I want to get top grades and test scores and be better prepared for college boards and college life. Which type of college preparation professional is right for me?
Every student is different and there are many choices for boosting academic skills. There are also many types of professionals and programs available, depending on a student’s needs.
Below is a list of specialists that can get you ready for high school and college rigor. Some services help with very specific situations or remediation in certain subjects. Others address underlying needs that affect all academic performance.
- Tutors
Choose a tutor to help the student who is week in a subject area. Tutors will help break down key components of text for understanding specific core subject areas, such as English, history, science, math, etc. They reteach after the teacher, reintroducing specific areas of knowledge in a new way so that the student can understand. Some tutors are trained in mnemonic strategies—memory tricks for learning key information. They can also provide study skills strategies that can help organize students for schoolwork and tests.
- ACT Private Tutors
ACT tutors: Many private tutors specialize in specific subject areas directly related to the ACT college admissions test. They work one-on-one with students.
English tutors help refresh students with grammatical rules (including punctuation) and reading skills. Because The English portion of the ACT is reading paragraphs, students will need to have rhetorical understanding, and that means that strong reading comprehension is a necessity to perform well. Many ACT tutors also work with the reading portion of the ACT, but they may not specialize in strengthening overall reading skills. They mainly provide tips for reading and reviewing questions.
Science tutors help students with graphs and reading the science questions. Even though most students think that the science portion tests specific areas of science, the science portion assesses the student’s ability to read information and analyze graphs based on information provided in the ACT booklet. Since students’ science classes vary, the ACT does not test on specific subjects, such as Chemistry or Environmental Science. Most of the Science ACT is reading graphs and requires reading comprehension skills.
Math tutors help students brush up on math skills from geometry though Algebra 2/Trigonometry. They help students with computation and understanding questions so that students can perform the necessary calculations to come up with a correct answer. Reading skills are also important for the math portion because a many questions require understanding paragraphs and then deciding on which mathematical computation is needed according to the text.
- Reading Specialists
Reading specialists are trained to use specific reading techniques, such as KWL, DRTA, reciprocal teaching, mapping, and reflection, that are taught mostly at the elementary level. They may also use nationally recognized programs such as Orton Gillingham, Kumon, FAST, Wilson, Sylvan Learning, Lindamood Bell, depending on the teacher’s training and education. A reading specialist has a master’s degree in reading and is also trained to teach some mnemonic strategies for reading. Reading specialists can also help students with study skills strategies.
- College Admissions Test Preparation Programs
College Preparation Programs: Many parents and students alike share the belief that there are “tricks” to standardized test taking and they search for those programs that specialize in helping students who are challenged by multiple-choice tests.These companies that market services to increase scores are excellent resources for helping students to alleviate pre-test jitters. In many cases, these programs may be the perfect fit. For great readers, taking practice tests reduces anxiety. These programs help to make students comfortable with the test-taking process, providing students with multiple trial tests under standardized test-taking conditions.
For students with an underlying, unrecognized reading problem, these programs may be a recipe for low self-esteem, and will likely not result in the desired top scores.
- Cognitive Therapy/Training
The RTS Success® Program focuses on cognitive therapy and is unique in that training is long-lasting and affects all areas of academic performance. Coaches use a procedure that targets specific areas of cognition to build excellent reading comprehension and learning. RTS Success® uncovers the student’s innate reasoning skills, which are the building blocks of learning and retaining information. Utilizing specific brain-patterning techniques, the RTS Success® program trains the reader to sort incoming data that boosts both reading comprehension and long-term retention.
The RTS Success® program focuses on improving working memory that transcends into metacognition—training the brain to self-monitor and self-correct while reading textual information. Cognitive therapy is the key to learning reading strategies and test-taking tricks to improve overall academic performance.
Students are trained to process information efficiently and are transformed into strong, independent, confident readers. Strong readers are strong test takers and writers.
RTS Success Graduates thoroughly understand all they read, regardless of content. Homework time is shortened and any frustration turns into triumph. Confidence soars and most importantly, students finally enjoy reading and test taking!
The final choice comes down to choosing between a specific, short-term enhancement or long-term/lifetime results. Cognitive training enhances essential academic skills that will tackle college rigor and lead to a successful professional life.
RTS Success® helps students to become the strongest readers who are prepared for college success.
The RTS Success® Program helps strong readers become the strongest test-takers. Whether it is for school, the ACT or SAT, RTS Success® has you covered!
Do you have a question or comment? Contact Cindy@RTSsuccess.com or visit www.RTSsuccess.com