ACT Tutoring - Getting There

ACT Tutoring - Getting ThereThe first Act tutoring course I ever took was at St Louis Community College. This is where I first met and got to know the ACT testing.For a few years, it was a pretty good tutoring program that even includes webinars that are available on the internet and, of course, there are the hands-on sessions as well. And the material is covered for you online.But since St Louis Community College is so huge, you'll have to take the time to get there. That means spending some time in real life.Here are some ideas on how to get an ACT testing from St Louis. First of all, if you can manage to stay outside of the classroom and make your way to the testing centers, that would be ideal.On the other hand, if you're a student in St Louis, you might want to think about taking the shuttle and driving. That way, you can have some alone time. If you can manage to find a hotel room near the test center, you might even want to find out what the prices are to stay in a twin, doubl e, triple, or a suite.Another good idea is that you could look into the small hotels on Broadway in downtown St Louis. That is, if you have the time to drive. The hotels have little lobby areas with couches and sofas that are perfect for studying.Also, there are many tutoring centers and tutoring services that are in and around St Louis, but only a few of them offer online tests. And if you do have the time, you should try to find out if there are tutoring services in town that can be there all the time during the time you need to take the ACT exam.Even though it's hard to get all that done during the time you are there, you will eventually get there. It might take a lot of determination, but getting an ACT tutoring session from St Louis might be worth it. Not only will you be able to pass, but you will also get a better understanding of the subject.

