My three year old’s playgroup is thinking about hiring an SAT tutor…
Some of the toddlers in my three year old’s playgroup are already doing a PSAT prep class after Music Together. I don’t mean to be negative, but this seems premature to me. My baby, for one, hasn’t even had algebra yet and so a lot of the math questions are over his head. I’m worried that starting him at such a young age will damage his confidence and he will underperform when it matters most….
JUST KIDDING!!!!!!
That’s my beauty, by the way, and he won’t see an SAT prep class for at least another few months…. But on the serious side, New Yorkers do just make themselves nuts (or get made nuts….?) over these horrible tests…
No, you don’t need to do prep for the PSAT unless you are doing it just to introduce your child to the test so s/he can take it with confidence, or s/he happens to be such a natural test taker that you think they have a shot at a National Merit Scholarship or other scholarship of some sort. Otherwise, SAT prep time for people who are not yet at least freshman in high school would be better spent playing the cello, learning Portuguese, hiking in the fresh air, or eating dinner with their families.
Now, if your child has a high GPA but a low test-taking ability, then yes, absolutely, get him or her into SAT preparation as soon as possible…meaning freshman or sophomore year. Even a quickie class in 8th grade is fine if they are interested or worried. Otherwise, the best preparation is to encourage him or her to study whatever subjects are the most personally exciting in good old-fashioned school.
