Many would wonder why some not so rich parents choose to send their kids to boarding school even if this will cost them both an arm and a leg. Perhaps there is more to it than what money can afford.

There are a couple of things to consider when choosing a boarding school that is right for your child. Some things to consider are the following:

Class Size – most boarding schools have smaller classes which enable teachers to fully focus on each student’s strengths and weaknesses. In a smaller class students are encouraged to participate and this foster a bond among classmates. In a public school most classes are cramped and student teacher relationship is not very evident which cause some students to lag behind.

Faculty – Boarding schools take pride in their faculty and staff. They employ the best educators and professors who hold MBAs from prestigious universities.

Renowned facilities – perhaps the most known fact about boarding schools is their state of the art facilities. Cozy dormitories, sports facilities equipped for leisure activities. Vast school grounds where one can get attuned with nature and get motivated to study. Some boarding schools even have in house cafes and restaurants that serve delicacies and delicious cuisines. Truly you get what you pay for.

Academic Curriculum – obviously the very most important consideration among parents and students alike is the competitive academic curriculum that boarding schools offer. They are regarded as ideal preparation for college.

Counseling – Boarding schools offer intensive college counseling in preparation to college application and requirements. Guidance and in depth advise on how to get into the most prestigious universities and colleges will be given.

With all these in mind you can weigh your options on whether you would pursue to enroll in boarding school. You can check The Association of Boarding Schools for further resources on advantages of boarding schools. It is always good to be informed to help you with choices that can determine your child’s success in getting into a good college especially in these trying times.

The goal of taking an ACT exam is to assess a student’s readiness for college. Although ACT scores are sometimes used by the state to measure a school’s performance making it compulsory to all graduating students including those who does not plan on pursuing a college education. The student is tested on four subjects and there is an optional test which focuses on writing.

Scores will range from 1 being the lowest and 36 the highest in every subject. The English exam totals to 75 questions and students are given 45 minutes to complete the section. Questions are divided into two categories, 40 questions pertaining to usage and grammar of the English language while the remaining 35 questions are geared towards the rhetorical skills of the students. Mathematics comprises of 60 questions and given a total of 60 minutes to finish the section. The mathematics section is divided among Elementary Algebra (24 questions), Intermediate Algebra (18 questions) and combination of Trigonometry and Geometry (18 questions). Reading is allotted 35 minutes for 40 questions. Sciences and Social Studies cover 20 questions, and the remaining 20 evolves around Arts and Literature. Science covers 40 questions with only 35 minutes to answer.

What scores does a student need in order to gain admission to a prestigious college or university may depend on the standards of a particular educational institution. The highest score for ACT is 36 which can be very hard to achieve. Most universities consider an ACT score of 27 as satisfactory but other factors come into play such as:

• The national rank of other students who took the test showing where a student ranks among other test takers. An ACT score of 27 will not be sufficient enough if there are many of students who got the same average out of the whole population who took the exam.
• Scores on individual subjects are also evaluated to determine a student’s areas of improvement and which subjects they are more likely to excel in.
• High school records and school extracurricular activities.

ACT scores can also help in qualification for a scholarship grant that can be hard to achieve especially if there are many qualified applicants. ACT score is not the only ticket you’ll need to get into a good college you will still have to work on everything else to be rightfully given the chance to pursue higher education in a prestigious and renowned college or university.

Reading is an important part of our day to day lives. It is unfortunate that most children nowadays seldom read books at all because their time has been filled with video games like xbox and media gadgets like Ipad. The Internet also has replaced paperback novels and instead of reading rich texts most people opt to just watch videos online. If parents had instilled the importance of reading at a young age then kids would grow up to be more knowledgeable and imaginative. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that teaching children to read at an early age, even a day after they are born will stimulate their brain and enhance its development in language skills furthermore this strengthens the bond between parent and child.

Having a good foundation on your reading skills will also be a benefit in school as you will be able to understand and interpret the ideas and lessons from textbooks that are used in school curriculums. Reading does not only entail the ability to grasp the meaning of the words in the text but to connect the ideas from the words to what we already know.

Reading with comprehension allows the reader to relate the words in the text to what he knows, feels and thinks of at that particular moment. We read with a purpose in mind whether is for gaining knowledge, looking for an answer or to be entertained. And while we read, we think actively at the same time participating in the exchange of information that is happening when we read; we take in the words and relate it to our previous knowledge. In short, we make sense of what we read and not just plain decoding of text.

