I expect you know a few people in your high school who might get a perfect
score on the SAT. What are they like? Study all the time? Never go out? No time
for sports? Get all A’s?
In the year 2000 there were 1.5 million high school seniors who took the SAT,
and just 541 of them got a perfect score. 1600 Perfect Score : The 7 Secrets of
Acing the SAT, by Tom Fischgrund, tells the story of those perfect scorers.
Fischgrund arranged with the College Board to analyze the College Board’s data
on these top-scoring students, and then interview them and their parents. The
result was these seven secrets …
But wait—before you read those secrets, take the quiz below, and see if you can
identify which attributes can be ascribed to the students who got perfect
scores. Look for the correct answers at the end of this article.
1. When I have an hour free I am likely to read.
2. I get all A’s or A+’s in the classes at school.
3. I have a part-time job.
4. I am a genius.
5. I have 5 or 6 extra curricular activities that I am seriously committed to.
6. I usually get elected to be manager, president, or vice-president of any
organization to which I belong.
7. I have tutors to help me with school work 2 or 3 times a week.
8. I letter in a sport each season.
9. My parents are divorced.
10. I play an instrument in the band, but I don’t have time to practice.
11. I will take an SAT class.
12. I am not very popular at school, and I rarely have a date.
13. I am a geek.
14. I like to take things apart to see how they work.
15. I am self-motivated.
16. I have two major interests outside of school.
17. I have a lot of energy.
18. My vocabulary level is not very high compared to my friends.
19. People tell me I am creative.
20. Every week I spend 2 hours doing volunteer work.
21. My family encourages and supports my learning by their example, and by the
things we do together.
22. I master the subject matter in my classes.
23. I expect to succeed in life.
24. I love words and try to use new ones in my conversation and writing.
25. My school has very small classes, 10-12 students.
Now let’s look at the seven secrets for acing the SAT that author Fischgrund
talks about, and then see whether they describe students I have known who got
1560-1600 on their SATs.
Secret 1: They’re Self-Confident, Self-Effacing, and Self-Motivated
Secret 2: They Are Intellectually Curious, and Excited About Learning New and
Different Things
Secret 3: They Read Quickly and Voraciously, Following Their Interests Wherever
They Lead
Secret 4: They Develop a Core Group of Passions, Pursue Them Eagerly, and Excel
within Them
Secret 5: They’re Proactive; They Create Their Own Luck
Secret 6: They Develop a Social Network of Friends and Family That Gives Them
Critical Support
Secret 7: Their Real Goal Isn’t to Ace the SAT—but to Succeed in Life
The overwhelming feeling I get from reading these secrets is that students who
get very high scores on the SAT are excited about learning and have found
families and friends who support their enthusiasm. This is consistent with my
knowledge of perfect scorers and high scorers. I was lucky that at least three
of them worked for me for several years. Besides being exceptionally smart and
knowledgeable, they were active, energetic, and involved in all that went on at
the office. It seemed like there was nothing they couldn’t do or that escaped
their notice. They were hardworking, and more than generous with their time.
Work wasn’t just a job; it was a serious commitment that required their best
effort. They were the reason that I started telling new teachers that they had
to know everything, and have unlimited energy.
To further test whether Fischgrund’s seven secrets are true I took a page from
his methods, and interviewed one of these high scorers to see how she would have
described herself when she was in high school, and why she thought she did so
well on the SAT. She said she was never uptight about school stuff, because she
learned easily. She had an affinity for math, and could feel and see the
patterns that numbers made. She loved words, and was called “dictionary girl” in
school. She says she owes much of this to growing up in an enriched environment
where she was expected to succeed. The SAT was just one other milestone along
the way.
Conclusion: The seven secrets are the truth about how to get a high score on the
SAT.
Quiz answers: You should have checked Nos. 1,2,6,14,15,16,17,19,20,21,22,23, and
24.
I’ve taught reading skills for a long time, and every few years the problems
that students have seem to change. Sometimes they just go in phases, and the
same old problems crop up again and again with new names. Sometimes there is
important new information, and that is true this year.
Let me proceed in order. The first item of new information came to my attention
last fall. Professor Jack Fletcher at the University of Texas Health Science
Center presented the latest NIH/NICHD* research on learning problems at a
symposium of the Houston Neuropsychological Society. He outlined an assessment
plan for students with learning problems, including reading difficulties, which
did NOT include an individual intelligence test. He recommended use of the CTOPP*,
a relatively newly published test, as well as several other commonly used
measures of reading and learning skills such as dyslexia. The recommendation for
omitting an individual intelligence test from the diagnosis package was quite
controversial, since it conflicts with what is required for a diagnosis of
learning disabilities by the state of Texas, and many other states.
The second bit of information that I learned was quite a surprise. For many
years, he and others recommended one-on-one instruction for children with
reading problems of all sorts. Now however, based on the research of the last
two or three years in this NICHD project, he proposes an instructional group of
one teacher- to- three students as the best learning arrangement. This is the
system I have used at my office for the last twenty years, because my experience
indicated that this was the best way, so it is nice to find that others agree
with me.
