SAT, ACT, ISEE, SHSAT, and other fun acronyms!

I^,m Cat, an expert standardized test tutor based in NYC with 16+ years and over 12,000 hours of experience. My strategies and techniques can bring about incredible score improvements!

I teach remotely over Zoom or in person in NYC. Either way, I tailor the lessons to each student^,s needs. Every student is unique. I have experience with gifted students, foreign language students, and students with ADHD, OCD, dyslexia, and executive functioning challenges. I^,ve worked with students who experience testing anxiety and with students whose parents insist that they are “bad test-takers.” Don^,t worry, there^,s no such thing as a bad test-taker! 🙂

Strategy is the name of the game. Students tend to assume that the scary-looking content that appears on the test is something brand new that they^,ve never learned before. In actuality, test makers are masters of making familiar material appear unfamiliar by jumbling it all up and presenting it in a strange format. Test-taking techniques help students decode each question and extract the concept they need to apply.

The beauty of standardized tests is just this: they^,re standardized! That means that every SAT test repeats exactly the same concepts as every other SAT test. Every ISEE test repeats exactly the same concepts as every other ISEE test. If you can master each concept one at a time, you can master the whole test. A tutor who knows the test forwards and backwards can guide the way. I am deeply knowledgeable about every test I teach, whether it^,s SAT, ACT, or a high school entrance exam like SSAT, ISEE, or SHSAT (see my full list of subjects here). I can always confidently predict what will and won^,t appear on the test, and I know how to break the material into bite-sized pieces so that students can absorb it effectively.

Test prep isn^,t magic. It^,s as simple as learning straightfoward test-taking techniques, practicing consistently using real tests made by the test makers, and reviewing every mistake in depth with a tutor who can show you how to avoid making that same mistake again. It^,s a process that takes months to a year, not something to rush through in a few weeks. It takes hard work and dedication. Throughout the process, the tutor acts a guide, motivating students to keep going, keeping tabs on their progress, and showing them where the next step is on the path to success.