Comprehension is not mastered in one sitting, it is developed over time and we learn by doing the process over and over again until we have so much knowledge that reading with comprehension becomes an easy thing for us. Why do we need to read? How important is it for my daily life activities? Is it necessary? The answer to all these questions is—–YES. Here is why.

Reading will increase our literacy and with it we can live comfortably. Being able to read the street signs, directions, prices and public notifications makes our life easier. We can live independently and manage to go around places knowing that you will be able to find your way back.

Reading can help us nourish our language and help us communicate better. In a world that is slowly becoming smaller and smaller because of globalization and increases in population, people are becoming more sociable and interdependent. To facilitate peace and understanding, being able to enrich our vocabulary for use in communication is very important.

So take time to pick up a book that interests you and develop a skill which can be of use for you for a lifetime. Help other kids to learn how to read to become a better individual and to be equipped with knowledge useful for life.

The Britannica encyclopedia defined oratory as the rationale and the practice of persuasive public speaking. In order to be good at this, public speaking should be honed to students early on in their education. The earlier one begins the better. That’s why this was incorporated by the US Department of Education in our school and college’s curriculum.

More often than not, students feel nervous and anxious when they are asked to deliver a speech in front of the class. This causes the kids not to create the required impact necessary in speeches. If you are one of these students who get jittery and nervous while delivering a speech, and are looking for some tips on how to deliver a speech smoothly, below are some public speaking tips that can certainly help you out.

Tips on How to Be an Effective Public Speaker

Know Your Content

It does not matter how good a speaker you are, if the content of your speech is not organized or poorly researched, being confident and all will not make any difference at all.

Make sure that you exactly know the message you want to communicate through your speech. It also pays to do a little research on what kind of audience you are going to delivery the speech to. With all these information in hand, you should be able to write and organize your content properly.

Remember that speeches follow a logical sequence. One message should lead to another and so on. Also, make sure that you pause before jumping from one topic to another.

Spice Up Your Content

Once you have taken care of the basic material, you need to add some flavor to it by including some stories or funny experiences, to make your speech more interesting. All these, of course, should be aligned with the point you are trying to make in your speech. You can ask help from friends or family if you feel you lack in this area.

Practice, practice, practice

One of the most critical steps on how to effectively carry out a speech is, practice. Practice your speech as many times as you can. You can practice by standing up in front of a mirror. Observe your body language while carrying out your speech, and then make the necessary adjustments.

Become Familiar with the place

It’s very common for students to become very nervous when speaking in front of a large audience. What you can do to help you relax is by going to the hall where you have to deliver the speech. Arrive at the place one hour before your speech. This will help you get familiarized with the surroundings. If possible, rehearse the entire speech along with your visual aids, if you are going to use any. This can certainly put you at ease and reduce your anxiety.

Voice Modulation

Voice modulation is also very critical. All kinds of audiences find a monotonous voice boring. Make sure to put some stress into your speech especially on the important points. If you included a personal experience that you would like to share in your speech, pause first before you tell it. On the entirety, make sure that your voice has clarity and audibility. Deliver it loudly, and at the same time, slowly.

Hide Your Anxiety

Lastly and probably the most important tip is to keep your nervousness and anxiety hidden. Being nervous during a public speaking engagement is natural. Even the great speakers that you feel are very confident, may actually just be faking their confidence! The audience cannot tell the difference if whether you are truly confident or if you’re just faking it. So fake it! Put a smile on your face and deliver!

We hope that this will better equip you the next time you are asked by your teacher or professor to come up on the stage to deliver a speech. Joining organizations like Toastmasters, can greatly improve your skills. In the end, it is practice, exposure, patience and your ability to stay relaxed, are keys to effective public speaking. If you do all these, soon you will find the audience cheering and applauding your name. Good Luck!

The reliability of standardized tests can be 100% reliable if the results are the same when taken twice. But for all tests there is what we call a measurement error. A measurement error is the variation of an individual’s score due to different testing conditions or the taker’s mental or overall state at the time the test was taken. Because of measurement error two individuals with different scores on a test today might get the same scores on the test given the following day.