Family Time! 8 Easy Tips to Learn a Language as a Family

Family Time! 8 Easy Tips to Learn a Language as a Family Family Time! 8 Easy Tips to Learn a Language as a Family Family can be the greatest gift you ever receive.It can also be the reason you have to ask what the puddle in the corner of the living room is (please say apple juice, please say apple juice) and who left it there.But can family really be your secret to language learning success?We think so.If you  want to get into language learning, but havent managed it on your own yet, learning with your family might be just the extra motivation you need.And merging bonding time with learning time is a great recipe for more quality time.So try out the eight easy tips below to start learning a language as a family tonight! Why Learn Language as a Family?First, learning a language as a family can help add motivation. Since youre learning as a group, youre accountable to multiple people, so you wont want to get caught slacking. Plus, if your family is competitive, the desire to outdo each other might make you study even harder than you otherwise would.Plus, learning as a family gives you built-in c onversation partners. Practice is essential when learning a language, but you cant always have a native-level  language exchange partner at the ready. However, if you have a household full of other language learners, you can work in a little conversation practice whenever you have a moment.Learning a language as a family is also a fun group activity. Everyone loves a  game night  or  movie night. Theyre a fun way to break up the daily routine and reconnect with those you love. But when a fun group activity also helps you learn a language, the experience is that much better.Finally, if youre learning a heritage language or language already spoken by some of your family, it can help you connect with loved ones and/or your roots. Not only will it show your relatives that you have an interest in your family history, it will also give you a new medium to communicate with them, and possibly to look over old family documents.Family Time! 8 Easy Tips to Learn a Language as a FamilyGet the f amily involved in picking a language.Giving everyone a say can help ensure that everyone feels invested in the new family project.As you decide what language to pick, discuss benefits of different languages. For instance, you might consider learning a widely spoken language (like Spanish or Chinese) in order to communicate with more people.Otherwise, you might consider if you have relatives who speak another language who youd like to be able to communicate with better.Or maybe you have a particular vacation destination you love where another language is widely spokenâ€"learning that language could make your next vacation even more enjoyable.Still not sure which language to learn? Have everyone gather round and read about the worlds languages at world-language resource Ethnologue.Regardless of your reasoning,  try to get everyone on the same page to ensure everyone is motivated and excited to learn the language.Use fun, authentic media.Using fun, authentic media to learn a language i s wise for any learner. Its more engaging than studying a textbook; plus, it teaches language in context, making it easier to apply what youve learned.But while authentic media is great for any learner, its particularly great for families. Since each person will have different interests and attention spans, you need an activity that can appeal to everyone. And unless someone in your house hates entertaining TV or movies, authentic media is a great choice.FluentU is one very convenient source for authentic media. FluentU offers real-world videos, like music videos, movie trailers, cartoons and more. It converts them into powerful learning tools by providing annotated captions that give you easy access to any words definition, example sentences and associated images. Theres even a quiz mode you can use to test your learning together.Plus, theres material and quizzes for all levels, so even if youre all complete beginners, you can start using FluentU as a family right now!Netflix  is a nother helpful option. Netflix offers tons of international TV and movies, all of which are captioned in English. Some even offer captions in the same language as the audio. Once youve learned a language, Netflix is great for listening practice and learning new vocabulary. However, even beginning learners can benefit by listening to native speakers, since this can help you get a better ear for pronunciation.Once you all have enough vocabulary, you might even discuss what you just watched in your target language for a little extra speaking practice.Establish a daily and/or weekly learning schedule.Coordinating learning with multiple people could be challenging, so its important to set a daily and/or weekly schedule.You might have a set study time each day or schedule different activities on different days of the week. For instance, vocabulary study everyday from 6:00 pm to 6:15 pm. Grammar lessons from 6:15 pm to 6:30 pm. Movie night in your target language from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm ev ery Friday.Regardless of what schedule you choose, be sure to write it down somewhere everyone can see it and/or post and share it on Google Calendar.This will help everyone anticipate whats happening and remember when to ensure theyre present and ready to learn.Set group goals.Setting goals in language learning is an important motivational tool. It can help give you direction and a sense of accomplishment.When learning a language with your family, though, its important to set group goals together. If every family member has different goals in mind, you might wind up learning different skills at different times, making it more challenging to continue learning as a group.Try to make your goals ambitious but realistic. You want to have goals that are challenging enough that you must work together meet them, but you also dont want goals that are so hard that your family starts to feel demotivated.For instance, starting out, you might consider making it your goal to learn 15 common word s within two days. With a little effort, this goal should be reachable by both children and adult learners alike. Once you learn more and more, you might make your goals increasingly ambitious.If youre using FluentU, theres a simple feature that helps you set daily goals around how much time you want to spend learning each day. As you learn, youll get points for extra motivation!Label items in your home.Labeling items in your home is a tried-and-true method for language learners, but for families, it opens up even more opportunities.The basic idea is that by labeling items in your target language, you can easily learn vocabulary for common, everyday items. This remains true for families, as well.However, for families theres an additional opportunity to make the creation of the labels a fun and educational experience.  