The third thing I learned last fall was totally new, not a variation on what I
had always done, or confirmation of what I thought I already knew. Dr. Fletcher
stressed that intervention for children with suspected learning problems should
be started as early as possible, and that the instruction should be intensive.
Of course, schools today do not give students time to cope with developmental
delays, or learning problems, but early diagnosis and instruction will not be a
panacea, just a help.
The fourth thing I have learned this year is that many children are growing up
without learning a number of non-verbal skills that involve logic and strategy,
number patterns and puzzles, and spatial relations. This is because many young
children no longer play with construction-style toys like Erector Sets and
Tinker Toys, or Tangrams and multi-piece puzzles, or model sets with elaborate
directions. Instead, they play with Game Boy, and other video games that develop
a different set of skills such as eye-hand coordination. Consequently, when it
is time for these students to take “non-verbal” intelligence tests for special
school programs such as Sights, or to test for private schools, they haven’t
developed the skills to do many of the tasks. These students also have trouble
with sections of the current math curriculum that deal with pyramids and cones,
number sequences, and word problems. These skills cannot be learned overnight,
and represent a major learning gap that grows each year.
I started out teaching very advantaged students, then high school students
who would leave school at age 15, and finally those who couldn’t read very well
or not at all. I taught at home when my own children were little, and then for
the next 25 years in an office, where you will find me today. All of this is a
prelude to saying “I have seen it all” or at least most of what has transpired
in education during those years. Let me tell you about two things that I have
observed that affect secondary students.
First, there is a continuing decline in the level of standard vocabulary
knowledge of students of all ages. Until the last three years it has been rare
for students from fairly advantaged homes, i.e., my paying students, to test
below the 50%ile on the initial assessment in vocabulary. Now, I am pleased if
they test that high or higher. Scores in the 20%ile are not uncommon!! When this
first started happening, I thought that surely something was wrong with the
test, so I surreptitiously checked by using graded reading materials saying,
“Tell me what this word means or what word you would use instead of this one?”
The test results were not wrong. Times had changed.
Second, I have observed a decline in the general knowledge of most of my
students. I think that the vocabulary problem and this problem have the same
basic cause. Our society, outside of family and friends, is heavily dominated by
“media life” so that popular activities and even the news must be related to
sports and celebrities. The problem with this is that detailed knowledge of
those things does not require the student to learn about other subjects. Think
about this: interest in drama, music and art lead to interest in literature,
history, and geography. Interest in business leads to interest in economics and
mathematics. Interest in debate leads to great research skills, and interest in
current affairs. Interest in cooking leads to interest in different countries,
agriculture, and chemistry. While it is true that occasionally I see a student
whose “media-life” is dominated by the Discovery Channel, the History Channel,
or financial news networks, this only occurs about once a year, and so composes
less than ½ of 1% of my students. Perhaps if some of the time spent in “media
life” was invested into other interesting activities—that might not seem so
interesting at first—we could lay a groundwork for more intellectual pursuits,
and stop the decline in general knowledge and in vocabulary.
How many times a year am I asked that question? This spring I had two students who, I was told, had comprehension problems. The first was getting the answers to her seatwork questions wrong because she couldn't pronounce some of the words, and she wasn't supposed to ask for help. The second student couldn't understand the novel The Great Gatsby. She could say the words and follow the plot, but the significance was lost on her. Without a knowledge of the history of the period, and some vicarious experience of that society, she couldn't imagine such a story.
The knowledge base for good comprehension is laid in early childhood by the way we care for our children. It develops as we reason with them about the issues of daily life, such as which bike to buy, and why vegetables are good for you. It develops as we read to them and talk about the stories. It develops as they listen to us discuss business and politics with our friends.
When the child learns to read, he or she uses all of this information. If there are no physical impediments such as inadequate vision, or mechanical problems in sounding-out words, all goes well. But what about when it doesn't?
That is when we have to go back through the learning processes, and find out which ones are missing or incomplete. It is much more efficient to correct problems early.
Children learn to read between the ages of 4 and 7. At this time their
physical development allows the eyes to focus at near-point or 17 inches, and
their cognitive development allows them to understand that words are made up of
separate sounds.
No one has a fit if a 4 year-old can read, nor does anyone tell the parents that
this child has a learning problem because he or she is reading too early. Yet
most schools, and therefore parents, are upset if a 7 year-old is not reading,
even though it has long been known that the early reader and late reader wind up
reading about equally well by the end of third grade, and certainly by fifth.
This developmental difference does not reflect a difference in intelligence, nor
does it predict future achievement. I am, of course, talking about children who
have similar socio-economic backgrounds and parents who read to their children.
This is all very well if your own child is the one who reads early, or at least
sometime in first grade. My daughter and her friend seemed very much alike when
they were five years old, except for one thing. Her friend read the front page
of the New York Times to me most Thursday mornings as I drove carpool. Sure
enough, by third grade, they read at the same level.
Did I worry when my son turned out to be a late reader? You bet. He became a
good reader also, but his second grade teacher spent the whole year telling me
what I knew, but worried about anyway, which was that he would learn. And he
did. And so did the other three boys in his class. Kudos to Mrs. King.
