COVID-19's Effect on Exam Prep

There are a lot more important things going on right now than the SAT. Yet, despite the current uncertainty, disruption, and fear caused by the current COVID-19 crisis, it is true that we will eventually return to some semblance of normalcy. Students will still need to apply to high schools and colleges, which means students will still need to study for and take the SAT, ACT, SSAT, ISEE, SHSAT, and so on. It is important to find the time and structure necessary to prepare for these exams amidst everything going on. 

Below, we’ve outlined some things to keep in mind as you, or you and your child, try to chart out a prep process in the coming months.

Protect Students’ Mental Health

Right now, students are being forced to go without almost all of the outlets they usually have. They can’t see their friends at school. There are no sports or after school activities. There’s no going to the movies, or out to eat. Even when going to the park, they have to maintain (or at least should be maintaining) social distance. Students can still, of course, play video games, musical instruments, and so on, but the point remains the same: this is an incredibly stressful time for them. For some, adapting to remote learning means extra work and extra stress. It can be challenging even for adults to structure their days properly when working from home. 

Tempting as it may be, this period should not be looked at primarily as an opportunity for increased productivity. While it’s true that students may have fewer distractions, that does not necessarily mean they will become capable of doing more schoolwork than they were already doing. There are limits to one’s attention span, to one’s energy levels. Between the twin stressors of the virus’s effects on the world, and the absence of some of their usual means of stress reduction, it may not be healthy to push further work onto your student during this time. 

While it’s important to study for these exams, that studying will be meaningless if the student burns out or suffers a mental health crisis in the process. Standardized tests are cumulative exams. They’re like riding a bike-- once you learn, it takes a very long time to truly forget how to take these tests. Quality, concentrated work over time is all that’s necessary to success. Students don’t need to be (and shouldn’t be) taking practice tests every day.  

Time and Structure

Even when school is in session, the most challenging part of the test-prep process is often just finding the time to study. The best solution to that problem is to treat test prep like an extracurricular activity. Just as a student might have music lessons on Tuesday and Thursdays from 4:00 to 6:00, students should pick specific days and times each week during which they’ll study, and they should decide what to study during those periods well in advance. 

On a Sunday evening, students should sit down and map out a schedule for the week. They should decide what they hope to get done that week, and pick three to four sessions over the course of the week in which they’ll do that work. If test prep is left for when one “has time” or “has the energy,” it will never get done, especially while school’s out, and schedules are as amorphous as ever. It can even be a good idea for students to share their schedules with a parent or someone else in the household-- they can even post it on the fridge-- to help maintain accountability. Doing so is hardly necessary, obviously, but for some it can be helpful.

Online Resources 

Given the economic uncertainty we’re facing in the wake of this situation, it’s understandable that many are hesitant to spend money on test prep right now. It’s more than understandable, in fact-- the College Board canceled the March test suddenly, and has already canceled the May exam. Tutors, meanwhile, are only offering online services in the wake of the recent restrictions on non-essential workers in New York State. For many, it makes sense to wait. Waiting to spend on books and tutors doesn’t mean you have to wait on the prep process in general, however. There are a variety of free resources online that are extremely useful to students who are either hoping to begin their study process, or are simply looking to keep themselves fresh while they wait for exam day. 

TSNY Free Online Classes 

It’s a tough time for everyone, and we’d like to do our part to help. As a result, we’ll be holding online classes for free via Zoom for any and all interested. Each session will last two hours. For these classes, we’ll be sending out practice exams to be completed prior to the start of sessions. During class itself, one of our tutors will go over the exam, discuss general test-taking techniques, and field questions from the students. 

Students are free to come and go from class as they please-- there’s no commitment, and no cost. We just want to provide a way for students to get in some practice and receive some guidance as they prepare for the eventual return of exams. 

To sign up for our Free Online Courses, click here. All we need is an email address, the student’s name, and an indication of which time slot you’d like to sign up for. Once we have that information, we’ll send you all the materials the student needs for the class, as well as the Zoom link for class.

Khan Academy 

Whereas other tutoring companies and prep sites seek to mimic the College Board, Khan Academy has worked directly with them to produce their SAT prep materials, all of which are free. 

Khan Academy features 8 Official SAT practice tests, videos and articles about the exam’s structure and general test-taking techniques, plus targeted practice questions broken down by topic, so students can spend their study time as efficiently as possible. 

When signing up for Khan Academy, students can connect their College Board accounts to their Khan Academy account, allowing Khan Academy to use previous PSAT or SAT score reports to help students tailor their prep process. They can also take diagnostic quizzes to achieve the same kind of specialized attention. 

You can find all of Khan Academy’s SAT prep materials by visiting: https://www.khanacademy.org/sat

Ivy Global 

Ivy Global is a Canadian tutoring company in the model of Kaplan or Princeton Review, publishing a variety of review books for the SAT, ACT, and ISEE/SSAT. Ivy Global puts a lot of their review materials online for free. 

Visit https://prep.ivyglobal.com to download two free SAT practice tests they’ve designed, plus a 2-Hour diagnostic test. You’ll also find 6 of the 8 Khan Academy Practice Tests available for download as PDFs (Khan Academy no longer uses tests 2 and 4). You can visit Prep Scholar’s website to obtain PDFs of tests 9 and 10. 

On Ivy Global’s site you’ll also find excerpts of their guidebook, excerpts from the College Board’s guidebook, and some useful practice questions. 

Kaplan 

Kaplan, perhaps the largest test prep company in the country, offers a free practice test on their site, which you can access by visiting https://www.kaptest.com/sat/free/sat-practice

Prep Scholar Free Trial

Prep Scholar is a paid online prep service that offers a more advanced version of the services you find on Khan Academy’s site. Enrolling in a free trial with them can be a nice way of getting in some free practice. It may even lead you to a longer term relationship with the site-- for students who like to work independently, it’s well worth the money. 

Check out all Prep Scholar has to offer by visiting their website: https://www.prepscholar.com/sat/s/