Especially if kids are involved, you might consider making the labeling an event.Get some craft materials and make the labels together. Everyone knows glitter glue aid s learning! As you make each label, each say the word and its meaning aloud. This will give you some familiarity with the word, making you much more likely to remember and recognize it when you see it around the house.Play games.There are plenty of games out there for language learners, and if youre learning a language as a family, youll finally have someone to play with.If you like pre-made games, there are quite a few out there. For instance, you might find bingo for a variety of languages, like Spanish, French  and Chinese.However, whats perhaps even more exciting is that you can create your own family language game out of existing games with whatever rules you deem fit.For example, one game thats easy to adapt to language learning is 20 Questions. To play 20 Questions, one person thinks of an object. Then, other players ask yes or no questions (up to 20), and the person thinking of the object responds. To make this game great for language learning, simply limit it to groups of v ocabulary youve already studied.For instance, if youve studied food and animals, then the object must fall into one of these categories. If you dont have enough words to ask clear questions, you can piece them together with what you do know until you learn more vocabulary. This can be a fun and engaging way to reinforce vocabulary and practice asking questions in your target language.Have authentic dinners.One way to increase motivation to learn a language is to connect with the culture(s) that use it, and food can be an amazing tool to do so. As youre learning your language, try to have authentic dinner nights whenever possible.To do so, plan a menu around authentic dishes from a country or region that speaks your target language. If you have family members who speak your target language, ask them for their favorite recipes. If youre not sure what to make, though,  Allrecipes is a good place to start.Once you have your recipes in hand, look up words for the various dishes, ingredie nts, utensils and serveware, and study them as a family. Then, as you have your dinner, try to use as many words in your target language as possible. Even if theyre interspersed with plenty of English, this is a good way to reinforce your food vocabulary while connecting with a relevant culture.Turn everyday excursions into language lessons.Any shopping trip, visit to the zoo or even leisurely drive around town can easily be converted into a language lesson.To do so, you might prepare a vocabulary list ahead of time and try to use as many words from the list as possible. For instance, if youre visiting a zoo, you might all try to name each animal in your target language.Perhaps even more fun, though, is to appoint someone to be in charge of your translator or dictionary app. Then, as you go through your day, you can make it a game to shout out words for that person to look up. For instance, if youre on a long road trip, you can just spot things along the trip to look up, like street signs, roads, cars, trucks, etc.After looking up a word, the person in charge should play the translation repeatedly to ensure correct pronunciation. Then, you can all say the word together until you have it down.If you have family members who speak your target language, you have an even better opportunity. Invite them along on your next outing and ask them to supply key vocabulary words. Not only is this a fun way to connect with a relative, it will also help you learn native-level pronunciation.With these eight easy tips, family time could turn into fluent time!And One More ThingIf you want authentic language learning material for the entire family, its time to check out FluentU!FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.With FluentU, you hear languages in real-world contextsâ€"the way that native speakers actually use them.Just a quick look will give you an idea of the variety of FluentU videos on offer:FluentU really takes the grunt work out of learning languages, leaving you with nothing but engaging, effective and efficient learning. It’s already hand-picked the best videos for you and organized them by level and topic. All you have to do is choose any video that strikes your fancy to get started!Each word in the interactive captions comes with a definition, audio, image, example sentences and more.Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab, and easily review words and phrases from the video under Vocab.You can use FluentU’s unique adaptive quizzes to learn the vocabulary and phrases from the video through fun questions and exercises. Just swipe left or right to see more examples of the word youre studying.The program even keeps track of what you’re learning and tells you exactly when it’s time for review, giving you a 100% personalized experience.  That means you, your 15-year-old and 10-year-old ca n all have completely unique language-learning practice!Start using FluentU on the website  with your computer or tablet  or, better yet,  download the FluentU app from  the  iTunes store  or  Google Play store.

