2016 Duval County Principal of the Year

It is quite an accomplishment to be recognized as the Principal of the Year, especially in a school district as large and diverse as Duval County. This year's winner is Dr. Donna Richardson of Mandarin High School.

Dr. Richardson, we at the Tutoring Club of Jacksonville would like to offer our congratulations to you!  Keep up the fine work you are doing!

Trust Your Gut, Parents

“Progress reports are a hint of what’s to come,” says Ms. Dana, Director of the Tutoring Club of Jacksonville. She spoke about progress reports when she appeared on First Coast Living, WTLV Channel 12. 

When the first progress report arrives, you and your child may become aware of emerging academic shortfalls. “Trust your gut. You know your child best. If your child is struggling in school, it’s not all about academics. It’s about how they study, and prioritize . . . “ Dana tells parents. 

If you’re unsure as to how to how you can help, here are questions to ask about issues often at the root of academic struggles.

• Time Management   Does your child use time wisely in preparing for assignments and tests? Are specific times reserved for studies and learning activities at home?

• Social Balance   Does involvement in too many extracurricular activities take needed time and attention away from academic subjects? Do you help your child create the right balance among various types of activities?

• Setting Priorities   Does your child understand how to effectively prioritize tasks and work on those that are most important first?

• Homework Habits   Does your child find it difficult to complete homework assignments or projects on time? Does your child have a quiet place at home that’s free of distractions where study tools are accessible and project work can be done?

• Educational Interest   What are your child's talents or interests? How can you use them to motivate your child to higher learning? How can your child’s talents and special interests be used to encourage them to explore areas of academic passion?

• Academic Gaps   What classes or subjects does your child enjoy the least? Do diagnostic tests reveal academic, skill, or knowledge gaps? What about gaps in organizational, study, or test-taking skills?

“It’s early in the school year – now is the time to get help, before your student gets too far into the school year to catch up with any learning losses,” advises Dana. What can you expect when you bring your child to Tutoring Club? “We can give an assessment to uncover your child’s areas of strength and weakness, determine the root causes of their academic struggles and develop a customized learning plan to fill those gaps.”    

"We’ve found that when children learn to master the skills they’ve missed, they regain their sense of confidence,” says Dana. Students have 24x7 access to their grade portal, and Dana asks all her students to use planners and to track their grades. “Students need to take ownership of their learning. We give them the ability and the confidence to improve their level of learning.  Confidence is everything – and that’s what we do best. We help children feel better about themselves. Anyone who wants to learn better can come to Tutoring Club.”

You can contact the Tutoring Club of Jacksonville at 268-8556 to learn how our TutorAid programs and our highly skilled tutors work together to elevate your child’s academic performance. 

Does Your Child’s Self-Esteem Help or Hurt Their Grades?

A student's self-esteem has a marked impact on academic performance, and affects how they engage in activities, deal with challenges and interact with others. A confident child learns eagerly, enjoys the company of friends and family, and often achieves established goals.  A child with low self-esteem, on the other hand, may have difficulty in school as the result of a lack of interest or an inability to focus on the work. They may be withdrawn, and reluctant to engage in after-school activities or try new things.  

When we work with children who have low self-esteem, our goal is to restore their belief in themselves so they can persist through personal and academic challenges. Their social core - the adults, peers and friends with whom they interact each day – have the most significant impact on their well being, and can help by giving encouragement and support.

Show appreciation for the things they do well.  Offer very specific feedback rather than generic praise. (Instead of “You aced your math test? That’s great!” try “You worked really hard to prepare for that test, and it’s paid off. I’m so proud of you!”)

Encourage their involvement in activities of interest to them.  Help them realize their natural talents, and don’t be overly concerned as their interests change and evolve.  

Help them learn to deal with failure.  If they encounter academic difficulties, help them understand that failure isn’t just a part of learning, it’s a part of life. You can Google ‘famous failures’ for some examples. 

• Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because he "lacked imagination and had no good ideas."  
• Oprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a television reporter because she was deemed "unfit for TV". 
• Stephen King's first book, the horror thriller Carrie, initially received 30 rejections. Despondent, King threw it in the trash. His wife retrieved it and encouraged him to resubmit it to yet another publisher - and the rest is history.   

Demonstrate confidence that they can improve. No one succeeds with every attempt, and it’s important that your child understands that failure isn’t the end of the world.  Acknowledge their frustration, and then work together to develop strategies for improvement.

Growing up as a teen these days is difficult, and whether they’re your kids or not, they need your help.  Don’t hesitate to reach out to the kids nearest to you, with support and encouragement to boost their confidence and self-esteem. 
   
 That’s what we do every day at Tutoring Club of Jacksonville, and the results are magical.  Call us at 268-8556 to see how we can support your child.

Measuring Academic Achievement

Measuring a child's level of academic achievement can be challenging for any parent, yet remains one of the most critical components in achieving your child's ultimate education goals.

Since no single source of information may be fully reliable in accurately assessing a child's full scope of learning abilities, the best strategy is to evaluate academic performance through multiple sources that can help ensure the best possible results for your child.

Report Cards

Grades are certainly among the most recognized tools for evaluating academic achievement. Report cards are an active indicator of academic success and short term learning. However, grades don't always measure long term learning or mastery of academic skills.

For example, some students may do well on tests because they can memorize information and reiterate it at test time. However actual learning becomes questionable when they forget it right after the test or don't demonstrate the same level of knowledge at a later date. Grades are partially based on short term knowledge that comes from weekly tests and homework; only part of the grade is indicative of longer term learning.

