Great Summer Reading and Inspiration

Debbie Stier is a Mom who compares the SAT to a marathon as it is essential to endurance train to properly prepare for the exam. Stier took the SAT 7 times in 2011 in search of the perfect score to inspire her high school son.   This book is as much about bonding with your teen as it is about improving SAT scores.  She makes a compelling debate with "Should SAT prep teach foundational skills or test-taking strategies?  I say SAT prep can cover both.   Stier swears by the authentic College Board Official SAT Study Guide aka the "blue book" (free answer explanations here) and her blog post 5 Easy Tips for the SAT includes great advice about testing location and the importance of desk size.  

Her positive attitude is infectious in this Today show interview where she calls the SAT "fun"! I agree -- I retook the SAT in 2009 and will take the new SAT in 2016!

Debbie Stier Interview on Bloomberg TV 

A Conversation with Debbie Stier and her son Ethan about bonding with your teen

Debbie Stier on Twitter   The Perfect Score Project Blog 

Perfect Score Blog Posts on the Blue Book       

Todaysmeet, a micromessaging tool for idea sharing, was available for attendees to post comments at a recent Math policy conference on Long Island called "Optimizing the Common Core in Mathematics Where Are We Now? Where Do We Need To Go?".  A sample of the ideas I shared:  

"There are pockets of excellence everywhere incl NYC"

"variety of instr strategies: hands on, lecture, exit slip, independent work, group work, etc esp for double periods to keep s's engaged" 

"seeing content is an equity issue so that s's have educational and career opps"

Here is a link to the entire conversation about Common Core Math and student achievement.  Check out this New York middle school teacher on Get Excited About Assessments.