NY State ELA and Math Exam Preparation

While many families may not agree with today’s increased emphasis on standardized testing, it is a reality of our current education climate. Today, testing results are used by government officials and educators alike, to help drive decisions related to budgets, teacher performance, and most importantly, grade promotions for students. Students unable to pass required NY State Tests are immediately put at risk of failing to get promoted to the next grade level.

At Five Points Learning, we help students to not only pass NY State Tests, but to excel on them. Our instructors teach in fun and engaging ways to keep students interested in the material, and we use instructional methods that emphasize the development of critical thinking and reasoning skills; skills necessary to achieving success on any NY State Test.

We offer a variety of packages including:

• Prep Classes
• Small Group Tutoring
• Private Tutoring

Math

For many students, encounters with math can generate a certain degree of distress. Many wonder, especially in an age of technological advancement and computers, is knowledge of math really that important? The answer is a resounding yes. The importance of math should never be underestimated. Whether we realize it or not, we use math every day in our jobs and while doing regular day to day activities. Virtually every occupation, in some way, involves the use of math. Secretaries, athletes, musicians, doctors and even social workers use math throughout their days. Many students do not understand that regardless of occupation, they will need to use math in some capacity.

Our math programs provide students with highly individualized plans that meet their exact needs to improve elementary and secondary math skills.

Science Tutoring

Science is everywhere in today's world. It is part of our daily lives. Science educatioin combines the use of observation, intuition, theory, hypothesis, experimentation and analysis, to help students improve their understanding of the world around us. Few other subjects have as wide an application to as many people in their careers, hobbies, or general interest as Science has.

At Five Points Learning, we help students develop the skills and understanding of complex concepts necessary for success in any Science course. Our instructors teach in fun and engaging ways to keep students interested in the material, and we use instructional methods that emphasize the development of critical thinking and reasoning skills; skills necessary to achieving success on any exam.

We offer the following support:

We offer a variety of packages including:

• Small Group Tutoring
• Private Tutoring

Reading

The ability to read and comprehend text at a high level is critical for success in today's Age of Information. Reading is important for students because it helps to develop their minds and facilitates the development of writing, language, and even listening skills. Strong reading abilities can improve achievement and success in college and beyond. The ability to read and comprehend effectively can have a positively profound impact on a student's success and earnings throughout their career.

Studies conducted by the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University show that for children having trouble learning to read in kindergarten, 88% still had trouble in third grade¹. In fact, low achievement as early as fourth grade was shown to be a powerful predictor of high school and college graduation rates, as well as lifetime earnings².

At Five Points Learning, we provide personalized reading programs that emphasize fluency, speed, vocabulary, comprehension and confidence. We focus on developing the critical reading skills students will need to become successful readers, inside the classroom and beyond.

Elementary School:
Visual memory and perception are the basic skills necessary for fluency, efficient reading and improved spelling. Our elementary level reading programs build on those fundamentals as well as phonics, decoding, word recognition, vocabulary, and literal comprehension.

Middle School:
As material becomes increasingly complex in areas like social studies, the sciences, and language arts, comprehension abilities can play a large role in determining a student's success. Our middle school students enhance their reading skills by focusing on improving their attention, word recognition, vocabulary, reading rates, silent reading fluency and comprehension.

High School:
Strong reading skills are a must as the volume of required reading in all subjects has substantially increased from previous years. Students must be able to comprehend and make sense of large amounts of information quickly. At this level we focus on implementing critical reading strategies and improving reading rates, vocabulary, and comprehension of complex materials.

We offer a variety of packages including:

• Small Group Tutoring
• Private Tutoring

1 National Scientific Council, Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2007). The Science of Early Childhood Development: Closing the Gap Between What We Know and What We Do. Cambridge, MA.
2 McKinsey & Company (April 2009). The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s schools. Washington, D.C.

Writing

Research studies show that 70% of professors at our most competitive colleges feel students are not adequately prepared for the rigors of college. In fact, 62% say new students write poorly and do not have the analytical skills needed to succeed in college when they first enter¹.

The increasing importance of writing is also evidenced in the marketplace where 93.1% of employers, responding to a survey administered by the Conference Board, say that Written Communications are "very important" as an applied skill necessary for job success for new workforce entrants. Over the next five years, 64% of employers expect the applied skill of Written Communications to increase in importance².