Standardized tests cannot really measure difference between two individuals as they rarely cover different factors of an individual’s intellect furthermore a student’s overall academic excellence is not brought by just excellence in cognitive ability rather it is a combination of cognitive, analytical, creativity and skills. Students learn when they can actively extract meaning out of their actions then connecting this knowledge to something that they are trying to learn. Most standardized tests only concentrate on narrow skills and memorization on facts.

Listed below are the most common standardized achievement tests administered to students today.

Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)

A standardized test for college applicants published by the College Board, a non-profit organization in the United States is one of the most common tests high school students are preparing for.

American College Testing (ACT)

Is a standardized test for college admissions to screen applicants for higher education in the US produced by the ACT Inc. It is a multiple choice examinations covering subject areas in English, Math, Reading Comprehension and Science.

Standardized testing is faced with a lot of loop holes in fairly evaluating our student’s academic performance. A much better way to evaluate student achievement should be done by integrating teacher observation, student work and performance assessment. In these factors a student’s overall hard work is evaluated fairly. This is a good reference for companies that offer standardized tests so they can progress from the ancient testing method that we use today.

Students are one of the busiest people in the world. When the school week starts it signals a long process of extended hours of studying at night, after school research and countless group meetings. To accomplish everything that needs to be done one must have control over his time. Success in school doesn’t just rely on high grades but how well you can cope and manage your time to juggle everything that needs to be done in time. Academic excellence reflected by scores on tests and exams is just one component of school work. Group activities, research and other extra curricular activities are also part of a school’s curriculum in promoting development of well rounded students that will later on become successful individuals in their chosen fields.

Here are some useful tips in organizing your time.

1. Accomplish a to-do list everyday. Listing your tasks for the day will help avoid forgetting some things. Be sure to prioritize based on importance and urgency.
2. Use time wisely. When you have spare time like when you are commuting your way to school, try to catch up on some reading. By doing this not only have you reviewed for the upcoming tests you will also manage to make use of your spare time wisely.
3. Exercise your right to say no. High school and college are known for the pressures of belonging in the hip crowd or having a group of friends you can hang out with and go to places with. But you can’t always go out with them especially when exams are due the next week or a term paper is on the way. By practicing saying no to going out and instead stay at home to finish the necessary school work will make your schedule of things to do back on track and you are likely to finish these tasks on time. By then you can go out with your friends and you’ll feel much better without the burden of worrying for unfinished tasks.
4. Set deadlines. It would be best to have a realistic time line wherein tasks are viable to be accomplished. Have a calendar handy as you think of a realistic goal for a deadline for different tasks. The need to adjust these deadlines might happen so keep in mind that you’ll need to be flexible in the event that the project might take longer than usual.
5. Prioritization is a must. When you list your tasks to do you might end up overwhelmed with the amount of work that you need to do and might even panic because time is not enough to accomplish all these tasks. This is where prioritization comes in. Prioritizing the most important tasks first will help you accomplish more. Breaking down tasks in smaller amounts each day will also go a long way into finishing it on time.
6. Get plenty of rest and sleep. Most of the time it is tempting to stay up late to finish a long list of school work but by doing so you’re taking your body for granted and this may lead to sickness and fatigue which will further deter you from finishing the tasks you have lined up for the week because you will be to weak to work on them.

In college there are support groups that can help you cope with the amount of stress and school work. In Carleton College, they have a wellness center where staff psychologists help students cope with college work and other stresses of school life.

In the worst cases, these kids may opt to stop attending school or college, losing that sense of a career, education and life.

In order to motivate the students back to the correct path of education and career life, parents should first identify the root causes. Here are some of the causes:

Low Self-Esteem

Students with low self-worth usually avoid challenges and search for the path where there is the least resistance. There are instances, however, where you can see these students perform and finish assigned tasks. But due to the various negative thinking patterns of these individuals, the flow of confidence in their own personalities are usually blocked and clouded.

Lack of Love at Home

Home is where the child usually receives the required support and love from the parents. The home environment is the one that shapes a child’s attitude. If the home is a place where curiosity and education are of importance, the environment will definitely help the child get motivated and welcome the idea of academic challenges. It’s critical that the parents are physically there for their children. Parents can either be the students’ biggest motivators, and demotivators.

