J.S. began tutoring in preparation for SAT Math during the second semester of his sophomore year in High School. He had received a Math score in the 500s (approximately 73rd percentile) on the PSAT, but had his sites set on getting a scholarship to specialized program, which requires a score over 700. We met once per week for slightly over a year.
J.S., even though he wanted the help and was enrolled in honors classes, he was not exactly thrilled at first about having to carve out extra time to prepare. Over a period of months, he seemed less resistant to the idea, even began to enjoy the sessions, and welcomed the additional help he also incidentally received with Algebra 2 and with the verbal sections of the SAT.
We did practice "mini-quizzes" and full practice tests as we progressed, and J.S. was happy to see that his scores were inching upwards. We even met for sessions at various intervals over the summer to keep him "tuned-up."
About halfway through his junior year, he achieved a score of 680 on the SAT Math, putting him in the 95th percentile nationwide. We were very happy! But.....a family member wanted J.S. to try once more to break the 700 mark; the reasoning was that it was well into the "scholarship zone" at top schools.
So, we dug in again for a couple more months, producing a final score of 740, approximately 98th percentile! As a bonus, his verbal score also rose to the high 600s.
Perseverance works!