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Ok I’m going to go over what tutoring books I ordered for sat and act prep and why... thanks to everyone who donated for books- not done ordering! (Link/Venmo in the bio)
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doing this new approach which involves 4 sat sessions or 5 act sessions of fundamental review-1.5 hr sessions
This is a pandemic approach. I know the students aren’t testing soon so I want to give them fundamentals then direct them to self study 2/
This is a pandemic approach. I know the students aren’t testing soon so I want to give them fundamentals then direct them to self study 2/
The thing about self study is there is this myth that any student can pick up any sat or act book and with enough work they will do fine.
Not true
Some books aren’t effective. Other books are just bad. If you get a book above your level... can result in score depression 3/
Not true
Some books aren’t effective. Other books are just bad. If you get a book above your level... can result in score depression 3/
And the results you get from self study don’t compare to the results you get from a tutor. A good tutor uses books effectively
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Also students get a lot of bad advice from YouTube and reddit. Let me correct that, the advice isn’t bad. It’s just that what works for one student may not work for another 5/
But the advice on the internet re: sat and act makes you think you are empowered to self-study. The advice and books and resources, may not help but instead hurt the score 6/
What happens is a student gets that advice and then doesn’t do well and their efficacy levels go down and their confidence goes down 7/
Burnout and loss confidence in self-study is real. 8/
It’s like saying you can do your hair at home. You can... but a trained hair stylist is going to do a lot better
College and career opportunities define your life- should we leave it to chance or “I hope I got the right book” no... so #testoptionalnow 9/
College and career opportunities define your life- should we leave it to chance or “I hope I got the right book” no... so #testoptionalnow 9/
It’s important for me to say that even though I recommend these books, I don’t believe in sat and act being used for admissions because those who can afford people like me do better 9 out of 10.
They also self-study but they do that with guided instruction 10/
They also self-study but they do that with guided instruction 10/
Now! The books
I got 2 copies of the official sat and act
As @akilbello says, official tests “get the flavor right.” Practicing with real test as much as possible 11/
I got 2 copies of the official sat and act
As @akilbello says, official tests “get the flavor right.” Practicing with real test as much as possible 11/
I paired both with the Black book sat/ act by mike and Patrick Barrett. Two separate books. I love these books because it gives students in the 1200 or above 26 or above details about test taking strategies 12/
The thing that is horrible about sat and act explanations is they don’t go into detail and the Black book solves that problem
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The biggest mistake students make is going only over the problems they got wrong. Do you know you got the problems right for the right reason? Are you doing it efficiently? Should you be doing that problem at all? Black book gives you insight 14/
The sat explanations are usually the answer is A... because A is the answer. Black book will give your insight into every question 15/
Black book is a good book for all (I would avoid it if I was less than 1000 or 20 until I hit that marker first) but it’s especially good for students who are experiencing “stuck at the same score” or who are trying to go near perfect score 16/
For my student who started mid range and is now at the upper range (1400+) sat. I got the following
College Panda Math
College Panda practice test
I love sat- sat and act writing 17/
College Panda Math
College Panda practice test
I love sat- sat and act writing 17/
choose college panda math because it presents a challenge. questions are harder than the sat... @akilbello may show up in the comments and tell you why he doesn’t like that harder than the test approach but to be fair these are exercises for me and not true practice tests 18/
Akil is right. You don’t want a harder than average practice test but I do like exercises that challenge after months of repetitive prep and that’s what we are gearing up for... I don’t think we are testing this summer in VA 19/
So college panda practice tests tell you what college panda lessons to use based on what you got wrong- I like students to go from confident to not confident and I cut all lessons that are tested infrequently unless there is mastery on other lessons. 20/
What I mean is you should be tackling I don’t know circle theorem if you haven’t mastered ratios or percentages or systems of equations. You’ll get 1 circle theorem question, maybe 2. You’ll get 3-5 of the others
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So I cut the less frequently tested lessons and go after highly tested first unless I know a student is near mastery on one particular subject and mastery will give a confidence boost (see those strategic decisions tutors make- #testoptionalnow #testblindforever) 22/
If you are feeling “burnt” at the high score range and want to just review a subject then college panda is good for that.
