The Perfect Score Project: Uncovering the Secrets of the SAT - Hardcover

Stier, Debbie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0307956679 ISBN 13: 9780307956675

Publisher: Harmony, 2014

Synopsis

The Perfect Score Project is an indispensable guide to acing the SAT – as well as the affecting story of a single mom’s quest to light a fire under her teenage son.
 
It all began as an attempt by Debbie Stier to help her high-school age son, Ethan, who would shortly be studying for the SAT.  Aware that Ethan was a typical teenager (i.e., completely uninterested in any test) and that a mind-boggling menu of test-prep options existed, she decided – on his behalf -- to sample as many as she could to create the perfect SAT test-prep recipe.
 
Debbie’s quest turned out to be an exercise in both hilarity and heartbreak as she took the SAT seven times in one year and in-between “went to school” on standardized testing.  Here, she reveals why the SAT has become so important, the cottage industries it has spawned, what really works in preparing for the test and what is a waste of time.
 
Both a toolbox of fresh tips and an amusing snapshot of parental love and wisdom colliding with teenage apathy, The Perfect Score Project rivets. In the book Debbie does it all: wrestles with Kaplan and Princeton Review, enrolls in Kumon, navigates khanacademy.org, meets regularly with a premier grammar coach, takes a battery of intelligence tests, and even cadges free lessons from the world’s most prestigious (and expensive) test prep company.
 
Along the way she answers the questions that plague every test-prep rookie, including: “When do I start?”...”Do the brand-name test prep services really deliver?”...”Which should I go with: a tutor, an SAT class, or self study?”...”Does test location really matter?” ... “How do I find the right tutor?”... “How do SAT scores affect merit aid?”... and “What’s the one thing I need to know?”
 
The Perfect Score Project’s combination of charm, authority, and unexpected poignancy makes it one of the most compulsively readable guides to SAT test prep ever – and a book that will make you think hard about what really matters.

About this title

Review

Q&A with Debbie Stier on The Perfect Score Project

Debbie Stier is a single mother of two teenagers. Her book publishing career has spanned two decades, most of it spent in PR where she was responsible for publicizing dozens of iconic books ranging from The Notebook to Marley and Me. Frequently covered by the media, including MediaBistro, The New York Observer and New York Magazine, Debbie regularly speaks on topics pertaining to social media and technology as well as, most recently, standardized testing.

Ethan Gumin graduated from Fordham Prep in 2013. An avid outdoorsman, Ethan attends Loyola University Maryland where he is in the Outdoor Wilderness Leadership program and is pursuing his academic interests in business and economics.

Debbie: Do you think the project had value or do you think your mom was completely insane to take the SATs 7 times?

Ethan: Looking back, I can see that the project was a great idea because I wouldn’t have done nearly as well as I did if you hadn’t taken the test all those times before me. I learned so much more from you than if I’d gone through the Blue Book on my own.

Debbie: What do you think the most important thing you learned from my mistakes was?

Ethan: You have to have all the basic skills down before you try to learn any tricks because without a solid base of math and grammar, you won’t be able to answer the questions fast enough on the test.

Debbie: How do you think the project affected our relationship?

Ethan: I think it made our relationship stronger because we spent so much time together. Studying for the SAT is very time consuming!

Debbie: Do you think that you are a better student because of the project?

Ethan: Definitely. I learned how to set goals and work hard. The test taught me the value of hard work and what it takes to achieve a goal.

Ethan: Has the project changed the way you tackle everyday “tests?”

Debbie: Yes! I don’t use the word ‘perfect’ as loosely and liberally as I did before the project started. I now realize it’s beneficial to pause before you set a goal and think first, rather than jump in with both feet and your eyes closed, like I did. It also changed how I parent. Before the project, I assumed my kids would follow along with whatever I said. I thought if I said, ‘Let’s go to Kumon and do worksheets,’ you guys would follow along simply because I was your beloved mother. About halfway into the project, I learned you might not follow, which shocked me. I learned (the hard way) that our relationship had to have deeper roots before I could count on you to follow me into any math trenches. Looking back, I can see that the strengthening of our relationship needed to happen before I tried to rope you into test prep. But ultimately, the beautiful lesson I learned was that investing in our relationship allowed us to have an SAT experience that took on deeper meaning than just a test score – and our scores improved a lot!