Onward! 6 Ways to Keep Learning After Your Duolingo Course

Onward! 6 Ways to Keep Learning After Your Duolingo Course Onward! 6 Ways to Keep Learning After Your Duolingo Course There are always a few cool kids at school.You know the ones.They wear the latest sneakers,  watch R-rated movies and enjoy a steady diet of the finest Lunchables.And among language students, Duolingo certainly has a reputation as being one of the cool kids.Practically any language learner you meet knows the name, and many learners have at least tried Duolingo, if not completed a whole course.Using  spaced repetition, Duolingo presents students with material in an organized manner designed to maximize learning while minimizing time and effort.While there may be some similar apps  out there, theres nothing quite like Duolingo.But theres just one problem with Duolingo: Eventually, youll complete the course youre working on, and what then?Even cool kids have to finish school and go out into the real world.So youll definitely need a plan for what to do after Duolingo.But dont worry! With a little effort, you can keep your learning on a roll. Why Is It Important to Have a Plan for What to Do After Duolingo?First of all, youll want to have a plan for what to do after Duolingo because without the structure of the lessons, your skills might fade. Duolingo courses offer a clear structure that allows you to study for as little as five minutes a day. This structure is important in that it encourages consistent studying, which you might miss once your course is over. And without this structure, your skills could fade, so you need to figure out some way to prevent this. After all, its easier to never forget the language in the first place than to try to remember it later.Plus, without additional study past Duolingo, you wont progress any further. Duolingo is terrific, but it has its limits. If you stop studying after you complete a Duolingo course, youll miss out on valuable grammar, vocabulary and listening practice, and your skills wont progress past the level Duolingo left you at.Without a clear course of action for what to do after Duolingo, it might be too easy to qu it studying altogether. The only surefire way to never become fluent in your target language is to quit studying. And without Duolingos fun, game-ified learning to keep you focused, this could definitely happen if you dont have a plan in place.Onward! 6 Ways to Keep Learning After Your Duolingo CourseKeep using Duolingo anyway.If you love Duolingo so much that you just cant bear the thought of leaving it behind, theres good news: You dont have to.Even if youve finished a Duolingo course, Duolingo can still help you continue learning.There are two ways you can make this happen.One way is to go back and redo all the lessons until you earn perfect scores in all areas. Your scores will fade over time, so getting them to all be perfect at the same time will require a lot of time and effort. However, the only thing as rewarding as having a perfect score in each category simultaneously may be knowing that perfect score reflects your wealth of knowledge.Another way to keep using Duolingo to study your target language is to use the practice feature on the right-hand side of the page. This feature presents you with familiar Duolingo questions in order to strengthen key words and skills, so its a good way to reinforce what Duolingo taught you and to prevent backsliding.Dive into authentic media to see what you learned in a more authentic context.Authentic media is one of the best ways to put what youve learned from Duolingo into context.Since Duolingos main focus is helping you learn vocabulary and grammar quickly, one thing its lacking is more extended activities. If you want to use your target language in real life, youll need to be able to understand much more than one sentence at a time. Youll also need to understand your language as its actually spoken. Authentic media can help you acquire the necessary skills for this. But dont worry, you dont have to dive in with no help.You can start learning through real-world internet videos on  FluentU.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that natives  speak them. FluentU has a wide variety of videos, including movie trailers, funny commercials and web series, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse Screen.FluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover over or tap on the subtitles to instantly view definitions.FluentU Interactive Transcripts You can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs Quiz Mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.Access the full FluentU library on your web browser or, better yet, learn on the go when you downlo ad the app at the iTunes or Google Play store!You can also go right to the source and find limitless authentic material on  YouTube. YouTubers speak a huge variety of languages, so its easy to find content in your target language.One way to find great YouTubers is to use Socialbakers, which allows you to filter YouTube channels by country. While the top channels may not use the local language, they often do, so you can find some fun study material this way.Read real materials in your target language to see the vocabulary and grammar you learned in a more immersive context.Just like youll need to immerse yourself in authentic audio and video, its important to continue your education by reading longer texts.Most Duolingo texts are quite brief, so if you rely on Duolingo alone, you might not have the skills you need for more in-depth reading.One way to improve your reading is to read online content in your target language. For instance, you might read a magazines website or a news site in your target language. BBC News offers coverage in a delightful array of languages that will suit most language learners.If that seems too daunting, check out  Readlang. Readlang is an excellent tool to transition to reading longer texts in your target language. It allows you to click on words or phrases as youre reading to get a quick translation. You can even turn the words you look up into flashcards.Regardless of what content youre reading and how youre reading it, pay careful attention to what youre struggling with. If you notice youre struggling with a particular rule or theme, go back to the corresponding lesson in Duolingo and do it again. Also, pay attention for words or rules that werent addressed by Duolingo andResearch grammar and vocabulary that werent covered much in your Duolingo course.Duolingo cant possibly cover everything about your target language, so to continue your education past Duolingo, try researching key areas that Duolingo didnt cover as much.For inst ance, what grammar rules were barely touched on that you could stand to learn in more depth? What specialized terminology could you learn? For instance, would you like to learn more regional slang? Would some business vocabulary broaden your horizons?There are resources available that can help you with virtually any content. All you need to do is find the weak points you want to work on.If you want to work on slang, there are plenty of slang dictionaries out there.If you want to work more on grammar, you might try a handy language textbook, like one of many  offered by Barrons.Connect with others in the Duolingo forums.The Duolingo forums  may be your go-to destination when you have questions about the material youve learned on Duolingo, but can they help you keep learning when youve completed a Duolingo course? Absolutely!One way to keep learning your target language through the Duolingo forums is to find native speakers of your target language. People around the world use Duolingo , so you might be able to find a speaker of your target language in the forums who would gladly help you practice your target language in exchange for some help with your native language.This language exchange can give you valuable reading, writing, speaking and/or listening practice, depending on your preferences. Plus, making a friend who speaks your target language can increase your motivation to improve your language skills.Another option for using Duolingo forums to continue learning is to connect with other alumni of your language course. Every day, more students are completing Duolingo courses and are probably in the exact same spot you are, wondering what to do next. If you connect with these students in the forums, you can work together to find the best course of action to continue studying your target language. And best of all, having a study buddy can improve your motivation and keep you accountable. No quitters here!Try a more conventional course to reinforce your skills in a different context and fill in any gaps.Since Duolingo has given you the foundation you need to approach studying your target language confidently, you might now try taking a more conventional course. Conventional courses can help you understand the underlying rules of the language in more depth while reinforcing your skills and filling in any missing material.Oregon State University  is one terrific source for courses that are offered online. Through OSU, language learners can study American Sign Language, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish.If one of your favorite features of Duolingo is its affordability, you might like MIT Open Courseware. MIT Open Courseware offers free online course materials to help students study an array of languages and language-related topics. Languages offered include Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.So once you finish your Duolingo course, keep going with these easy ways to keep your language lear ning on a roll.

What Is A Mixture In Chemistry?