Adolescence

Early adolescence is a stage between elementary and high school. This stage is where the heightened awareness about the students’ studies and responsibilities take place. Moreover, this is the stage where behavioral changes and formation of new relationships with parents, friends and teachers can be observed. Students in these stages are highly sensitive. This is a time where new ideas about how they value their individualism and identity happen. If the student is neglected and becomes demotivated in this stage of his or her life, they may dangerously fall into the trap of negativity. This may be hard to reverse and may continue for the coming years of life.

Disinterested Teachers

A symptom of this is when the teachers fail to convey their expectations to the students and thus, results to communication gaps. In many scenarios, teachers have the tendency of dominating the thought process of their students; instead of encouraging them to be curious and be free to express their thoughts and feelings. Such behaviors from teachers can cause lack of motivation in students. This also prohibits creativity to freely come out.

Motivation Tips for Students

Symptoms of depression other similar problems must not be ignored. This must be discussed by the parents with the student with full care and love. If the student feels secure about sharing their views with people, especially elders, then the problem can easily be resolved. Schools, on the other hand, usually organize motivation activities for students, such as games, sports and various competitions, which are necessary for the holistic development of the student’s personality.

Some students who don’t perform in the classroom may perform really well in some sports. In this case, allow the students to explore their hidden talents. The teachers can also put motivation quotes on notice boards and school magazines for the students to ponder on. They can also give the students a project in which they are to collect different motivational quotes. Motivational words are believed to have a powerful influence on people. These can transform a student and make them eager to learn.
There are some other motivation techniques like involving them in various activities such as, dancing and music, where they can express their true personalities and thus, makes them more confident.

Stop ignoring your child and begin to understand their need to be heard. A lot of times, giving monetary support for your child’s education is not enough. Lack of motivation and negativity of thoughts can completely be eliminated if both the parents and the teachers work hand in hand in understanding and supporting their students.

Going away for college brings a lot of anxiety to a freshman student. Aside from being apart with your family and friends the pressure of academic performance in a college institution is really overwhelming. Adding to the change of environment is the tight financial budget you have to adapt to since enrollment in a university is really expensive, one must think of ways on how to get by financially. Having a roommate will cut down room expenses and hopefully be a way of having a friend or confidant as you go through the stress of college life.

Roommate relationships are not always as positive as one wishes it to be. If you are assigned to a roommate randomly you might not end up with a person you can easily like or adapt to. Roommate problems may arise such as differences in personality, study habits and attitude towards each other. Arguments on cleanliness, sleeping time and other territorial matters may affect your relationship with a roommate. Worrying so much about how to get along with a roommate in college may leave you preoccupied and prevent you from enjoying your stay in college. Generally roommates will help you build friendships that will last long after college. Roommates will serve to be your family in your stay in college, they can turn into your most valued friends that can help you on those sleepless nights and accompany you to the most memorable events in your college life. So stop worrying, here are some tips you can do to help build a long lasting friendship with your roommate.

• Set boundaries and expectations. After a little introduction with your roommate it’s best to lay out the expectations so that there will be no misunderstandings along the way. Name your space and boundaries. Since a room is shared, it doesn’t mean that everything in it is. Be particular on things you want to share and those things that you would want to keep private. People gain respect the minute they learn to do the same for others.
• Consider putting it in paper. Agreements between two parties can be best put into action if it is documented. Both of you should discuss important matters concerning security, safety, guests, and privacy as these affect both of you in your present living condition.
• Implement an open communication with your roommate and be honest. You will be spending most of your time with that person so it’s useless to spend so much energy in pretending to be someone you are not.
• Sharing items with your roommate is commonly practiced but learn to ask permission as there are some instances that your roommate may not want to share some items and you need to be able to respect that.
• Build friendship through doing activities together. Go to parties, meet new friends and eat out together. Bonding with your roommate will help in building trust and friendship.
• Be open-minded. You have to keep in mind that your roommate may be entirely different from people you know back home. Both of you came from different places with different cultures and norms so try to be more understanding if some of your roommate’s attitudes and beliefs does not coincide with yours. Acceptance is the key to a fruitful relationship with your roommate.

The New York Times has published an article entitled, “Roommates who click” which talks about how roommates are matched on a website called URoomSurf.com. Participants fill up a questionnaire about their study habits, cleanliness, politics, religion, beliefs and other personality questions then the website matches these traits to other participant’s answers to determine which roommate is best for you. Not all universities enable their students to choose their roommates. Some universities think that the randomness of roommate assignment adds up to the whole experience of college life. Nancy Thompson, Dean of Hamilton College in New York stated that they would want students to adapt and learn from the experience into which they can negotiate their differences.

