The SATs are slowly approaching and it is almost time to take the test! Students often don’t know how to become properly prepared or they don’t know exactly where to start. State-mandated tests are very stressful for students, which is and that’s why it’s important to get proper help to ace those tests. An amazing resource for students at CHS is our SAT prep club which is led by math teacher Mr. Patrick Ward.

Mr. Ward’s SAT prep club meets every Wednesday from 3-3:30 pm and is in his room, A538. The main focus of this club is to practice the best test strategies for students to get the highest passing scores possible for these state-mandated tests. Students will get a new topic every meeting and will not only learn how to “attack” the problem but learn time management as well. Typically, the topic of the day is whatever students need help with, whether that be math, language, or science. In the math portion of the SAT, students typically have 30 to 45 seconds for each math problem. Hence, Ward teaches students how it is important to also learn how to do the problem but also learn how to get your “guessing strategies” down so students can understand how to use their time wisely. 

Additionally, Ward provides sample test packets for the students to go through and also provides a list of strategies for specific questions or topics on the test. For example, in the language arts portion, students should focus more on how to interpret a passage and know what the question is asking for rather than wasting their time trying to read the entire passage. 

Not only can this club prepare for these tests but they also can really benefit students later in life, especially in college. 

“This is really about getting into a social group that actually studies and later on when these kids go off to college one of the most important skills they can learn is to get a study group together. It’s establishing that it’s okay to talk about math, it’s okay to talk about English and study that,” says Ward. 

This club has so many benefits and helps students tackle these difficult tests and collaborate with other students to get more help. Students get to also use these studying strategies later in life, not just for high school. If you are interested in joining or have any questions, please email Mr. Ward at [email protected].