Ethan: Do you think Daisy is benefiting at all from the work we did together?

Debbie: I do! I’m doing “test prep” very differently with Daisy. I’m having her go back and shore up the fundamentals of math, grammar and reading before we start with the official “test prep.” I have her read the New York Times every day and we go over all the vocabulary words she doesn’t know, and we discuss the articles, starting with the main idea, which is a great exercise for the SAT reading section.

Ethan: What is the one thing all parents should know about the SAT?

Debbie: The SAT does not have to be a reviled rite of passage. Everyone loves to loathe the test, but it can be an opportunity for bonding. It’s the last big milestone before your child leaves for college – why not use it as an opportunity to connect? A shared experience – even “the SAT” – can create a powerful bond and rewards that go way deeper than a test score.

Debbie: What’s the one thing you think parents need to know about the SAT?

Ethan: Start studying early! Obviously, there are exceptions - students who will barely need to – but most of us need to start early. There’s a lot of material to get down – and your endurance needs to be honed and strengthened. If you start early, it will be a lot less stressful than trying to cram.

Ethan: Complete this sentence: The SAT is to parenting as ___ is to ___.

Debbie: I could answer this question in one of two ways: “The SAT is to parenting as root canal is to a dentist.“ Or, I could reframe: “The SAT is to parenting as soccer is to a soccer mom.” I prefer the latter.

Ethan: What’s the one lesson you hope people will take away from The Perfect Score Project?

Debbie: I hope people see that the SAT can be an opportunity to have a positive experience together. (I know no one is going to believe that, but trust me, if I did it, anyone can). Ethan and I turned it into a lot of fun. We’d nudge each other during TV shows if we heard “SAT words,” and it was fun having my 16-year-old son teach me math. Not to mention, it’s a great exercise for learning to explain a problem to someone else. Sharing the experience of the SAT can be a wonderful journey ... together.

From the Author

I'm a 48-year old mother of two teenagers. In 2011, I took the SAT seven times.

It was an attempt to light a fire under my teenage son (aka your typical teenage boy; i.e. uninterested in any test, much less a 4-hour-long high-stakes, standardized one).

I thought maybe he'd be interested if I climbed into the trenches. On that front, I scored. I even overheard him telling a girl the other night that "the SAT was fun," (which it was, I just never thought I'd live to see the day when he'd admit that). Right after he took his SAT (he took the test twice), I asked, "Was it fun?," and he told me, "It was less bad than it would have been had you not done it with me," which became his stock answer if anyone asked. Until the other night, when face-to-face with a pretty girl who had to take the test herself. Then it was "fun."

In the end, the project was a success, especially in ways I'd never imagined. Start with the fact that my teenage son morphed from a happy-go-lucky little tadpole who was in need of a lot of "re-focusing" when we began the project, into a hard-working, driven young man who will be heading off to college in a few short weeks.

Over the course of the year I gained a lot of clarity about the gillions of niggly "SAT questions" that plagued me at the beginning -- questions such as, "When do I start?" or "How do I pick a tutor?" And, I now consider myself to be an expert at detecting the early warning signs of "parental love meets teenage apathy" collisions. (Just in time to prepare my 15-year-old daughter.)

And so, I wrote a book about the journey, The Perfect Score Project available now.

I'd describe it as a hybrid: part guide to decoding (and acing) the SAT/part memoir. It's the story of how I grew as a mother, and how my son and I managed to eek some joy out of the SAT process. It's also a toolbox filled with tips I learned about the SAT--things I might not have thought of, such as What makes a good testing location...or The truth about brand-name SAT prep...or How to know if you should self-study, take a class, or use a tutor...

Ultimately, the book is about how I managed to motivate my teenage son to care about the SAT--and, to rescue him from...sliding by.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harmony
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0307956679
• ISBN 13: 9780307956675
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 304