Teachers Evaluation

Teachers employ various evaluation methods for measuring performance in the classroom. Often the method used depends on the content being taught or task being measured, and whether it's a formal or informal evaluation.

Teacher evaluations should be fair and valid, taking into consideration a student's developmental level, and based on clearly defined learning objectives. Effective evaluation measures the work a student performs to demonstrate an understanding of concepts or the ability to perform tasks at a given grade level.

Standardized Testing

Nationally standardized tests compare your child with an 'average' student of the same age from a sample of students across the country. They are generally well researched with a reliable measure of validity, but don't necessarily measure the level at which your child is learning based on what is actually taught by the teacher in class.

Each state also chooses its own standardized measure of 'proficiency' on its own level, which can often provide a better guideline for determining your student's learning ability with what has actually been taught in the classroom.

Individualized Assessment

Perhaps most important, every parent should seek an individualized assessment in evaluating a child's full learning ability and potential. Take time to talk with your child's teachers to review grades, as well as to gain greater insight into classroom evaluations or standardized test results.

"Call now to schedule a full assessment specifically designed to measure your child's individual level of academic achievement," suggests Dana Edmonds, Director of Tutoring Club Jacksonville. "We will identify the specific subject 

areas or skill gaps to target, and create an individualized curriculum to get 

their grades back on track quickly.  That's critical to your child's success, and ultimately translates to a lower cost for you."

Tutoring Club Jacksonville, 268-8556

Will the New SAT Test Predict Success For Your Child?

The College Board has promised that the new SAT will test skills that are more predictive of success in college and beyond.  Only time will tell if they’ve succeeded in that regard. Our goal right now is to gain a better understanding of changes you’ll see on the new test. 

In today’s blog, you’ll find details about some of the key changes in each of the new SAT components: Scoring, Vocabulary, Reading, Writing and Language, Math, and the Essay.

SCORING

In terms of format and scoring:

·      The maximum score for the new SAT is 1600 points.

      - The Reading and Writing sections have been combined into one section on the new SAT, 

         with a maximum score of 800. Writing is now known as “Writing and Language”.

      -  The Math section still has a maximum score of 800.

·      The Essay is now optional, with a maximum score of 24.

·      There will be only four answer choices in multiple-choice questions – not five.

·      Students will no longer be penalized for incorrect answers.

VOCABULARY

·       Sentence completion questions like the one below are gone!

·      The new SAT questions will focus on vocabulary in the context of text passages.

·      The subject matter of passages are pre-determined: 1 passage will be related to US and 

     World Literature, 2 related to History and Social Studies, and 2 to Science.

READING

·       All questions are now based on passages of text between 1-3 paragraphs long. The questions will build on each other, and will ask the student to cite evidence for the answer in the previous question. See this example:

·       Some passages will now contain graphics and figures that illustrate data, requiring the student to interpret the data in the context of the overall passage, as in the example below.

·       This type of data analysis and graph reading has never before been tested on the Reading section of the SAT. Especially tricky questions will likely be inference questions - for example, "the author is least likely to support which interpretation of the data in this figure?"

·       It’s important to note that the science passages will not be heavily focused on the subject of science. You will need to know how to read graphs and understand their relevance to the passage.

WRITING and LANGUAGE

·       The Writing and Language section of the new SAT will no longer have questions that test isolated grammatical rules, like the following example which tests Number Agreement. In this question, the error is B - "rodeo" is a singular noun, so "they predate" should be replaced by "it predates." The SAT complicates this question by inserting a confusing phrase in between ("includes games...century").

·       Questions in the Writing and Language section are also entirely passage-based, and test grammar and writing logic. Each question will refer to a sentence within the associated passage.

-  Most grammatical questions will still deal with just a single sentence.  In the following passage citing author Don Kingman, questions 1-3 can be answered in isolation without reading the rest of the passage. 

-  Other questions will require the student to read the entire passage and understand its organization. Question 4 requires that you know the context of the sentence to choose the right word. Question 5 requires that you understand the point of the paragraph to determine the most logical flow.

MATH

·       The Math section has changed the least.  There are some problems that ask the student to take multiple mathematical steps, and one section bans the use of calculators.

·       Here again, you’ll see greater emphasis on the interpretation and analysis of data in graphs.  Prompts for questions will be based on more current, realistic scenarios.

·       Geometry questions, which make up to 30% of the math questions, will be reduced to 10%.

·       Trigonometry will appear on the new SAT, but will make up fewer than 5% of questions.

ESSAY

·       The essay is now 50 minutes long instead of 25 minutes.  

·       The student is presented with a passage written by an author who takes a specific position on an issue. The student's job is to write an analysis that describes how the author uses data and facts, reasoning, and rhetorical devices that strengthen their argument.

·       The essay is scored on a scale of 2-8 each on Reading, Analysis, and Writing. The maximum score of 24 is not combined with the Reading or Writing and Language sections.

CONCLUSION

·       The new SAT heavily resembles the ACT. The new SAT Writing and Language section resembles the ACT English section in its format and the skills tested. The allocation of SAT Reading passages mirrors what the ACT has been doing for years, and the Math sections on both the SAT and ACT are now closer than ever before.

·       While the scope and detail of the SAT test prep program will change, students will still benefit from test prep. The College Board acknowledges that test prep helps improve SAT scores. We will now have to teach logic, reasoning and higher-level analysis. This broadens the scope of test prep from simply preparing for the test to teaching meaningful skills that are important to college and other aspects of life.

Data Source: the College Board, at https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/