Back to School

Setting goals can be a good exercise to help you with your preparation for taking the SAT standardized examination.  Knowing what score is needed and what a realistic goal is, provides incentive, motivation, and the drive to do your best.

1. Where are you going?

Schools have different admission SAT requirements.  Many times programs within the institution also have their own test score requirements.  Although you have attributes besides testing scores, if the school has SAT test score standards, you must know what the school requirements are in order to properly set your testing goals. 

There are several ways to do this.  You could the visit the Admissions Office of the institution or you could start your research by going to the college’s website and reviewing the information on the Admissions page. Use either or both of these sources to find out what each of the schools that you are applying to require for their admission testing scores and note the highest and lowest acceptable scores.

1. How do others do?

Another part of this process is gaining an understanding of how other students do on the test. You could go into the testing with the goal of “acing” the test, but is that realistic?  Data on how other students do nationally, locally and at your institution of choice, is a better way to understand what is realistic and to be fair to yourself as a part of setting your test score goals. Research this, too.

1. Advantages and Benefits

High SAT scores have other advantages besides admission into your school of choice.  Your institution and program may offer extended benefits for attaining certain scores on the SAT test.  You could be eligible for scholarships or grants, granted advanced placement allowing you to progress faster through your program of study or given the opportunity to participate in honors programs, and more.

Are you interested in any of these advantages or benefits?  If so, you need to know what score is required in order to be eligible.  Again, you can find this information either from the Admissions Office of the institution of your choice or by consulting the institution’s website.

Note: Don’t limit yourself to college institutions in your research.  There are scholarships and grants available that are not college-specific that you may be eligible for with the right test results.  Know what kind of scores these programs are looking for and use that information in your goal-setting process.

1. Your Personal Best

Taking into consideration all of the above, ask yourself these questions:    

If you were a good student, attained good grades without too much stress, bring that confidence into setting your goals for the standardized testing environment.  If you struggled in school, consider what the hurdles were that kept you from doing your best and what it would take to overcome them as you continue through this process.

With all of these things in consideration, you should have a better and more realistic idea of what score you want to achieve on the SAT or SAT standardized test. This is your goal.  Now, do what you need to do to make your goal come true and good luck!

Change.edu By Andrew Rosen – cover courtesy of FSB Associates A review of Andrew Rosen’s book Change.edu Rebooting for the New Talent Economy. Mr. Rosen is CEO of Kaplan Inc., which specializes in adult education.

The first item a reader must realize about this book is that both the author and the publisher are part of Kaplan Inc., a conglomerate devoted as a for-profit education system. This should not negate any message from the book, nor cause the reader to doubt the information. But it does reveal why so much of the book justifies its existence and tries to dispel supposed myths of for-profit education institutions.

Change.edu Rebooting for the New Talent Economy by Andrew S. Rosen is promoted as a book that delves into the future of education, and how hopefully every adult educators dream would come true – that all programs would be tailored to the specific students needs while being accessible to all. But followers of Paolo Freire should not rejoice just yet. Unfortunately, only a very small section of the book actually deals with this possibility, and of course not in any fashion as to how.

Thanks to all of the Gr. 12 students who completed the online registration. For those of you who have not done so already, we have made the website () available again for your use. Payment can be made by Visa or Mastercard only. You must be eligible to participate in the grad ceremony in order to register. If you have problems registering, check with your assistant principal to find out why your name is not on the grad list. All registrations must be completed by April 12, 2012. No late registrations can be accepted.

Guest tickets for the Commencement ceremony will be distributed in the first week of May.

Looking for a prospected military school for you to study? There are actually lots of options you can certainly choose from. Military schools in Kentucky are a good recommended school especially if you are particularly looking forward for an excellent learning. If you want another option, well, military schools California are also good choices too. You can assure that you will have a quality learning that you have always been looking forward to.

Nonetheless, regardless of what military school you choose to go, you will guarantee a positive result once you begin your learning.

Take a look at this particular military school described through the testimonials below. St. Johns Military School has touched the lives of various young people. Perhaps you want to be one of the many? Take a look at these.

So we urge you to go to military schools if you really are interested. For more details, click more about what our site contains.

There are many opinions proposed, many surveys taken, much research done regarding what employers want and expect from college graduates.  The answers may vary over the years, and may vary depending on profession or field of study.  Some skills may be very specific and others more broad. 

College students often do not consider the actual skills that employers want.  Students may be thinking in terms of all-college requirements, requirements in their major, and possibly a minor, and what they need to do to graduate.  They often miss the connections between what they are doing in college and what they will need to do once they graduate – especially regarding those courses outside of their major. 

As a college parent, you may want to talk with your student about what he is learning.  Ask him about the skills he is gaining in his classes.  Ask him about internships and real world application of his learning. Help him explore connections between his learning and his goals.  Help him explore the meaning of a Liberal Education. The more that your student, and you, understand and consider the meaning of his college education, the more easily he will be able to apply his learning to his life.

The Association of American Colleges and Universities defines a “liberal education” in the following way: 

 Liberal Education is an approach to learning that empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change. It provides students with broad knowledge of the wider world (e.g. science, culture, and society) as well as in-depth study in a specific area of interest. A liberal education helps students develop a sense of social responsibility, as well as strong and transferable intellectual and practical skills such as communication, analytical and problem-solving skills, and a demonstrated ability to apply knowledge and skills in real-world settings.

This is clearly a tall order, but one which employers recognize and endorse.  It is not an education which is theoretical and impractical, but directly applicable to students’ lives.

A national survey conducted for the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in 2010 by Hart Research Associates, asked 302 executives of companies with more than 25 employees what they believed were important learning outcomes or goals for student graduates.  The results indicated that employers want more emphasis on a broad range of skills as well as in depth knowledge of a specific area.  They also placed great importance on students’ ability to apply their knowledge to the real world and to conduct research and evidence based analyses.  What follows are a few of the findings of that study.  They indicate that colleges are already doing many things well, but that employers see room for improvement as colleges prepare the employees of the future.

• 25% of respondents feel that colleges and universities are doing a good job of preparing graduates for the workplace.
• 90% are asking employees to take on more responsibilities and use broader skills than in the past.
• 84% believe that it would be helpful to require students to complete some type of senior project.
• 81% see importance in students’ research skills and ability to analyze evidence.
• 89% look for the ability to communicate effectively – orally and in writing.
• 81% would like to see increased focus on critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills.
• 79% endorse increased emphasis on real-world experience through internships or other external experiences
• 75% emphasize ethical decisions and their connections to choices and actions
• 71% see the need for teamwork skills and the ability to collaborate with diverse groups
• 70% recognize innovation and creativity
• 63% see the need for the ability to work with numbers and understand statistics.
• 52% would like to see more emphasis on civic knowledge, civic participation, and community engagement.

Clearly, employers see the need for some improvement in colleges’ preparation of students for the workplace.  Most colleges are continually working to update and improve their approaches to the development of these skills – often through innovative programs across the curriculum.  However, students themselves can consider their own paths and individual emphasis on these important, broad skills.  The conversations that you, as a college parent, have with your student about his education – and the workplace – can help your student explore these vital connections that lead to that important “liberal education.”