The value of the SATs shouldn’t be taken for granted. Remember that this is going to be one of the most critical and most significant exams that your child will ever go through. The SAT can also make or break the college application of your child. And, as parents, there’s that responsibility to help rear them towards having better scores.
While studying for the SATs can be daunting and exhausting, there are ways to make it more fun and more achievable for a high school student. These tips are also effective in helping to increase SAT scores.
- Study Little Parts During Breakfast
Studying for the SATs can get very overwhelming, especially when the student has to do everything at once. As parents, what you can do is to incorporate at least fifteen to thirty minutes of study time during breakfast. That way, you have something done before the day gets busy. Or, you can have your kids answer practice test questions while having breakfast. If it ever comes in the day that your kids will be unable to study, at least you have accomplished a little coverage than none at all.
- Learn New Words Every Day
Learning at least one new word every day can help your kids improve their comprehension and vocabulary. This is very important in today’s day and age since teenagers spend more time on their phones browsing through social media sites than reading. Hence, it’s normal that teenagers today have poor comprehension. When they have to write essays, it might be more difficult for them to articulate their thoughts and ideas. Even as little as learning one word per day is enough to help your teenager through analytical essays.
- Encourage Your Child To Read Books
Reading for children today isn’t quite the norm. This kind of attitude doesn’t sit well in college applications, though. How can your kids survive the verbal parts, where ideas, opinions, and analysis are needed. Education is a significant process, and there are never any available shortcuts to it. Don’t just let your kids answer practice tests, too. Read through SAT reviewers. If they can read through each subject reviewer twice, then so much the better.
- Work On The Mental Math Skills Of Your Child
There are two math sections in the SATs. One of these math exams doesn’t allow for the use of a calculator. Hence, the need for you to sharpen the mental math skills of your child. That way, you can be sure that your child is going to make it through the math exam. Especially so if you know that your teenager is having a hard time with math, take the time to sharpen it. The earlier that you work on it, the better it is going to be for the math scores of your child.
- Enroll Your Teen In Difficult Subjects
This advice is very subjective as what may be difficult for one student may be easy for another. It’s never going to be the same. It’s up to you as a parent to have your assessment as to what subject your child is having difficulty in. That way, you can enroll your child in extra tutorials or dedicated courses only on the subject that they find the most difficult.
Remember that it’s not going to be effective for your teenager to go through all the subjects at once. You’ve only got to choose. Otherwise, it’s also going to do more harm than good on their mental load to be taking too many classes. If there’s a subject that you can teach and tackle by yourself as their review, then why not teach your kids by yourself. Children also tend to feel more confident when they see that their parents are helping them every step of the way.
- Review On The Basic Grammar Of Your Kids
Just because you’re native English speakers, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ve got it all figured out with their grammar. In the SAT exam, grammar comprises a critical section. Brush up on the grammar, even the basics. It’s even better if you go back to the basics. Help your teens out as if they’re still beginners in the English language. You can’t go wrong with going back to the basics, as these are sometimes the most overlooked pointers as well.
Conclusion
As more mature parents, remember the time when you were once in the shoes of your children. When you were teenagers, naturally, studying was never a priority. It was one of the hardest things to do and to achieve. It’s up to you, therefore, to help your children out in their major exams. When they’re constantly battling with the question of whether they should study or not, you should lead them always to a big yes. They should, in fact, study.