SAT / ACT

SUMMER 2024

• June 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26
• July 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11
• All 6:00-8:00pm

FALL 2024

• August 12, 14, 19, 21, 26, 28
• September 4, 11, 18, 25
• October 2, 9, 16, 23
• All 6:00-8:00pm

WINTER 2025

• January 2, 6, 8, 13, 15, 22, 27, 29
•  February 3, 5, 10, 12, 19, 24
• All 6:00-8:00pm

COURSE DESCRIPTION

To accommodate the busy schedules of students, the RLA will again offer our test preparation courses online in real time with course instructors delivering live cyber lessons, so kids can login from any location! Course details include:

• We will prepare kids for BOTH the SAT and ACT. There is no need to take two separate prep classes, when there is so much overlap in the skills and strategies of the two tests. Teachers do highlight when there are lessons that are unique to one test or the other.

• Teachers offer a blend of both skills AND strategy to help kids prepare for the tests. We do not believe that just one method – skills OR strategy – can effectively prepare kids for their testing needs. Generally, we tell people that the course is about 2/3 strategy and 1/3 skill review.

• A total of 14 class meetings are scheduled that include 7 sessions for mathematics and 7 sessions for verbal.

• Class meetings are two hours long. Classes will be long enough for a productive meeting but will not dominate students’ busy schedules.

• Content is delivered online using Zoom so that kids can login from anywhere to meet with the teachers in a virtual classroom with video, audio, and text capabilities. Teachers have a virtual whiteboard to use for instruction and will also share documents in real time.  The math teacher can share the graphing calculator and Desmos applications.  Sessions are recorded so that students who need to miss all or part of a class can catch up prior to the next session.  Some students have also used the recordings to take part in the course in an asynchronous format.

• There are two excellent teachers who are masters in their own discipline who deliver their content. We truly do not believe that there is one person who can effectively deliver both sides while being able to meet the needs and answer the questions of all students on both sides (verbal and math) of the tests.  We are not aware of any other program delivered by content specialists, each with over 25 years of experience, who have each completed their doctoral studies.  When comparing the price of the RLA program to others on the market, the choice should be even easier!

Everything Parents Need to Know about The ACT and The Digital SAT: Comparing the Tests, the Test Preparation Calendar, and The Rutledge Learning Academy SAT/ACT Preparation Philosophy

As parents of five total kids who have been through their standardized testing years, we wanted to share with you several pieces of information about the details of standardized testing. Even if you do not use our tutoring or test preparation services, we encourage you to read this page and save it for future reference. Please also feel free to forward this to others with kids in 9th – 10th grade for their upcoming needs.

In general, we will suggest that most students consider taking BOTH the Digital SAT as well as the ACT. HOWEVER – there are cases where one test might be more beneficial to the needs/strengths of a given student. There are many urban legends floating around right now about which is the “good test” and which is the “bad test”. Truth is, which is which is dependent on the individual student. Here are some things to consider:

• A significant factor to help determine which test a child is ready for is when did they take Geometry and Algebra Two. The ACT and Digital SAT math sections are about 15% Geometry, but the ACT covers more concepts from the Geometry course.  Another important note is that the SAT offers a formula sheet, but the ACT does not. Kids who have relied on a formula sheet need to be aware of that heading into the ACT, especially since the ACT uses MORE formulas than the SAT does.  The content breakdown for the two tests can be found here for the Digital SAT and here for the ACT.  

• The ACT has a science section that is ¼ of the overall score, while the SAT has no dedicated science section. There are, however, questions based on graphs, charts, and data embedded into the Digital SAT.

• While the scoring of the tests has become more similar with the Digital SAT’s removal of guessing penalty, there are differences in the test format in that the ACT still has 5 answer options, while the Digital SAT dropped to 4. Also, there are “free response” questions (without multiple choice answers) on the Digital SAT, but the ACT is multiple choice in full.

We are BIG BELIEVERS that kids are often much better off testing in the FALL/WINTER than in waiting until the spring months. If you speak to any of the private college counselors in the area, you will hear this message repeated early and often. Our philosophy for test preparation is that kids should ideally complete any preparatory class work that they wish to pursue prior to the start of their junior year, or at the latest, at least a few weeks before they intend to take their high stakes testing for the first time. That would allow students to complete practice testing and be in position to take the PSAT in October of their junior year for National Merit consideration and also gear up to take the ACT and Digital SAT twice as an 11th grader. Given that planning, if there is still a portion of the test that the student would want to strengthen, they can work on that area alone in the summer between 11th and 12th grade and take the test(s) in August through October of 12th grade. The ultimate hope here is that the student would get a good enough score to not need to take any of the tests again in their senior year. We do, however, have several seniors improve their score on the fall test dates by taking the course in the summer or fall of their senior year.

