Brooke Higgins Uncategorized

SAT Crash Course: Act Now for Special Deals!

Just in time for the May SAT, CROSSWALK and Brooke Higgins are putting on another SAT Crash Course April 17th and 18th from 8:30am to 1:30pm.

The workshop will take place at the Stevenson School.

Same format as the previous ones: small group with individualized instruction.

These workshops have been wildly successful so reserve your spot today.

Call 831-70-TUTOR (831-708-8867) for the latest special offers for this course. Right now, for a limited time, pay one low price for two students. This is great for students that have friends also taking the SAT. Two friends, one low price. A great way to save some money for moms and dads.

CROSSWALK is also offering a 25% discount for anyone that reserves their spot and pays before April 1st.

Call today to reserve your spot!

Brooke Higgins Uncategorized

SAT Boot Camp

Learn strategies that get results!

When: February 20-21, 8:30am-1:30pm

Where: The Stevenson School

Space is limited, so reserve your spot today.

Ask about our limited time 2-FOR-1 SPECIAL!

Call 831-70-TUTOR now to improve your SAT score

Brooke Higgins Uncategorized

7 Ways to Help Your Child with the SAT

Love it or hate it, the SAT is part of education. While it is only one variable to measure student achievement, it carries significant weight.

With so much pressure placed on exam performance, SAT can be a tough time for students. So what can a parent do? How can mom or dad help their son or daughter tackle such a major undertaking?

If your child is faced with the prospect of taking the SAT, here are seven ways you can provide a path towards success:

1) Get Engaged: this goes without saying. Getting engaged is the first step towards successful parenting on any level. The fact that you’re reading this means you’re on the right track. Talk to your child about the test. Find out what resources are available at school and in the community. Check outwww.CollegeBoard.com and get educated. And keep up the dialogue. Your teenager may not like the intrusion, but your support is absolutely crucial.

2) Find the End: the “end” of the SAT is the goal score your son or daughter needs to get into the school of their choice. Most schools publish the average SAT scores of their incoming students on their website. Pick three or four schools that interest your son or daughter and find out their average SAT score. This score is now the goal and everything you and your child do needs to be focused on that score.

3) Research the Options: you don’t need to be an expert and you don’t need to know all of the answers. In fact, it is better if you don’t have all of the answers so you can engage with your son or daughter to learn more (see #1). Part of the research is to understand what your son or daughter wants. The other part is how to get there.

4) Set Realistic Expectations: you can shoot for the moon and keep high expectations, but it’s also important to understand the reality of the SAT test. The SAT is only one, isolated measurement that does not define a person. This point is extremely important if your son or daughter is not a good test taker. Understand your options (see #3) and focus on keeping as many options open as possible.

5) Stay Positive: the SAT is such a mental test that a positive mindset, especially from mom or dad, can be the difference between success and failure. Remember, it’s never the end of the world if the performance fails to meet expectations. There are many, many alternatives and a variety of solutions to you and your child’s needs.

6) Follow the Study Plan: part of being engaged means knowing the plan. You may not remember your algebra skills and you might not have an expanded SAT vocabulary, but believe it or not, this matters little. Support is what matters. Support is one million times more important than the correct answers. Whatever study plan your child chooses, follow it. Check in with him or her. See how things are going and ask how you can support.

7) Set a Good Example: the impact of role modeling needs little explanation. Your child is your reflection, for better or worse. Set the tone for success with your actions and success will follow.

Ultimately, supporting your son or daughter on the SAT is no different that supporting him or her in whatever they do. If you are plugged into their needs, success is possible.

So get engaged. If you don’t know where to start, share this page with your son or daughter today. Better yet, do it right now. The earlier you start, the better.

Brooke Higgins Uncategorized

What Can Mom or Dad do to Help SAT Test Prep?

Standardized tests can be scary. Not all students thrive during timed-tests with pressure-inducing consequences.

So what’s a mom or dad to do? What can a parent, guardian or caregiver do to help out?

It’s a simple answer: get engaged.

Moms and dads, take note: you don’t need to be a successful test-taker for your teenager to succeed at the SAT. You don’t need to know all of the answers in the test booklet and you don’t need to know all of the strategies.

You simply need to be engaged with your student. Talk to him and her about what they know or don’t know.

The first place to start is the end goal. The end goal is the school your teenager wishes to attend. Get on that school’s website together and find out the test scores of the incoming students. That score becomes the goal to shoot for.

With that goal in mind, you can now engage your learner in meaningful discussions. This exercise alone will foster some discussions about the test and the strategy behind it.

But don’t end the conversation there. Continue to engage your student. Find reliable sources of information like www.collegeboard.com and talk more about the test.

Make the test a journey with you and your teenager. Success with standardized tests requires preparation, support, confidence and repetition. You don’t have to know all the answers but you can be a great companion on your loved one’s trip.

Brooke Higgins Uncategorized

The Most Important SAT Tip

test-takers3.jpg
The number one most important SAT tip is Think With the End in Mind.

