About Standardized Tests

Today’s schooling is highly geared toward standardized tests. The SSAT (Secondary School Admissions Test) is often required to apply for a private primary or secondary school, the SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) and/or ACT (American College Test) are needed for entrance to college, and the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is used for admission to graduate school.  Further, school progress is assessed each year with tests such as the ITBS (Iowa Tests of Basic Skills) or ITED (Iowa Tests of Educational Development). Depending on the state you live in and which school you or your child attend, different test instruments may be used. For a person with a learning disability, these tests can present specific challenges. We have helped many of our students prepare for these, and other standardized tests.

Preparation may include:

• Evaluation through practice tests
• Learning common question formats and strategies to tackle them
• Spelling and grammar rules using Orton-Gillingham methods
• Morphology (word roots and affixes) for a greater vocabulary knowledge
• Reading comprehension instruction
• Essay-writing instruction