As a tutoring company, we at Partners With Parents notice trends in educational circles, and these days one is at the forefront of our minds: the rise of the community service component in graduation requirements for New York City schools.  Living in today’s world requires all of us to be forward-thinking in our relationship to materials, energy, and our fellow man, before we have done our surroundings, and ourselves, irreparable harm.  As parents and educators, we now have a clear recognition that we must teach our children to be conscientious global citizens who are committed to social responsibility and serving the public good.  (more…)

Reminder!  Tuesday, December 15th, is the SAT registration deadline for the January 23^rd administration.  The cost is $45 for the SAT and $29 for SAT Subject Tests (add $20 for language tests with listening).  This will be the last opportunity to take SAT Subject Tests until May 1^st, since the March 13^th administration is for the SAT only.  You can sign up at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/sat/reg.html

Reminder!  Friday, November 20th, is the ACT Registration deadline for the December 12th administration.  This is the late registration deadline so the cost is $68 for the ACT with writing and $53 without (rather than $47 and $32, respectively).   You can sign up at http://www.actstudent.org/regist/index.html

During the fall, it seems every week we encounter a new ISEE, SAT or ACT registration deadline or administration date.  Most of the major standardized tests fall into certain periods of concentration.  This is true for state and independent school exams, like the ISEE, SSAT, and the SHSAT, to college admissions exams like the SAT and ACT, as well as graduate school entrance exams like the GRE, GMAT and LSAT.  We are about to enter a period of such clustering from mid-October through mid-December.  There is also a concentration in the spring from mid-April through mid-June.

It is important to realize that test preparation cannot merely begin at the registration deadline, which is usually less than a month prior to the test date.  To ensure a confident, level-headed approach on test day, the material must be examined and taken seriously well in advance.  Standardized tests are not measures of any innate intelligence or ability; in a sense, performance on these exams is just an indicator of how well you perform on these exams. (more…)