Generally, schools these days have chosen to forget what they used to know about
early childhood development, and so finding an appropriate school for a child at
either end of the developmental curve is a challenge.
Johnny and Susie Go to Middle School and High School
From my August, 1997 Newsletter
What Johnny and Susie should know when starting either the first grade or college is easily defined (See articles above and below). However, the guidelines for starting middle school and high school are not so clear. Let us look at these norms.
By the end of 5th or 6th grade, students should be independent readers who can write a clear, well-edited paragraph. Independent readers can sound out any new word in a split second, read a grade-level chapter book at a rate of 200-250 words-per-minute, and remember what it says well enough to re-tell it clearly. For a fiction book this would include the names of the main characters and a retracing of the important events with some details. The re-telling of a non-fiction book would include the W’s---who did what, when, where and why. Also, the prospective middle school/high school student should be able to write a coherent paragraph which contains this same information, following the three-step process of outlining, writing, and editing in 45 minutes
By the 9th grade, the student’s progress norms are even easier to discern. The first milestone is the adequate completion of school assignments in 1 1/2 to 2 hours each day, plus some extra time for memorizing the day’s information
The second high school milestone is functional writing skills: students must be able to write the standard five-paragraph papers, using the three step process, without undue stress.
The third milestone is adequate reading skills. Can the student read and understand the books required for English class and the summer reading list at the rate of one or more per week? One good measure of whether a student is an adequate reader is the way summer reading assignments are completed. If the student tackles a book by reading fifteen minutes a day, or 5 to 10 pages a day, then that itself is proof that the student never reads a book voluntarily. True readers never read this way. If you doubt this fact, try watching a movie in daily ten minute segments until you get to the end. Readers must spend longer stretches of time with the characters to become concerned with what happens in the book.
Whether in middle school or high school, a student who does not read regularly for enjoyment is unlikely to be able to read the more diffficult assigned books quickly enough, and perhaps will not be able to read them at all. Remember, too, that good readers make good writers.
As Ben Franklin said, "A stitch in time saves nine." I hope these progress norms help students and their parents know what to look for in the development of reading and writing skills.
Johnny and Susie Go to College
From my March, 1997 Newsletter
The last article outlined what beginning readers should learn in the first grade. Now let’s look down the road twelve years, and see what students should know before they go to college. Use this listing as a checktest.
For some years I have been concerned that many of my students don't read regularly--not anything. This has happened despite the introduction of "chapter books" for second and third grade readers. This has happened despite the explosion of required reading material at all levels of education as well as in the workplace.
This year marks the first year I have taught students who skip over words, ignore punctuation, and can't keep the place SIMPLY because they never, ever read paragraph after paragraph, page after page. I propose that this is because of constant misguided scavenger-hunt assignments which say to read the questions first, and then read the passage to find the answers. TAAS and other test-taking trainers also teach this misapplication of the basic comprehension technique of previewing. The stress is rarely on reading the whole passage, even once.
I call this collection of random bits of information the jellybean mentality. Reach into the jar, grab a few, and that's the end of it. Practiced day after day this approach to reading and learning is boring and meaningless. It shouldn't be a shock that students who don't actually read the passages don't understand them, and that the information they do glean lacks any contextual framework to help them remember it. Even though some of these students get A's at school, they learn but a fraction of what they might if they really read the pages and related them to the previous chapters.
Scavenger hunts and 'jellybean jar' learning techniques also deprive students of vocabulary development. Consider: students using this style of reading do not read most of the words in the text. Students who read only to find answers not only stay ignorant, they fail to develop the ability to acquire knowledge, without which no student can succeed in an information-based economy. Our society cannot afford such unsound educational practices.
Is Speed Reading For You?
From my Spring '98 Newsletter
Speed reading is by far the most complex reading course that I teach, because it involves high-speed use of all of the previously learned skills. It is also the snake-oil reading course for adults that is widely believed to cure everything that went wrong with reading instruction at an earlier stage.
Many adults read analytically and comprehend well, even brilliantly, but read too slowly for their own pleasure or work. There are several causes of slow reading speed, but primary among them is the lack of appropriate comprehension skills for different kinds of reading. I call these skills reading gears. The first-gear reader reads everything like it is an equation, and proceeds this way regardless of the content, style of writing, or purpose for reading. The reading engine is grinding and gasping, just like your car would if you drove all around town in first gear. I also think that these slow readers believe it is evil to miss even one word.
Persuading this equation-reader to try all of the gears can be tricky. It involves teaching him or her that there is more than one marker along the reading path to tell where the line of thought is going. Fiction writers repeat character names, clues to the setting, and follow fairly predictable plot outlines. Non-fiction writers use discernible patterns to organize information. These fiction and non-fiction markers form a structure that aids recall, and outlines the reading pathway ahead so that the first-gear reader can gain enough confidence to slip into second, third, and with encouragement, fourth gear.
With properly structured practices, the equation-reader may begin to go much faster without loss of comprehension. After reading a number of books in higher gears that allow for mastery of the comprehension markers, and some pleasure in cruising along without anything bad happening, this reader may want to venture onto the reading autobahn: speed reading!