, Merced) if not admitted to a UC campus that s/he explicitly applied to. It does not mean automatic admission to the nearest UC campus. Also, the definition of “top 9%” is not current class rank determined by the high school, but UC-weighted GPA compared to historic top 9% UC-weighted GPA from the high school.
The CSU statement of automatic admission for a 3.0 GPA only applies to California residents applying to a non-impacted major at a non-impacted campus – and most campuses are impacted, as are popular majors (e.g. nursing is impacted everywhere).
Looks like CUNY’s minimum test score requirements are listed here: http://www.cuny.edu/academics/testing/cuny-assessment-tests/admissions-requirements.html
Any suggestions about the value of SAT prep in mentoring “average” NE Bay high schoolers?
It may matter where they are starting from with respect to the SAT (and ACT).
A student who is barely aware of college application requirements may be trying to cram an SAT test date in late fall senior year – once chance only, without knowing beforehand to help make a college list.
But awareness of the tests earlier on can be helpful. Taking the PSAT in junior year to try for National Merit (i.e. scholarship $$$) may be something to be aware of. Taking the SAT and ACT in late junior year to have the results in hand during the college search can be helpful. Of course, familiarization with the test format and types of questions will help in taking the test.
Thanks! Any thoughts about targeting certain students in Fresh or Soph year? Not sure who or when, and it doesn’t seem quite right. Just thinking, tutors for kids scoring in the 400’s in junior year might not be as productive as a blue book for kids scoring 500’s as freshman.
Hmmm, those taking the SAT in 9th grade are presumably at least aware of the test (though it is not clear why they would take it then). One would expect SAT scores to improve from 9th grade to 11th grade because some of the math used on the SAT may be learned in typical high school course work during that time, and reading, vocabulary, and writing skills should improve due to English courses in high school. Of course, some students would benefit from test-taking skill instruction as well, although it is not always obvious from just the score whether a student who got a 500 on an SAT section has the most room for improvement in terms of content or in terms of test-taking skill.
Great answer! Thanks.
One of the best ways to do this is to form partnerships, with high schools. This means reaching out to targeted schools; if you want to reach a low income minority population, then you have to reach out to those schools; contacting GC’s, AP, administrators and let them know what you are offering, who you are offering to and, cost and requirements to participate in your program.
If you can link up with a high school, it is something that you can offer to incoming freshmen who are reading at level 1 or 2 (add in caveats like excellent attendance and no history of disciplinary actions, because you want kids who will show up to the sessions and not be a disruptive force when they get there). The most important thing from your organizations end is to be committed and consistent. This means having mentors who will ride it out for the full four years with the kids in the program (who also probably have had few stable forces in their lives). This could create a win-win for your organization and the school as later you can target incoming freshmen as part of he orientation process and hopefully expand to a summer enrichment program.
Good thoughts! Thank you.
Start small, revisit the process, work out the tweaks, lather, rinse, repeat. No need to roll out a program where you have not worked out all of the kinks.
Maybe not quite that early, but there’s a lot of research showing that low SES kids start losing ground early. Just teaching parents to talk more to their kids and have real conversations can make a big difference. If I were made of money, I’d start a program modeled on the Harlem Children’s Zone: http://hcz.org/our-programs/the-baby-college/
If I could get a hold of a bunch of middle schoolers I’d do my best to get them reading. Reading fast and fluently is really the best prep for both the math and verbal SATs.
@ucbalumnus
Those scoring standards are AFTER the reforms to raise academic standards at CUNY during the tail end of the '90s onward. Another issue many educational activists who decried those reforms disagreed with is the effort to move all remedial students to the 2-year community colleges and NOT admit them to the 4-year colleges.
IMO, those standards to be on the low side and the fact so many students, even some with high GPAs/NY state regents scores in the 80s and 90s to be a serious indictment on the K-12 schools those students attended.
This is further illustrated by several friends who teach freshman/remedial courses in the CUNY community colleges and shown me how many students are having serious issues with even basic written communication and mathematical computational skills.
So while tutoring for standardized exams is important, some emphasis must also be placed on assessing and aiding students who need remediation in those areas BEFORE college.
- According to several old HS teachers still teaching and friends who now teach in the NYC public high school system, the regents exams now given are watered down versions of what we took back in the early-mid '90s. Sad considering regents were already considered LCD exams by most of my public magnet HS classmates and even many teachers.