MCA Summer Skills Workshops

Overview
Each workshop offers 12 hours of small group tutoring to build foundational and advanced skills for standardized tests:  PSAT, SAT, and ACT.  Each group consists of three to five students of similar skill level.  Students will be given pre- and post- tutoring assessment tests to diagnose weaknesses and evaluate progress.  Classes are taught by our three highly recommended, elite tutors.  For the 2006-07 school year, students who attended a minimum of 10 individual tutoring sessions achieved outstanding results:  an average score increase of 340 points from their sophomore PSAT to their final SAT!

About Marks Counseling Associates, LLC (MCA)
Marks Counseling Associates, LLC, based in Bethesda, MD, is a college counseling firm founded by Nina Marks, former AP English teacher, Director of College Guidance, and Assistant Head of the National Cathedral School in Washington, DC.  According to a parent interviewed for the December 2003 issue of Washingtonian magazine, "Mrs. Marks 'is in a class by herself.  I don't think there's anyone in the DC area - or probably the country - who does as good a job as she does.'"  Our Tutoring and Test Preparation division is run by Nitin Sawhney, who has more than 10 years of experience as a standardized test instructor and has taught at both the high school and college level:  Composition and Creative Writing at the University of Maryland, and Math at the Sandy Springs Friends School.

At Marks Counseling Associates, LLC, our ultimate goal is college admission, but our first objective is to help students make the most of their high school years.  While the majority of our clients are in high school, we welcome students at the pre- and post-high school levels.  We work with students and parents to promote informed, strategic thinking, to identify and make the most of all available options and opportunities, and to strike the right balance between optimistic and realistic choices.

Cost
The cost of each workshop is $650, which includes 12 hours (6 two-hour sessions over two weeks) of small group tutoring, materials, and pre- and post- tutoring assessment tests.

Schedule
Each workshop will meet for two hours a day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for two weeks.  Class times will be determined by the demand for each subject area and will be confirmed no later than May 25, 2008.

Pre-tests will be held on May 10, 11, 17, and 18.  Reading and Math will be administered at 9:45am, Writing at 12:45pm on each of the aforementioned dates. 

Sign Up
You may sign up for one workshop in each subject (up to three total) in any given session.

Class Descriptions:

Each class has two goals:

• To build a solid knowledge base that includes content of each standardized test
• To teach key strategies for peak test performance

Math A:  Math A is a comprehensive review of the foundational Math skills necessary for standardized tests such as the PSAT, SAT, and ACT.  It is appropriate for students who have completed Algebra I and Geometry but not necessarily Algebra II, and for those who may have taken Algebra II but would like to reinforce higher Algebra skills.

Math B:  Building on the skills in Math A, Math B covers higher level Math content and strategies to answer trickier and more complex questions.  It is appropriate for students who have completed Algebra II and/or Trigonometry with a B grade or better.

Reading A:  Reading A shows students how to break down reading passages – both from newspaper editorials and from standardized tests such as the PSAT, SAT, and ACT.  A large part of the class is devoted to vocabulary memorization strategies, using our copyrighted 1,000 high-frequency word list.  Reading A is appropriate for students who have difficulty reading 19th century texts, those who are not active readers outside of school, or those who have received a score of 55 or below on an official College Board PSAT Critical Reading section.

Writing A:  Our Writing A workshop reviews the basic grammar skills necessary for the SAT and ACT, including (but not limited to) Subject-Verb Agreement, Pronoun Agreement, Parallel Structure, Modifiers, Punctuation and Usage.  The class is appropriate for students who find essay writing challenging, or those who have received a score of 55 or below on an official College Board PSAT Writing section. 

Writing B:  Writing B covers more advanced grammar than Writing A, and also works on essay writing for the SAT and/or ACT.  If only SAT students are enrolled in the class, then the class will focus on the SAT essay, and vice-versa.

PLEASE NOTE:  Marks Counseling Associates, LLC may change your class selection if your scores on the diagnostic test suggest that you are better suited for a different level.  We will confirm any changes with you via telephone or e-mail.