SAT Prep: Start Early by Challenging Your Child to Read
Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 12:00PM Art Meisler 
In an interesting article in the Huffington Post, Meg Campbell, Founder and Executive Director of Codman Academy Charter Public School, recommends that students prepare for the SAT by reading the New Yorker magazine. Although this advice need not be taken literally, her approach underscores a more fundamental challenge for the next generation of college students: to become better readers.
As we’ve noted many times in this blog, too often students reach their junior year of high school, take the PSAT and/or SAT only to be disappointed and discouraged when reading scores fall below the national average of 500 points. More so than the other sections of the test (math and writing), low reading scores are harder to fix in a relatively short period of time; good reading skills develop over time.
Ms. Campbell argues that while tutoring and coaching may have their place, parents should encourage their children to take advantage of adult-level non-fiction reading sources that are similar in nature to passages found on the SAT. As she notes about the New Yorker:
The writing has versatility and breadth. It's well-written, long, challenging non-fiction and that is precisely the kind of writing that builds background knowledge and vocabulary. Becoming a New Yorker reader builds advantage, as in having an advantaged education. It requires engagement of the mind for comprehension.
What’s a Parent To Do?
The key, of course, is to start early. Getting a subscription to the New Yorker (or other adult-targeted publications) at the beginning of junior year may not be practical, or perhaps just too little, too late.
You know your child best. Consider his interests and find non-fiction reading materials that both challenge and interest him. Browse your local newsstand, and thumb through the table of contents of magazines such as The Atlantic Monthly, Harpers, The New Yorker, or even less intimidating publications such as Time and Newsweek. Chances are that you will find something that can pique his interest.
Sending links to on-line publications is even easier. Is your family planning a trip to a national park such as Yellowstone, Acadia or Yosemite? Give your children some background by reading up on the current challenges facing our National Park System in National Geographic.
The earlier you introduce your children to more challenging non-fiction, the better their comprehension and vocabulary will be for high school, SATs and the college years immediately beyond.
Reader Comments (1)
Reading and vocab-building are really the only two things that CANNOT wait when it comes to SAT prep. As a professional SAT tutor I often get parents begging me to work with their 7th-grader... I say "NO WAY, they're far too young to waste their life on the SAT right now," but I direct them towards good reading material and vocabulary lists.
Students who love to read will do well on the SAT... that's the long and short of it!
Great article!