The significance of effective writing becomes obvious given the conclusions of these research findings. Equipped with this knowledge, our instructors are committed to developing our students into effective writers that can express thoughts and ideas into well organized pieces of writing. Furthermore, by engaging students in fun and creative ways, we seek to increase student interest and passion for writing.

Elementary:
Students focus on the mechanics of writing; grammar, punctuation spelling, and composition. As they work on mastering these core fundamentals, students also practice developing detailed sentences and constructing cohesive and well-developed paragraphs.

Middle School:
Mastery of the writing process is emphasized; including prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. Instructional focus is placed on brainstorming and organization of ideas, development of thesis statements and supporting paragraphs, and proofreading and revising portfolio works.

High School:
Students learn to construct and master different types of composition including descriptive, compare and contrast, cause and effect, and persuasive essays. Advanced programs focus on helping students to become clear and concise writers able to express opinions with logical thoughts and well formulated arguments.

We offer a variety of packages including:

• Standard Tutoring
• Small Group Tutoring
• Private Tutoring

1 Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc. (February 2005). Rising to the Challenge: Are High School Graduates Prepared for College and Work? A Study of Recent High School Graduates, College Instructors, and Employers.
2 The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Society for Human Resource Management. (September 2006). Are They Really Ready To Work? Employers’ Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge and Applied Skills of New Entrants to the 21st Century U.S. Workforce.

Homework Help

We understand that sometimes, students have difficulty completing their everyday homework assignments. This can cause students to feel helpless and can lead to increased levels of anxiety and frustration.

At Five Points Learning, we provide the additional instruction necessary to help students comprehend concepts they are seeing at school. Once students have a firm grasp of the required materials, we review each homework problem or assignment together with our students to ensure they are correctly applying the new concepts they have learned in their assignments.

While working with our students, we also focus on developing their study habits and skills so they can learn to independently manage their homework in the future and beyond.

We offer a variety of packages including:

• Standard Tutoring
• Small Group Tutoring
• Private Tutoring

NY Regents Prep

While many families may not agree with today’s increased emphasis on standardized testing, it is a reality of our current education climate. Today, testing results are used by government officials and educators alike, to help drive decisions related to budgets, teacher performance, and most importantly, grade promotions for students. Students unable to pass required Regents examinations are immediately put at risk of failing to get promoted to the next grade level.

At Five Points Learning, we help students to not only pass Regents examinations but to excel on them. Our instructors teach in fun and engaging ways to keep students interested in the material, and we use instructional methods that emphasize the development of critical thinking and reasoning skills; skills necessary to achieving success on any NY Regents Exam.

We offer a variety of packages including:

• Small Group Tutoring
• Private Tutoring

SHSAT Test Prep

The Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) is an examination administered to eighth and ninth grade students residing in New York City and used to determine admission to all of the city's Specialized High Schools, except LaGuardia, which requires an audition or portfolio for admission.

The test is typically given in October for admission the following school year. In 2008, 6,106 students from New York City were accepted, out of 29,000 students, who applied.

We offer a variety of programs including:

• Classroom Test Prep
• Small Group Tutoring
• Private Tutoring

SAT Programs

The SAT is an important test that can play a crucial role in determining the strength of your college application. Preparing for the test can ensure that you achieve your highest score possible, enhancing your chance of gaining admissions into your favorite schools. While some students have the ability to study on their own, many others can benefit from the structure provided by a prep course and from the instruction and guidance of an expert tutor.

While there are many programs to choose from, our programs seek to provide students and families with unbeatable value by delivering outstanding instruction with enough practice and review to allow for meaningful score improvements, all at an affordable price.

Take a look at our programs below and feel free to call us if you have any additional questions or to register.

Admissions Consulting

In deciding whether to admit a student, admissions officials will consider a student’s academic performance as far back as 9th grade. In other words, from the time a student walks through the doors of their high school, decisions (both academic and otherwise) they make can have a direct impact on their chances of getting into desired colleges in the future.

Using a strategic and consultative approach, Five Points Learning's admissions consulting service offers students and their parents an opportunity to develop a careful and deliberate plan that optimizes a student's chances of gaining admissions into targeted colleges.

Call NOW for more information.