But for some who wants to ensure that they get along with their roommate in their first year in a new environment they avail of the services offered by URoomSurf.com. When they have found their likely match they begin interacting and start getting to know them before the school year starts. Some even chat over the Internet or meet up to have a personal conversation.

Using innocent looking gadgets such as cellphones, ipods and even soda bottles, students are finding more clever ways to deceive their teachers and cheat on their exams. Using a cell phone to text answers to friends has become popular, even in schools that don’t allow phones. Many teens have learned how to conceal the fact that they’re texting in class. An iPod provides another handy way to cheat. The teacher would find it hard to know that the students are listening to their own self-recorded audio file about the topic of test they are taking.

Schools have banned the use of of these gadgets in classrooms but it doesn’t seem to deter students from doing so.

* PSAT The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test is the SAT’s little sibling. It is a somewhat easier, and thus less consequential, version of the SAT. You commonly take it during the fall of your Junior year in high school, some time in October. Many people take it in 10th grade as well, for practice. It will effect two things: which colleges send you brochures in the mail without your having to ask and whether you become a National Merit Scholar, an award that once guaranteed a scholarship but no longer does. There is a similar, but much less available, version of the ACT. Moral: Don’t sweat it.
* SAT The Scholastic Aptitude Test is the most feared test of any college-bound student. Most colleges require that you take either the SAT or the ACT in order to apply. But don’t worry so much! It just tests reading comprehension, vocabulary, and high school math. Books, computer software, and courses are available to help maximize your score.
* ACT The American College Test is similar to the SAT, but some find it easier to do well on. It is more common in the Midwestern United States than elsewhere. Instead of the SAT’s two sections, the ACT contains four: reading comprehension, English (grammar, proofreading, vocabulary), math, and science reasoning (graph reading, etc. which does not suppose prior knowledge). It is available in all areas, and books can help you learn to ace it.
* TOEFL If you did not go to school in an English-speaking high school, the Test of English as a Foreign Language is for you. It tests writing, reading, speaking, and listening skills so that colleges know if you can function in an all-English learning environment.
* SAT II Given in many subjects such as foreign languages, literature, writing, math, sciences, and history, the SAT II lets colleges know if you have developed a thorough knowledge of any subject area. If you were homeschooled, bet on taking a bunch of them. Otherwise, many colleges require three, usually including the writing test (which has a scored essay to write). If you are entering a specialized field, count on having certain tests to take (Engineering often requires math and science tests, for example). If you are majoring in something more general, take the subjects you are most comfortable with, and take them as soon as you complete relevant course work so the material stays fresh. Some less selective schools may grant credit or placement for high scores on these tests.
* ASVAB This is the test you will take if you wish to enter the military. It assesses your skills and interests so that they can place you in the best position.
* AP Advanced Placement tests are usually offered at the end of a specific high school course, but some students choose to take them on their own. Offered in many subjects like foreign languages, science, math, history, psychology, and even art, high scores often grant credit and almost always grant placement.
* GED If you quit high school and now want to apply to college, you may need to take the General Equivalency Diploma in order to present evidence of a high school education to your college. Adult Education classes can help prepare you for these exams, which vary state to state.
* GRE The GRE is a test much like the SAT that students take in order to apply for admission to many master’s and Ph.D. programs, especially those in academic fields. It has a math section focusing on problem solving and data interpretations, a verbal section focusing on academic reading comprehension and difficult vocabulary, and an analytical section which tests your logical reasoning skills as well as offering up some logic games. Some subject tests, especially in the hard sciences, as well as a writing assessment, are also offered.
* GMAT The GMAT is similar to the GRE, but offers unique math questions to test your reasoning skills. This test is administered to students planning on attending business school.
* LSAT Potential law school students take this grueling exam, which focuses on reading comprehension, logic games, and logical reasoning skills. No math! You’ll also have to complete two writing assignments when taking this test.
* MCAT The master of all standardized tests, the MCAT is a full-day examination that tests verbal skills and scientific knowledge in a wide range of fields. If you are planning on going to medical school, start studying for this crucial examination now.

Remember that if you have a documented disability (learning, emotional, psychological, physical, etc.) you are eligible for special testing circumstances which may include a separate location, extended time, a computer, or a reader.