Why You Should Enroll Your Child in an American School

The standard American school offers a different American-based curriculum which starts from the early preschool and up to Grade 12. Although each states within the United States sets a different curriculum standard, each school district within a state may have separate curriculum standards prepared in place. For an American elementary school, it ranges grades from the lower level (kindergarten) and up to the higher levels (grade 5 and 6). The elementary school usually focuses on social interaction, social exercises and games, and teaches the basics such as alphabet letters, numbers, and reading as well.

When a child passes elementary school, he will be sent straight to middle school which is taught in two different categories: educational and vocational. Students who do better in vocational occupations will be taught basic vocational skills while students who possess a particular aptitude toward educational work will be taught several high school and college prerequisites. High school comes after middle school, and generally, every student must obtain a total of 26 credits in order to earn a high school diploma. Among the subjects which are counted along these credits include English, maths, science, history, PE (physical education), arts, and language (optional/ if offered).

Perhaps the best thing about an American school lies in its advanced placement courses (AP class). The advanced placement courses are especially reserved for students with outstanding academic records. The advanced placement program basically means a curriculum in the United States which is being sponsored by the College Board that offers standardized courses to high school students with excellent academic points and has the potential to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in college. Most colleges that participate in the program will grant credit to students who obtained high enough scores on the exams to qualify. Among the current subjects of the AP program include Art History, Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, Chinese Language and Culture, Comparative Government and Politics, English Literature and Composition, Environmental Science, French Language, Latin: Vergil, Macroeconomics, Music Theory, Physics, Psychology, Russian Language and Culture, Spanish Literature, Statistics, and World History. Read the rest of this entry »

College Board’s SAT Overview

The SAT test has become synonymous with college admissions in the United States. SAT test preparation, therefore, has become necessary for doing well on the SAT. The SAT exam is a standardized test that tests students on the basis of their reasoning skills. There are a few things that parents and students must know about this standardized test. Let us talk about some of those things.

The SAT test is a three hour forty five minute test. There is also a 25-minute experimental section. But the score of this section does not contribute to the overall SAT score. Including this section, the SAT becomes a two hundred and fifty minute exam. If you add the breaks, the SAT becomes a 5-hour test.

There are people who might want to take the SAT a second or third time. What is the test taking limit? Students, in general, take the SAT a maximum of three times. Exceptions exist here too as there are some who claim to have written the SAT test more than five times. Suppose you write the Sat more than once. In that score, which score would be considered by colleges? There is no fixed rule to this. However, as general rule, colleges consider the score of every attempt at the SAT. However, different colleges have different criteria- some take into account the highest combined total SAT score. The best thing you can do is check with the college’s admission office to understand its admission procedure.

What about students who have disabilities? Can they take the SAT? College Board has set certain accommodations for SAT test takers having documented learning disabilities. However, there is a process involved for this. The student is required to complete a Student eligibility form before registering for the SAT test. More details about registration for disabled students can be found on the College Board’s website. Read the rest of this entry »

CLEP Testing Has Proven to Be Beneficial For Busy College Students

Gone are the days where traditional college students are focused only on their education. College students are now forced to take on many more responsibilities; CLEP testing has proved a very useful tool. These additional responsibilities include family, community/religious involvement, work (both full-time and part-time), and multiple extra-curricular activities.

CLEP tests have made time management much easier for these time-stretched students. CLEP exams also allow students to lighten their overall coursework, bypass general requirements, save thousands of dollars, and take home a degree much sooner.

One way that CLEP tests are utilized by students are to bypass introductory coursework to gain access to more interesting, advanced classes. CLEP exams are also used to bypass sitting through generic requirements that lie outside a students major. For example, an economics student can pass an American Government CLEP test to bypass their political science requirement. CLEP tests are also used by students nearing graduation to gain credit for introductory classes outside their major in order to reduce their last years course load so that they have more time to focus on graduation, internships, and beginning their post-graduate career.

The standard CLEP test takes only 90 minutes and will cover the information that would be covered in the first two years (introductory years) of college and are only $70. The College Board, who is the governing body of CLEP tests, currently have 34 unique CLEP exams which cover a wide range of topics. As they have continued to expand, CLEP testing centers are offered within driving distance of any college student. In fact, CLEP testing centers are even available on some military bases. Additionally, almost 3,000 colleges and universities accept CLEP scores as a replacement for traditional college classes. Read the rest of this entry »