Summit Language Institute:
Literature
Are High School Students Prepared for College?
As of September 2011, only 43% of high school students nationally who took the SAT were "college ready," meaning they scored at least 1550 out of a possible 2400. This score of 1550 indicates that a student has a 65% chance of getting at least a B- in his first year of college.
The picture painted by national ACT scores isn't much better: for high school students who took the ACT (a mandatory test in Illinois for students in the 11th grade) in 2011, only 25% met four key benchmarks in English (a score of at least 18 out of 36 - 66% of all high school students met this), reading (at least 21 out of 36 - 52% of all high school students), math (at least 22 out of 36 - 45% of all high school students), and science (at least 24 out of 36 - 30% of all high school students).
So, that brings us to these crucial questions:
- Is your student ready for college?
- How well would he do on the SAT or ACT?
Literature: A Long-Term Approach to SAT Prep
Many students make the mistake of waiting until sometime in their junior year to prepare for taking the SAT or ACT. Although this short-term approach can produce short-term gains, the effect will not be as substantial as it could be otherwise.
It is far better to take a long-term approach: start earlier by laying a foundation when the student is in middle school, or at the beginning of his high school career. By starting earlier, the student has the opportunity to absorb and master the material at his own pace, making it truly his own, and increasing the likelihood of doing well on the SAT or ACT.
This long-term approach forms the basis for our Literature course. We introduce the student to the classics of Western literature, those writings that are considered essential not only to a well-rounded education but to understanding so much of Western culture. Carefully laying this foundation means that over time the student will quite naturally acquire the vocabulary necessary for scoring well on the SAT or ACT, rather than poring over word lists with definitions while he's a junior. The emphasis on good literature also means that his critical reading skills will be developed, as there are no shortcuts to improvement in reading - to become better at reading, one must read: the more, the better.
The class meets at our offices an hour a week for 12 weeks.
Please contact us for details regarding schedule and price.
All content copyright © 2011 Janet M. Lee