DIY Practice for the SAT

I remember SAT season like it was yesterday: The mind-numbing sentence drills. The memorization of supposed “testing tricks.” Words like “sarcophagus.” All wedged into 10 Saturday morning classroom sessions that ticked like a fatal countdown until test day. Frankly, I wish I had been more invested in the process—or even close to as innovative in my practice as a group of students at Miami Springs High School.

According to the New York Times, these savvy students didn’t hire a high-priced tutor or buy into a Kaplan-approved class, they got together under the leadership of enterprising junior William Scott, borrowed classroom space and made a pact to study together and teach one another under the pledge, “Dropping out is NOT an option…Eternal shame on all quitters!!” and “No complainers, whiners, or excuse makers allowed. We have a job to do, so let’s just do it.” (Awesome contract, btw)

The students who signed on to the group have three collective goals: a score of 700 or more on each part of the test, a scholarship to a major university and a white-collar career. All hope to lift themselves up from a blue-collar suburb known for overcrowded schools, high degrees of poverty and dozens of Cuban refugees arriving ever year. Tellingly, when Principal Maria Messina first learned about the ad hoc class, her initial reaction was “relief that the school itself didn’t have to pay for it.”

Three times a week at 6 p.m., William’s group meets to practice correcting sentences on old photocopied pages and then moves on to vocabulary quizzes, essays, algebra and geometry. Often, the work looks unfamiliar to their previous schoolwork, but the students do it anyway, in hopes that drilling will build confidence for their June 7 exam.

I don’t know about you, but with all the emphasis put on the SAT and the money many parents spend for their children to excel on it, this story made me realize the innovation and commitment possible when students take control of their own education. Not every family in the Washington school system can afford SAT prep for their children, but with a little enterprising and assembly (and some photocopying) students can “beat the test” together.