Here’s some challenging news: even though many high schools have done away with class rank, colleges still find being in the 10% and top 25% extremely important.  This creates some irony: due to Connecticut’s great high schools, it is harder to be ranked high in the class for a kid from Connecticut than a […]

If you have not heard of David Goggins, he is worth a Google search and then for entertainment, inspiration, and life lessons worth listening to/reading about/studying.  This is particularly true for high school students who live in our idyllic Connecticut shoreline. David Goggins grew up in a household with a physically and verbally abusive father.  […]

Last year, I read The One Thing, a book that posits that we should focus on our energy on the one thing that can change our lives.  The one thing that students can change dramatically: test scores. Through the years of working with students throughout Connecticut, we know these higher test scores can radically change one’s […]

An article from Forbes illustrates the point.  The following is an excerpt from an article in Forbes on the importance of the SAT: Despite all of this negative noise, standardized tests like the SAT still matter a lot to highly selective colleges. Two biggest reasons:  1) It is an effective way to screen out students when […]

“Deep practice”.  I show students the best practices to master math, grammar, reading and so forth. Simultaneously, I immersed myself in the literature on performance across all disciplines. What I called deep practice was labeled deliberate practice or purposeful practice by others who had the same goal: figuring out how to help students improve. One […]

What madness am I suggesting? Most Connecticut schools are stronger than most schools in most states. Those in the top 10% of schools such a Guilford High School, Daniel Hand High, Lyme-Old Lyme High School, East Lyme High School, Old Saybrook High School, Valley Regional High School (Essex-Deep River) and other public schools in Southeastern, […]

The problem with all online training is the lack of human connection.  I teach online classes and was awarded a best teacher designation at the college where I teach.  I still know that even on my worst days as an in-person teacher I am making more of an impact than when I teach online. The […]

Every year, a new batch of students comes to our offices in Old Saybrook and Madison.  Most are not confident that they will get better.  They are with us because their parents “signed them up for an SAT course”. Few are certain that they will get better.  Every year – or really every season – […]

The SAT as the weapon that will help your child gain admission.  Why?  Because students at our local high schools do wonderfully well on a comparative basis on national standardized tests. Connecticut is a smart state.  It routinely comes in the top 5 for education in national surveys.  But for towns along Shoreline-Southeastern, CT as […]