“It’s a complicated topic. What makes kids great? Their SATs? Overall IQ? Their attitude towards overcoming adversity? Industriousness? Ethical grounding? A tough one.
Second complication is, what drives how well they do in all these criteria? How do you effectively quantify contribution from individual teachers, overall school program quality, parents, and just plain genetics?
To do this analysis scientifically is too much for any parent. Even a Ridgewood parent!
From a practical stand point, we want to ensure the best for our kids. And the way to do it is, keep pressure on teachers and BOE to keep delivering better results, spend extra on tutors, sports, etc as a parent… and keep property prices high to keep only dedicated (to education) families moving in to the village.”
As a 20 year resident who had three children go through the schools I offer the following thoughts. Ridgewood is not an easy town to live in and is getting more difficult every year. The school system and performance has steadily declined while the costs are out of control, $100M budget today will be how much in 10 years? The teachers are nasty, do not help the kids at all, and many of us require multiple tutors to get the kids good SAT and college test scores. How many of us had to use tutors? The town in-fights on everything from a sports field to housing to development to traffic. We spend money to improve the train station, but many residents cant park after 7:00am, there is also no way to pick-up or discharge passengers. We add a bike lane in the busiest section of town and back up traffic in all directions for untold miles. Anyone ever able to get a new stop sign or police enforcement on a road that supports speeding, have to wait for something awful to happen before getting attention? Every spring people plant lawns and gardens and every summer, Ridgewood (only Ridgewood) sends out the ‘deputies’ to fine those who water their lawns.
The taxes on my home have almost doubled in 12 years, value has not risen (in fact may have fallen) while services, roads, parking, etc have all remained stagnant.
After 20 years and with a sense of regret we will fold the tents here and move on. I am sure someone will move in a be very happy as we were, but I do suggest we all understand that times are changed and not for the better
Tutor Doctor, One of the Top Math Tutoring Programs in NJ, Announces New Custom-Designed Programs
March 26, 2015
The New Programs were Developed in Response to the College Board’s Decision to Update the Scholastic Aptitude Test
HAWTHORNE, NJ, Tutor Doctor of North Jersey, a company that offers some of the best tutors in a variety of academic subjects, has just launched new learning programs that will help prepare students for the updated Scholastic Aptitude Test.
For the first time in almost a decade, noted a company spokesperson for Tutor Doctor, the College Board is updating the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) to better represent and track what students have actually learned in high school and to assess a student’s college and career readiness. After the number of students who took the ACT surpassed those who took the SAT in 2012, the College Board came to realize that the SAT had become disconnected from the skills learned in high school and needed to undergo major changes to better meet the needs of students across the nation. The new version of the SAT will debut in the spring of 2016.
As the spokesperson for Tutor Doctor explained, the College Board is on a new mission to best serve higher education by propelling students toward success in college and work. With a similar philosophy, Tutor Doctor’s “at-home” approach is dedicated to student success by providing each student with the tools they need to meet and exceed expectations. Tutor Doctor of North Jersey prepares students for college by offering custom-designed programs that meet each student’s specific educational needs, objectives, and learning styles by working with teachers and current coursework to help each student master current academic requirements, while also maximizing his/her potential.
“We are very pleased the SAT will be more aligned with students’ curriculum and have a deeper focus on the important academic skills they’ve learned in school,” said Jessica Bush, business owner of Tutor Doctor of North Jersey.
“At Tutor Doctor, our tutors support teachers by working collaboratively with the school structure to help students learn new material while excelling at the topics they’re learning in school. This collaborative approach helps students succeed during their high school studies while preparing them for college.”
The new SAT format will reinforce the skills and evidence-based thinking that students should be learning in high school. Some of the drastic changes include eliminating the guessing penalty, replacing complex vocabulary words with those used more commonly in the college setting, and making the essay optional. Those who pursue the writing section will have 50 minutes to read and analyze a document and build an argument based on the author’s use of evidence and reasoning. Furthermore, the time will be reduced to three hours and the overall scoring will return to a 1,600-point scale, based on a top score of 800 in reading and math, with a separate score for the essay.
For more information on Tutor Doctor of North Jersey, which is known for having one of the top math tutoring programs in the state as well as tutoring for kids with special needs, please visit www.NorthJerseyTutorDoctor.com.
About Tutor Doctor:
For over 5 years in the local North Jersey area from Glen Rock and Ridgewood, NJ, Tutor Doctor has been dedicated to matching students of all ages, grades and subjects with dedicated, highly experienced tutors. All of their one-on-one tutoring takes place in the privacy of the student’s home. They take the time to match each student to a tutor whose skills and schedule matches his or her needs, and they will customize an academic game plan and set goals for every student’s success. For more information, please visit https://www.northjerseytutordoctor.com/