What Is A Mixture In Chemistry?A lot of people have questions about what is a mixture in chemistry. A mixture in chemistry is when two substances are combined in such a way that they form one, new substance. One example of this would be combining ammonium nitrate with carbon dioxide and water.As you can see the answer to what is a mixture in chemistry is to combine the nitrate with the carbon dioxide to form a new compound called nitric acid. The next question that you might ask would be how is it possible to mix things together in such a way that the new compound is formed? The answer is by using an acid as a catalyst. This is the exact same thing that happens when you make wine or carbonated drinks. An acid is used to speed up the reaction process and this is used to separate the two different compounds.You will find that hydrogen gas has the exact same properties as carbon dioxide. It is used in a lot of chemical reactions and is even used in the combustion of fuels. The differenc es between these two gases are only in the molecular structure and they both react with oxygen to form carbon dioxide and water.When you use hydrogen gas to form the carbon dioxide and water it forms a good compound known as HHO. When you combine this compound with oxygen, the compound becomes the hydroxy compound which is used in the manufacture of fertilizers and many other things. However, when you combine the two in such a way that they form a stable compound, it is known as HNO3. When you combine this compound with oxygen again the compound becomes carbon dioxide and water again.When you combine carbon dioxide with water, you get a compound called carbonic acid. It is commonly used in the manufacture of fertilizers and is found in the seawater in the oceans. This compound is also formed when water comes into contact with oil. This is also the reason why gasoline is used in the automobile to produce fuel.So what is a mixture in chemistry? It is when two substances are combined t o form one new compound. That compound is always carbon dioxide and water or in some cases it can be hydrogen with oxygen.One of the ways to prove the existence of a mixture in chemistry is by injecting a gas into the gas chamber of a high pressure chemical reaction at extremely high temperatures. When the gas enters the reaction, the combination of gas and liquids causes a huge explosion that could shatter the vessel holding the mixture in. This can be demonstrated with a mixture in chemistry.

New Years Reunion With Faculty

New Year's Reunion With FacultyChemical research students taking Chemistry REU Summer 2020 in the world's leading universities are making impressive gains in their engineering and biological sciences programs. This is due to the great attention paid to the infrastructure, technological development and faculty support. With these facilities, these PhD scientists are able to focus more on innovative ideas and foster the growth of advanced and cutting-edge research.The world-class facilities that have been built for Chemical Research University, a once all-male organization, are a sure sign of the support of its outstanding materials science professors. An overwhelming number of highly qualified academic staff members, a well established office structure and a variety of modern technology resources that span research analysis to laboratory support, are one of the major advantages that make this Institution of excellent repute. The support of the university allows students to grow and ex cel in their chosen field of science. Although an area of expertise is required for chemical research students to undertake doctoral programs, they can easily earn a post-doc position by paying the costs.Chemists and other senior professors form part of the reu family. Students can interact with them in the classroom and campus resources such as books and journals to promote the advancement of their careers. These libraries provide materials for various branches of Chemical Research University such as environment, industrial, and agricultural chemistry, and plant and animal sciences.Aside from the universities, there are also numerous local institutes that offer Chemical Research University scholarships and fellowships. In fact, it is not very difficult to find a good academic institution offering a good program. These institutions offer advanced funding and maintenance that enable the student to pursue their dream. Chemical research students can receive these financial resources by accepting the responsibilities of attending the institution's varsity.After securing the aforementioned amenities, there are numerous other ways for students to take part in research and gain insights that will make their future to be brighter. Besides attending classes, they can also set up seminars and conduct research projects on their own.Doing a few things on their own, such as working on scientific projects, might prove to be a challenge for some. But research assistants are available for those who need help. A study helper or two will ensure that you can focus on your work and earn a decent salary while working at home. You can also work part time with a private company while gaining knowledge about their policies and job description.When planning for your studies, Chemical Research students should know that time is limited. Time constraints are not uncommon among students. These financial aid will come in handy when students are short of funds in some areas.