Simple enough, right?

Think With the End in Mind—I tell my students—means first figure out where you want to go to college. Even if you cannot decide on one school, narrow down your options to two or three.


Once you know the school or schools where you intend to apply, find out the average SAT score for the incoming students. Most schools post this information on their websites. For example, about 10% of incoming Stanford students had a combined 2400 on their SATs. About 40% had a combined score of 2100-2399.

The score you find for your ideal school is now your goal, or your End.

Note that this score is “scaled” and based on your raw score. The raw score is basically a calculation of total correct answers minus ¼ incorrect answers (for most questions, you lose ¼ of a point if they are incorrect).

If you use the Official Guide to the SAT by the College Board, you can learn how the raw score is then converted into a scaled score. It’s a process that the College Board uses to standardize scores across all test takers.

In knowing your raw score, you know how many correct answers you need per section to achieve your scaled score. And this knowledge is more than half the battle.

This knowledge drives the strategy behind your approach to each and every question.

So Think With the End in Mind. This will determine your strategy which is really what the SAT is all about.

Brooke Higgins Uncategorized

SAT Crash Course Update

A quick update on the SAT Crash Course on November 21 and 22:

The class is strictly designed for a small group to keep the instruction highly personalized and focused.

As of Tuesday, November 10 there are still several spots available. Interest is high so spots may fill up quickly.

Materials can be provided, but I usually recommend that students bring their own books since they will want to work from them. The book we use is the Official SAT Guide produced by the College Board. The latest edition is best, but we can use older editions.

Contact Brooke directly at 831-70-TUTOR or mail@crosswalkeducation.com for details on pricing, location and more.

Brooke Higgins Uncategorized

SAT Crash Course

Monterey locals take note: SAT Crash Course upcoming:

When: November 21st and 22nd from 8:30am-1:30pm
Where: The Stevenson School
Who: Ideally for those signed up for December 5th SAT, but anyone taking the SAT will benefit.

For more information, contact CROSSWALK. Call 831-70-TUTOR or email mail@crosswalkeducation.com.

Learn proven strategies that get results!

Brooke Higgins Uncategorized

Routines: Boring but Effective

Part of what we do at CROSSWALK is to help with study skills. Many students simply need some guidance in terms of how to study, what to study and when to study.

Routines play a major role in successful study skills. The ability to keep a consistent schedule will make studying consistent and in turn learning will become consistent.

To maximize your study time, set up your own routine and follow it closely. Perhaps the first couple of hours after school are dedicated to extracurricular activities. And then dinner might follow.

After dinner, set up one to two hours of solid study time. Don’t deviate. Dedicate the time needed to learn new material, prepare for exams or complete assignments. Even if you think you don’t have anything to do you can always use that time to get ahead and learn more about a particular subject.

After a solid block of study time, have some time to relax. Watch some TV, play games, chat with friends or do something to refresh the brain. If you need to do more studying, take another block of time and focus on your studies.

Once you have a set routine you can always adjust. In fact, the beauty of a routine is that once you have it established you can learn that some activities might require more time and some might require less.

In all, one of the most important lessons learned in school is time management. Setting a routine will help you manage your time so you can maximize your study hours.

And if you don’t set a routine, you might get lost and overwhelmed with outside influences that do not contribute to your academic learning. A routine may be boring, but they do work.


Brooke Higgins Uncategorized

My "Go To" Study Resource

No matter what the subject or what the objective, it’s hard not to find an excellent use for Flash Cards.

I might argue that Flash Cards are the number one “go to” study resource.

I’ve used them for Foreign Languages, SAT Prep and even Math tutoring. They are so versatile since they can be personalized for any study use.

Vocabulary words is the obvious choice but any concepts that require definition or explanation can be captured in a Flash Card.

And the best part is when using Flash Cards, you can discard the words or concepts you know and focus on the most challenging topics. This is a great way to optimize studying.

Next study time, try some Flash Cards. Old school, but very effective.

Brooke Higgins Uncategorized

Why CROSSWALK Offers a FREE Consultation

For most students, the educational landscape evolves over time. New teachers, new classes and new skills tutorstudent.jpgrequire students to be able to adapt and adjust to learning environments.

Despite this ever-changing atmosphere, one thing remains constant: successful learning truly takes place when a strong relationship is created between the teacher and the student.

Think about your favorite teacher: you undoubtedly learned more because you enjoyed working with and for that particular instructor.

We take the same approach at CROSSWALK. After hundreds of students and many tutors, the relationship between the student and the tutor is always the determining factor for success.

For this reason, we offer free consultations. The first meeting is the chance for the tutor to meet the student and vice versa. If a strong match is made, the chances for success grow. If there is not a strong match, then CROSSWALK will work to find a better match at no charge.

As much as we are in the educational business, we find ourselves more in the relationship business.

It’s the relationship between the student and the tutor that truly matters. CROSSWALK won’t rest until we’ve found the right match for all.