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ACT or SAT? Choosing What's Right for You

7/12/2017

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With the shift to the SAT as the official Illinois State Standardized Test, many students and parents are left wondering which college-readiness exam to prepare for as they near the end of their high school track.
          
ACT or SAT?

Choosing the right test largely depends on the strengths of the students themselves, as each test caters to certain skill sets.
iLearn Academy offers these helpful tips for making  this big decision.

Take a Mock Exam of each
Nothing gets students familiarized with their own strengths and weaknesses within these two different tests than simply taking a full-length practice test in each. The format and material may be similar, but external influences such as how an individual student responds to time management and which academic areas they struggle with greatly determine the test best suited for them.

Know the format of the two tests
ACT exams put students under a bit more timed pressure, whereas the SAT allows students more room to puzzle through their answers, even though the overall time of both tests is virtually the same. Are you the type of student who performs well under pressure? Or does test anxiety sometimes get the better of you? Predicting your performance can steer you in the right direction when selecting the appropriate test for you.

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Haven't registered yet? It might not be too late!
​Visit our
Important ACT/SAT Dates Page for more information
​about registration dates, late fees, and more. 
Play to your strengths
The SAT completely does away with the Science portion in its layout. While it may cover less material overall, SAT math includes Data Analysis on top of Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry and the SAT Reading portion contains one more passage than does the ACT. The writing is optional on both tests.
​
Speak with your iLearn Academy teacher
Taking time to sit down with your iLearn Academy teacher – who knows very well your particular strong areas – will help you make an informed decision that will leave you confident in your choice. 
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3 Reasons You Shouldn't Skip Preparing for the PSAT

7/12/2017

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With all the nice weather and long summer days, the inevitable return to a school routine falls easily to the back of the mind.

For parents and students alike, ​this usually means the beginning of the fall semester is characterized by a sense of unpreparedness. The PSAT is a two-hour test administered in October, giving students very little time to readjust to the early morning hours and homework grooves, much less adequately prepare for this crucial juncture in a high schooler’s four year stint.
     Many people focus on the ‘P’ in PSAT (which stands for practice) and thus view the test as merely a trial run leading up to the more important SAT, but here are three reasons the PSAT is more than just an exercise in standardized testing:

1. Students obtain detailed feedback on the very strengths and weaknesses necessary to and weaknesses necessary to college, as well as how they might compare to other students during the admission process.

2. Students who prepare and perform well on the PSAT are set up to do the same when it comes to the SAT, giving them an advantage over their peers and making them stand out in the eyes of the universities.

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​3. Both sophomore and junior high schoolers take the PSAT, but all PSAT scores from juniors are automatically considered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation – a program which awards finalists a variety of corporate- and college-sponsored scholarships that help reduce the cost of college. 
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A Summer School with a Twist

7/12/2017

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Summer air is warm and humid, which are perfect conditions for the formation of tornadoes once cold, dry air enters the upper atmosphere. But just how and why do tornadoes form? 

This summer, iLearn Academy's elementary thematic unit Eyeing Tornadoes aims to make our youngest students experts on this natural phenomenon. 

Our K-6 teachers have all collaborated on a fun and engaging curriculum that sees students combining all areas of academic learning throughout the summer. Students have the chance to research tornadoes and write informational reports about them, create replicas of a tornado shelter and write an experimental paper on their individual shelter, and read fictional stories related to tornadoes, after which, they learn the elements of storytelling and write their own tornado-based stories. The unit ends with students crafting a Storyboard Final Presentation. 

So far, the students have produced some exceptional work that we cannot wait to share with parents toward the end of Summer!
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The Write Time is Now

7/12/2017

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Teaching writing is a time-intensive endeavor that most middle and high schools simply cannot afford.

Grading well crafted essays requires little effort. Most of the structural elements are in place and the sentences make sense.

Grading a poor essay? Uh-oh... The words don't make sense inside sentences that aren't coherent within paragraphs that aren't ordered logically inside the whole essay. Yikes! And many public school districts have around 20 students in a single class, which means the chances of each student getting the individual attention their specific writing skill set requires is next to impossible. 

This is no small issue relegated to the English department either. Students who cannot form cogent arguments and articulate their thoughts clearly and effectively fall behind in all areas of high school, in college, and later on in life.

This very writing predicament inspired iLearn Academy English teachers to take advantage of the unique amount of free time available over the summer to teach the art of writing well from the ground up, using a comprehensive curriculum that takes students through each and every step of the writing process - an experience most high schoolers will miss out on, unfortunately. iLearn Academy students will research and write about a topic of interest to them, not choose from a list of pre-approved prompts. They will put their ideas and arguments to the test, develop their vocabulary, and consider their audience. But most importantly, students of writing learn how to think. And that's a skill we cannot afford to let them pass over.  
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  • About Us
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