How to Prepare for ACT Online ACT Prep Online Tutoring Tutorpace

How to Prepare for ACT Online ACT Prep Online Tutoring Tutorpace ACT test paper consists of 4 main sections: English, Mathematics, Reading and Science Reasoning with an optional Writing section. Each section consists of multiple choice questions with 5 answer choices, and students must pick the right answer from the given options. In ACT, there is no negative penalty for a wrong answer, and this implies that students dont have to worry about points being deducted from the existing score for a wrong answer. This also gives them the chance to guess any answer if they are not absolutely sure about it. Students are given a very limited time to answer questions in every section, and therefore to get good scores it is recommended to practice at home, answering questions in less than a minute. Preparation for ACT requires learning and improving conceptual knowledge in the subjects. It is important to first understand the basic concepts and hence should be able to exactly comprehend what the question is asking for. For English and Reading sections, students must focus on their English grammar skills and should observe sentence organization, structure and strategy. For the Mathematics section, students can prepare a formula sheet of all the important formulas learnt till date. By daily practicing and understanding those formulas, it will help them know when to exactly use them. Science Reasoning section consists of passages, and understanding those passages and the given information makes it easier to answer the questions. In the Writing section, students should use good grammar and sentences to write a meaningful essay on the given topic.

ACT and SAT Test Dates for 2019-2020

ACT and SAT Test Dates for 2019-2020 If youre a high school junior or senior planning to take the ACT or SAT, it can be helpful to choose your testing date at the start of the academic year. Staying organized and on top of your testing schedule can help you avoid missing exam registration deadlines and allow time to establish a personalized study plan. It can also help to ensure you have enough time to send your test scores to the colleges to which youre applying. If youre ready to make your ACT or SAT plan for this school year, keep reading to learn the ACT and SAT test dates for 2019-2020 . ACT test dates for 2019-2020 As you decide when to take your ACT exam, its important to not only take note of test dates, but also registration deadlines. Heres a summary of ACT test dates for the 2019-2020 academic year. You can register for an ACT exam here. *For the July 18, 2020 test date, note that no test centers are scheduled in New York. [RELATED: What is an Average ACT Score?] SAT test dates for 2019-2020 When selecting the right test date, its important to choose one that allows for ample prep time before exam day. Below are the SAT test dates for the upcoming academic year. You can register for the SAT here. Note that the first late registration deadline is for mailed registrations, and the second is for online or telephone registrations. [RELATED: What is an Average SAT Score?] How to send your ACT or SAT scores to colleges When you register for the ACT or SAT, youll be asked to choose several colleges to which your scores will be sent after you take the exam. Each test date corresponds to a different score availability date. This is important because colleges and scholarships often have score submission deadlines to be mindful of. To learn when your score will become available, check here for the ACT and here for the SAT. [RELATED: What I Wish I Knew About Taking the ACT/SAT] How to prepare for your ACT or SAT test date When selecting a test date for the ACT or SAT, its essential to allow yourself enough time for adequate exam prep. In other words, dont schedule a test before youre ready to take it. Its also smart to leave yourself enough time to take another ACT or SAT exam if youre not happy with your first score. When studying, it can be beneficial to utilize a prep book and online practice materials for the ACT and SAT. You may also want to consider forming study groups at your school. Additionally, Varsity Tutors offers private, personalized tutoring options for students to help you identify your ACT and SAT strengths and weaknesses to improve your scores quickly. Any topics you want to know more about? Let us know! The Varsity Tutors Blog editors love hearing your feedback and opinions. Feel free to email us at blog@varsitytutors.com.

Funding To Support Gifted Students

Funding To Support Gifted Students For years politicians and administrators have tried to create educational equality, providing tutors and additional help for struggling students and raising awareness about under-performing schools. But, what about the gifted students? They are the most ignored group of students in America. They are more talented and naturally-intelligent than normal students, and therefore do not need any additional help, at least thats what most believe. Some believe that the American education system should give gifted students more resources, rather than ignoring them. They believe that they should receive additional help and funding to help the future American economy gain a competitive edge, according to an article in District Administration. Industries are becoming increasingly more competitive, and America is beginning to lag behind foreign competitors. American workers are not as skilled compared to foreign workers as they once were, partly because of the lagging education system. Some believe that the future of Americas economy rests in its ability to turn gifted students into leading industry innovators. Therefore, these gifted students need stronger challenges and more encouragement throughout their education, rather than constant ignoring. China and India focus their efforts on gifted students, giving them the best possible education, an education far better than what the average student receives, helping them achieve a competitive, economic advantage. And the question remains, should America do the same? Currently, it is not. The only federal funding for gifted students is the Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Education Act, which has provided $7.5 million for about 3 million gifted American students. Grassroots organizations have taken interest in this cause, and the Obama administration is beginning to listen. The Equity in Excellence Act of 2010 is currently pending in the House and the Senate. If passed, this legislation would seek to increase teacher effectiveness, accountability and funding for gifted and talented students. Other organizations are simply trying to create more awareness for the gifted students cause, the forgotten group in education. Most groups argument remains the same: focus efforts on these students to help boost Americas economy, making it a more competitive world, industry leader.