Some thoughts about the testing calendar:

• Assuming a child has completed BOTH geometry and algebra two by the end of 10th grade, I suggest that kids take the Digital SAT in August, the ACT in September, the Digital SAT and PSAT in October, and then the ACT in December.

• Testing in January can be ugly for some kids as many schools have midterms the same week as the Digital SAT test date.

• Consider blocking out the May Digital SAT date to allow kids to take their AP tests without adding the Digital SAT on top of that work.  The May Digital SAT date is always the Saturday in between the two weeks of AP testing and that is a day when many students are exhausted.

• June is a tough month for standardized testing.  There are proms and other school events on the Fridays before the test dates and students may also be juggling final exams.  

• Of course, if a child is taking Algebra Two or Geometry in 11th grade, this changes the ideal calendar completely. One option is to push the whole calendar back one year. There are pros and cons to that plan. Ultimately, it will come down to what class was taken at which time, and from there, what test will the child be ready for. If I can help sort this out, please let me know.

• The links for the testing dates two tests can be found here for the Digital SAT and here for the ACT.  

• PLEASE be fully aware of SAT/ACT Score Choice!! I really hate when I hear someone say that they “are just going to take the test one time to see how they do”. AAARGH! That can be a KILLER to the SAT/ACT score report. I cannot tell you how many times I have had that conversation, only to then ask if the person knew if the “practice” score could hurt the child. Nearly every time – that answer has been NO! PLEASE do not have your child take the test in a live situation for a baseline. If you are looking for a baseline, go to Amazon, buy the best test practice book out there for the SAT/ACT (call me, I’ll guide you) and let your child spend 3-5 quality, quiet hours in the dining room taking a practice test. The details for score choice and super scoring for the two tests can be found here and you will also be able to see details of the most up to date information on your College Board account for Score Choice on the Digital SAT.

Some standardized test preparation programs are geared towards teaching the skills that are necessary for success on the test. Others are solely based on teaching kids the strategies that can be used on the test. This program will provide the best of both approaches to test preparation to give students the best possible advantage to maximize their score on the exams. This program is designed to help build students’ test-taking skills and provide insight that will help solve the mystery behind these high-stakes assessments. With the recent changes in formats to the tests, being prepared is now more important than ever. Since standardized testing is a vital part of a student’s college application, making sure that your child has all the tools needed to succeed before taking this test is a great investment. Dr. Rutledge stresses to kids and parents frequently that his SAT score was the key factor in earning a full academic scholarship. For this reason, we truly understand the importance of testing for your child’s collegiate application. We are most proud of the success stories of the students who have taken one of our courses, and then gone on to raise their scores to win scholarship money of their own!

Over the course of our collective more than fifty years in the field of education, we have seen numerous students who have excellent grade point averages struggle to score well on their standardized testing due to a lack of appropriate preparation specific to these tests. Standardized testing is not often written and formatted to be a fair reflection of the knowledge that your student has acquired while in high school. Learning time management strategies and being able to look for trap answers built into the test are important skills that students need to have prior to sitting for the test. Enrolling your child in one of our courses will allow them to take these tests more prepared to succeed.

As you know, we have offered test preparation tutoring and group classes through the Rutledge Learning Academy for well over 20 years. We bring many years of experience, expertise, and dedication to our craft to the table in every class that we teach. We are very proud of the program that we have created and refined over the years, and we are excited to be delivering the program online in a real-time cyber format to make the offering as convenient as possible for students and their families.

If you would like more information about the details of the upcoming classes, please reach out by e-mail at info@rutledgelearningacademy.com or call 215-343-9642.  Please know that if you do not hear back in 48-72 hours, it is almost certain that we did not get your message.  If you know of others who would benefit from this information, please consider forwarding it along. Thank you so much for your help in that regard.

Dr. Brian Rutledge 

National Board Certified Mathematics Teacher – Mathematics

Dr. Bruce DuBoff 

Verbal

Cost for the comprehensive program (mathematics AND verbal, 14 sessions): $899

Cost for a partial program (mathematics OR verbal, 7 sessions): $499

As with all of our courses, you can click here to register. Please select the appropriate course or program you’d like to register for.