College panda is not 1200 or below or 25 or below friendly. It’s too intimidating 23/
College panda is not 1200 or below or 25 or below friendly. It’s too intimidating 23/
I got I love sat’s writing book because I like it. The exercises are straight forward and honestly I don’t like Meltzer’s team who I have reached out to before and who weren’t particularly friendly... sorry... 
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I think if you are looking for an easy read on writing rules that is clear and makes sense- I love the sat has a great book
Meltzer gives you a lot more structure. I like the book but don’t really like Meltzer based on my interaction and what I’ve heard about her on reddit 25/
Meltzer gives you a lot more structure. I like the book but don’t really like Meltzer based on my interaction and what I’ve heard about her on reddit 25/
I felt my student is more reading and writing incline and less science and math inclined so I choose I love the sat writing books. (Links at the end because I forgot to take photos 26/
For my near perfect act scorer, I got the college panda writing. I just felt the student is more logic oriented and this book leans towards them. At a near perfect act score I would use Meltzer for writing. 27/
Of note: there is no real difference in the act/sat writing so if you buy a sat writing book, you can use it for act and vice versa.
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I also ordered my near perfect scorer a college panda ACT math- again it’s good for high scores who want exercises to practice. I wish College panda would make a test book for this one but he hasn’t 
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I may go back and order an Ivy book. It’s SO GOOD for high scorers. The practice tests are harder than the real test so use them as an exercise but not a legitimate practice test 30/
What about reading: I don’t believe in reading books. I believe in do a passage then read explanations. Don’t do an entire section unless you have a pacing issue (run out of time). 31/
1 passage- then review. I don’t like review after a section because you get exhausted fast and don’t get as much in review.
For reading and everything- depth not width is necessary. You get depth from review of explanations
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For reading and everything- depth not width is necessary. You get depth from review of explanations
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Books I forgot to order: I love act science. This is the best science book I’ve ever had for science
Every single student I’ve ever had at all levels benefit from this book 33/
Every single student I’ve ever had at all levels benefit from this book 33/
It’s the book I would grab in a fire 34/
I also have my student for sat in the high range using the new math game plan for 2016 and beyond! By Philip Keller. It’s really good for strategy and compliments the Black book sat well 35/
The books I use to teach include Bell Curves SAT and ACT books and AList SAT/ACT Test
Ok here are all the books. I used an affiliate link because BOOKS ARE EXPENSIVE and if you use this link I get paid and can buy more books: https://amzn.to/31i5kpD
Also Bell Curve
SAT: https://sat.bellcurves.com/bookstore
ACT: https://act.bellcurves.com/bookstore
Also Bell Curve
SAT: https://sat.bellcurves.com/bookstore
ACT: https://act.bellcurves.com/bookstore
Do not buy the cheaper student copies of the books for A-List. They provide NO EXPLANATIONS
https://www.alisteducation.com/product/act-book-of-knowledge-teacher-manual/
https://www.alisteducation.com/product/redesigned-sat-book-of-knowledge-teacher-manual/
https://www.alisteducation.com/product/act-book-of-knowledge-teacher-manual/
https://www.alisteducation.com/product/redesigned-sat-book-of-knowledge-teacher-manual/
Great advice from @akilbello here https://twitter.com/akilbello/status/1276358798047956994?s=20
Oh also http://1600.io + Blue Book + Black Book = a great combo for almost all students
Great advice here- @ChrisFalcinelli thank you https://twitter.com/ChrisFalcinelli/status/1276362793164341250?s=20
The real truth about this thread- thank you @taraMaustin
https://twitter.com/jennthetutor/status/1276368635569864704?s=21 https://twitter.com/jennthetutor/status/1276368635569864704
https://twitter.com/jennthetutor/status/1276368635569864704?s=21 https://twitter.com/jennthetutor/status/1276368635569864704
It’s like saying kids are thriving under virtual learning- a majority of kids do better with a teacher by their side 9 out 10. Same thing with test prep. Kids who do well in self study would do better and save more time, test less often, with a tutor.
