There are two ways to approach SSAT/ISEE test preparation: the Long Term Plan and the Panic Program. Let me explain.
The Long Term Plan
Our two daughters grew up in a family environment which valued reading in particular, and academic pursuits in general. A story which we constantly retell is one about our eldest daughter, Heather, who at age three complained to her nursery school teacher that the other children were being 'obstreperous'. The teacher asked her what she meant, and she replied that they were being unruly. Heather and her sister, Rebecca, learned to love reading and English from a tender age, almost entirely due to their mother's careful nurturing, I must add. Not mine! But that's another story...
The Panic Program!
When we moved to the Bahamas in the early 1990's, we took on two Bahamian boys as our wards. Leroy and Angelo were very smart, even gifted children. But nobody read to them when they were young. Intellectual stimulation was practically non-existent. Compound this difficulty with the pervasive use of dialect, and you have the recipe for standardized test-taking disaster.
Strategy # 1 or the Long Term Plan is really simple: make sure that your child has had lots of practice over an entire life span. Inculcate a love of the language from the earliest years. Read to your children. Have them read to you. Constantly build a solid vocabulary and encourage good speech patterns.
Strategy #2 or the Panic Program is also straightforward: buy your child a good SSAT/ISEE practice book, like the Barron's How To Prepare for the SSAT/ISEE by Max Peters and Jerome Shostak. This is one of the practical study aids in the Barron's Educational Series. Now turn to page 11 in the book and you will see what I mean. This is methodical and very practical. Frankly, that's what we did to prepare students in the Bahamas for SAT's: we gave them lots of practice! Then, when they came to sit the examination, they understood synonyms, analogies and how the exam writer's mind works. Even though they had never come face to face with an exam like it before. Ditto for the math section.
Finally, employ the services of a good tutor early on so that your child has plenty of guided practice. Tutors know the tricks and quirks of the SSAT/ISEE. They are well worth the investment of time and money.
