Everyday teachers and schools are being bombarded by an influx of education technology apps for free use. Marketed to all forms of educators, “freemiums” are initially pitched to individual users, a genius advertisement tactic to encourage potential customers affiliated with a target demographic to bite the bait - for free - in the hopes to eventually tap into district usage, where the “freemium” model would no longer be available and advanced features come at an extra cost. This is no real surprise since, like most services we enjoy or believe in, eventually comes with a price. However, what is not often expected, that has been happening with the surge of educational apps used in many school districts, is students who have been using such apps at their schools - often considered to be a secure environment - have had their private information, including test scores, school district, age, gender, ethnicity, etc, made publicly available on the internet, without their, or the district's, consent.
College entrance exams can be very valuable – if the student does well. The right preparation can have a dramatic effect on SAT scores, as some research shows a 100 point difference. Not only can a high SAT score help a student's acceptance rate, but it can significantly contribute to having school scholarships tilt in their favor.
After going to four years of college, and perhaps an additional 2-to-6 years of higher education for a M.A. or PhD, one might expect, or at least hope, all their time, effort and most importantly, money, will pay off. However, a degree does not always equate directly to employment or anteup in the way so often pitched to credulous high school graduates. There are a staggering number of additional factors, beyond a degree, that need to be considered when gauging one's future employability and economic success, post graduation. Unfortunately, the reality often is that if you want a well paying job, one generally needs the network and credentials from a top University. This necessity contributes to the correlation between wealth and opportunity, causing the ever-increasing income inequality gap.
The GMAT is hard, and especially difficult if one is not prepared. Therefore, to be successful it is critical to study and understand how one prepares for such a test. How and what you study will make all the difference. Most importantly, talking to someone who has taken the test can be very beneficial, more so than hiring a tutor or downloading any preparatory program, at first. Ideally they can offer some useful tips before the big day! In the meantime, below are our top ten things to help prepare for the GMAT.
In academic terms, the SAT is generally considered the milestone of tests, something that demonstrates success, intelligence and resilience. It is an exam that demonstrates you've reach the end of an era - out of adolescence and into adulthood. Often deemed as one of the most important education qualifiers in one's academic lifetime; apart from all those other tests one might have to take if choosing to proceed into scholarly territory, but I’ll refrain from digression. If a student makes a decision to continue onto college, post high school, they will inevitably be met with standardized test hurdles. Since there is no way around them other than through, well, if you can't beat them join them, right? And by joining we mean being readily prepared so that the “hurdle” is not a struggle, but rather a well met challenge you can plow through to obtain the academic career of your dreams. From college choice to scholarship money, have the SATs work to your advantage
Every time you take the LSAT, scores are averaged. Therefore, if you do mediocre the first time and terribly bad the second round, due to some unforeseen circumstance (i.e. you woke up and the depressed cat had taken it's life via asphyxiation in a bowl of milk), you might never forgive yourself for retaking the exam. Ideally, you take the LSAT once and call it a day. Not only would it work to your disadvantage if the second score was lower than the previous, but studies have shown that many people who do retake the exam only score, on average, a two-point difference. Two points is not worth more time, more stress, more money. Taking it once will save sanity and integrity in the long-run. Below are five tips to prepare you for taking the LSAT only once.
So you waited until the last minute to prepare for the SAT and now you are in a time crunch. It is only a couple weeks away and between soccer practice, theater, friends and homework you only foresee a few open days to actually get some study time in. Don't fear, it happens to many students. The most important thing to do is stay calm and buckle down now. Below you will find 10 critical things to start accomplishing TODAY to begin preparing for the SAT.
When applying to graduate school, most will be confronted with the looming doom of the GRE. Although the company that creates the GRE states it tests more on practical skill and decision making than on expertise and information retention, 99% of us who attempt the exam with little or no preparation, will experience intense failure. Why? It isn't necessarily because of intelligence, but more a lack of familiarity when it comes to test taking abilities, particularly standardized tests. Therefore, studying for the GRE is in many ways mandatory to condition both mind and body in acclimating for the very specific testing format.
The history of standardized testing is long, redundant and involves many revisions. Today the two main college entrance exams required by most undergraduate programs are the SAT and ACT – both of which have had their acronyms redefined in more recent years, representing the ongoing struggle to keep the test's content relevant and applicable to current times. Before going into the future of the SAT, I would like to discuss the tedious, circuitous, somewhat uninteresting past of standardized tests in the effort provide a more critical lens in determining how college entrance exams either will or won't prevail in the future.
