
North Avenue Education
News, Insights, & Study Tips
Why the Digital SAT Matters Now
The College Board announced a plan to transform the paper-based SAT into a condensed, adaptive digital assessment. Here’s why today’s students should care.
Proven Strategies to Motivate Students
When students are empowered to utilize their intrinsic motivators, rather than passively responding to extrinsic motivators, they become better life-long learners.
The 2022 AP Physics Exam: How to Prepare
The 2022 AP Physics exams will take place May 10th-13th, depending on your physics course. Whether you’re taking AP Physics 1, 2, or a AP Physics C course, you’re about halfway through the year and still have a lot of new material left to cover. But that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start thinking about how to prepare! The following tips outline steps you can take now and in the weeks leading up to the AP exam to get ready for test day.
How to Prepare for the IB Chemistry Exam
The IB Chemistry exam is a daunting test to prepare for! With two years of material covered, it’s definitely important to start studying well in advance of your exam. There are 21 units covered – ideally, you want to be studying about 2 units per week if starting now.
Understanding Your PSAT Scores
For many high school juniors, the October PSAT/NMSQT was their first foray into standardized testing. Reading the recently released score reports can be close to as challenging as taking the test itself. If you’re wondering what your PSAT score report indicates or why the test is important in the first place, look no further. We’ve compiled a short list of insights to help you maximize your results.
How to Study for the AP Calculus Exam
The exams for AP Calculus AB and BC will take place this year on May 9th. While this date may feel like eons away for those still in their first semester, AP exams will test you on everything that you’ve learned throughout the year and potentially earn you college credit – so it’s never too early to start preparing!
What You Need to Know About Private School Admissions in 2021
When considering a private high school for your student, plan ahead for admissions requirements.
Choosing an In-Person or Online Tutor
COVID-19 has forced many to recognize that online tutoring can be a highly effective educational format. As a hybrid team on the forefront of this educational shift, we also recognize that some students still have compelling reasons to choose an in-person tutor.
What Does a Study Skills Tutor Do?
Study Skills and Executive Function Coaching utilizes educational psychology and practical skill development to help students become better learners.
2022 AP Exams to be Paper-and-Pencil
After two years of digital testing, the College Board announced that AP Exams in 2022 will be administered in their original hard-copy format.
How to Choose Between Common App and Coalition for College?
Unlike back in the day when your application was a simple envelope sealed with spit and sent by snail mail, in today’s world, you can apply to multiple colleges at once and have your application information organized and stored at your fingertips. There are two primary platforms that facilitate this expedited process: the Common App and the Coalition for College. If you are pushing to meet an ED deadline or are just getting prepared and you don’t yet know which platform to use and why, read on!
Demystifying the National Merit Scholarship Process
After a year of distance learning and cancelled tests, even the words “National Merit” might intimidate. We’re here to simplify the process.
How (and Why) You Should Prepare for the PSAT
October is famous among US teenagers for two things: Halloween and PSAT memes. (Humblebrag: one of my students once blocked @CollegeBoard on Twitter.) Since I’m legally prohibited from taking the PSAT and I absolutely cannot comprehend what a “shrimp ex-husband” could be, this post cannot contribute anything further to the important national conversation around PSAT memes. Instead, get ready for a journey into the inner machinations of the PSAT itself.
What Does an Executive Function Coach do?
“Executive function” has been percolating in education circles for a while, having first emerged from neuropsychological research in the 1970s (e.g., Barkley, et al.) focused on the pre-frontal cortex. It has since morphed into a term with myriad meanings and uses, often tied to early childhood development. In this article, we’ll break down what executive functioning is, then examine what an executive function coach does. Let’s start with what executive functioning is.
Tutor Spotlight: Isaac Ducker
Meet Isaac. Isaac offers personalized support for middle school and high school students, whether they’re preparing for the SAT or ACT, strengthening executive functioning and study skills, or drafting a college essay.
Strengthening Foundational Math Skills Over Summer
The past school year has been more difficult than most. With the stress and uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the consequent hasty switch to distance learning, you might feel that you or your student’s math education has been negatively impacted.
How to Navigate ACT Reading’s New VQI Questions
In a surreptitious change, ACT has updated their description of the Reading test to include a short blurb about “Visual and Quantitative Information” questions in that section of the exam. The “new” question types will appear on test booklets during National Testing dates beginning this year, and will contribute to students’ scores in the Information and Knowledge of Ideas reporting category.
How Does College Essay Coaching Work?
The process of applying for college so often feels uniquely impersonal – application forms are rote, recommendations seem almost formulaic, and your standardized test scores and GPA are literally numbers. The college essay provides everyone with a much-needed break from statistics. And the cliché is true: it’s your opportunity to show admissions officers that you are “more than a number.”
Study Skills for College Readiness
While you definitely deserve a relaxing summer break, now is also a critical time to strengthen your college readiness skills and ensure a successful first semester of college. With a majority of the last year of school happening virtually, the Class of 2021 may have missed out on opportunities to develop important college readiness skills.
Making the Most of Required Summer Reading
Summer is finally here, which for most students means spending days by the pool, going on hikes, hanging out with friends, and maybe taking a drive out to the coast. For many students, it also means the beginning of something potentially anxiety-inducing and demanding: summer reading. Back in the good old days of elementary and middle school, summer reading meant spending a lot of time with Captain Underpants or Diary of a Wimpy Kid. You might still be logging some hours with those classics as a high school student, but you probably have some other classics on your plate now, too (Jane Eyre, anybody?). Not to worry! Summer reading is definitely not something you should dread.
The Common App’s Newest Essay Prompt
After a tumultuous year, college applications may seem more intimidating than ever. We’re here to help unpack the new Common App essay prompt and open a discussion on how best to choose your essay topic.
What to Expect on the Enhanced GMAT Online Exam
The GMAT online was originally offered as a temporary solution to the closing of test centers during the pandemic. But after a year of extending its cut-off dates, an “enhanced” version promises to be a permanent alternative.
FAQs for AP Exams in 2021
As we get closer to this year’s Advanced Placement exams, new details are regularly emerging that will help students plan for success. Gluttons for punishment can check out the 100-page AP Digital Testing Guide – the rest of you can stay right here and read on.