How To Improve Your GRE Score

How To Improve Your GRE Score Update: Some of this article's advice is now outdated due to changes in the GRE. A more recent article on the exam can be found here.First things first: the GRE is for graduate schools, but not for MBA programs (that requires the GMAT); however, some business schools may accept it. Background: The GRE is a computer-based test that generates questions based on your previous answers. If you continue to correctly answer questions, they will get harder. The test has three sections: quantitative reasoning, verbal reasoning and analytical writing. The test was updated in August 2011 to more accurately reflect the current thinking skills needed in graduate schools. The quantitative reasoning/verbal reasoning sections are now scored on a 130-170 range with one point increments. The writing section is still scored 0-6 with half point increments. The test has six sections, the last being a research section, and the duration of the test is approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes. There is no new data on what test scores students will need to be accepted into certain schools because the scoring has changed so recently. Now, a scaled score of 150 (on each section) is considered to be an average score. See more score averages from the Educational Testing Services (the creator and administrator of the GRE) here. Understand test directions: On the GRE, time is precious, and you can save loads of it by learning the section directions before the test. Take practice tests: This is everyones first tip to performing better on any standardized test, mainly because it works. Taking practice tests can help your brain mold its thinking around the structure of the GRE and improve your speed. But, be careful about the test prep materials you use because most are outdated. See question types and further materials from the ERT here. Try to make your practice tests as similar to the real GRE as possible. Instead of practicing 30-minute sections at a time, try to practice the entire test in one sitting. Take your tests every Saturday morning around the same time you will take the GRE. Spreading out your studying can help your brain retain the information you learned while practicing, instead of just memorizing it. Its the same idea as studying in smaller increments for a test as opposed to pulling an all-nighter and cramming the day beforeand we all know which one is more beneficial. Try doing this for at least 12 weeks, and you will begin to see significant improvements. Use a GRE study book: They are very easy to find, although most can be expensive. The books will help you recognize patterns and common traps on the GRE. Find the most recent edition of the book to reflect the August 2011 changes. Work with a one-on-one GRE Tutor: Finding out where you struggle is the first (and easiest) step to improving your GRE score. Anyone can do that by taking a practice test. But, to significantly improve your score, you will need to improve in these areas. Thats the real challenge to raising your GRE score. A one-on-one tutor can give you the in-depth training and explanation you may need to improve in your problematic areas. Then, you can work to fine tune your skills in other sections. Taking a GRE prep class can help, but only a tutor can tailor each session to your specific needs. In New York City, GRE tutorsare our most requested tutors. First test in each section: Previously, the first 10 questions in every section were the most important because those would determine your scoring bracket. If you answered all 10 correctly, you would enter the highest possible scoring bracket, and from there, your score could only drop marginally. However, the new GRE is slightly different, although it still offers a tiered scoring system. There are multiple tests in the Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections. The first test determines your scoring bracket, and the difficulty of the questions in the following tests are determined by your performance on the first test. The scoring brackets are not as significant as they previously were. But, entering a higher scoring bracket early can ultimately improve your score. Answer every question: There is no penalty for an incorrect answer on the new GRE. Review high school math: By the time youre 22, you may want to forget just about everything you did, wore and listened to in high school. But, for the GRE you at least need to remember your algebra and geometry. Taking practice tests/questions or reviewing basic algebra/geometry books could help you. See math an updated math review from the ETS here. Make dictionary.com your homepage: Because you are going to need to know the weirdest, strangest, most-obscure, never-will-be-used-in-context vocab words out there for the GRE verbal section. Read as much high-brow literature as possible, and constantly check dictionary.com for definitions of words youre unfamiliar with. Subscribe for dictionary.coms word of the day. And start doing this early because you cannot grow your vocabulary overnight. Know writing topics: The writing section measures your ability to form an argument for or against a topic. You will be scored on your use of examples, development and support, organization, language fluency and word choice. See possible topics from the ETS here. Also, you can write a practice essay and submit it for scoring here.