SAT Tutoring and ACT Tutoring with Mr. Eisenberg
I'm Jeffrey Eisenberg. I tutor students in Long Island to help them succeed on the SAT and ACT. I've been doing so for over 25 years. In addition, I teach Social Studies at East Meadow High School, and have been doing so for the same length of time.
I work with students to:
Students who embrace my techniques and practice them as assigned typically improve their scores significantly. I look forward to discussing with you how we can work together towards this goal.
I also tutor students in preparation for both the Global History and United States History Regents examinations, as well as the Advanced Placement exams for United States History and U.S. Government and Politics. Again, students who do the assigned work achieve a high rate of success.
Please Note: Professional ethics and district policy prevent me from tutoring any of my current classroom students. I hope that the reasons for this are appreciated and understood.
If you are interested in having me tutor you to increase your standardized test scores, or to help you to understand your Social Studies work, please do contact me. (See info below) We will establish a mutually convenient schedule. Thanks for visiting!
Contact info
Phone: (516) 660-0168
E-Mail: tutor@longislandtestprep.com
Skype: jeffeisey
Helpful Links
The Exams
SAT vs. ACT Test Wars: First August Test Has Students Scrambling The wording of the headline in this August 6, 2017 Newsday article is as clear a demonstration of the unhelpful hype and undue pressure associated with these exams. Scrambling? Don't scramble. Prepare calmly for the exams.
The article also discusses the number of students taking the exam in other states. Unless your schedule and/or circumstance demands it, I recommend that you wait for a test date that involves a minimum of travel and stress. Beyond the hype is some useful information about the nature of these exams, and the fact that they in fact are businesses in competition with one another. Also, the article includes criticisms of the exams from the anti-testing organization FairTest.
In the end, take whichever exam(s) suits you and your admission situation. The competition between the companies shouldn't deter you from making the decision that is best for you.
The College Board This page on the massive College Board site is the starting point for those interested in taking the SAT's. It provides tools for registering for the exam online, viewing your score report electronically, and basic information such as test dates, deadlines, and information on how to contact the CB directly.
The ACT Exam This exam, once dominant in only the areas of the nation between the Rockies and the Mississippi River, has become increasingly popular on the east coast. For many students, this exam is fairer, and as a result, an easier exam on which to acheive a high score. This site includes the same kind of information as is found on the College Board site, but of course, as it relates to the ACT.
ACT-SAT Concordance This document was developed as a joint effort of the College Board and ACT. It provides a rough equivalency between the scores on the two exams that is used by many colleges. Accordingly, it provides a useful guideline for those of us on the other side of the admissions process.
College Admissions And Financing
How To Conquer The College Essay Students sometimes ask me for help with the admissions essay. This August 2, 2017 piece in the Times spells out some of the fundamentals.
Students Will Soon Be Able To File Earlier For Financial Aid This CNBC article outlines the Obama-era streamlining of the FAFSA process, including the ability to electronically import information from the IRS, and the ability to use the "prior-prior" year's tax information.
College Is Trade School For The Elite This August 7, 2017 Wall Street Journal piece bemoans the idea that college has become "vocationalized," aruging for a greater balance between preparing for a specific career, and achieving independent thought and obtaining a broad-based foundation of knowledge and understanding. Food for thought.
ACT Trig Help
For the most part, the SAT and ACT exams cover familiar ground. However, there are four (ONLY four) Trigonometry questions on the ACT exam. For those students who are nervous about this, the two following links should prove helpful:
Math Warehouse: Sin, Cosine, and Tangent Part of a larger site, Math Warehouse, this page in particular reviews the fundamentals of these basic trig concepts. Don't sweat it---as much as this page may seem to skim the surface, it goes furhter in depth than is even necessary for the purposes of the ACT. Remember that most ACT SOHCAHTOA problems involve simple substitution. Master the concepts here, and you'll be fine!
Mathwords: Logarithm Rules Again, this page is one small part of a larger site (Mathwords.com) designed to help students review Math concepts. This page covers the basic rules associated with logs, and goes as far as you'll need to for the purposes of the ACT's. Just bear in mind that a log is simply another way of expressing an exponent.
Essay Scoring Rubrics
The "New" SAT
The changes that took place in March of 2016 were made to make the SAT more like the ACT, to which the College Board had been losing many customers. There is far more overlap that exists between the two. This means that preparation for one will go further in helping with the other, though there are still many points of divergence that require attention to the particulars of each exam.
Redesigned SAT This page from the College Board site gives the outline of the changes, with links to more specific information. This is an excellent starting point for finding information and sample questions.
SAT Cosmetic Surgery Ignores Test's Basic FlawsThis statement issued by FairTest details some of the ongoing problems with the exam that we can expect with the restructuring of the exam. Just as one might expect the College Board's site (see above links) to be skewed towards what they claim to be the positive aspects of the new exam, FairTest's analysis comes from their cynical view of standardized testing as a whole. On the matter of the SAT's, I would argue that FairTest is closer to the mark.
9 Things Changing On The New SAT Want just a quick summary of the changes for now? This Time article has it.
Exam Fairness?
Frontline: Secrets of the SAT This site, developed from the in-depth and fascinating on-air study of the SAT's undertaken by PBS, provides many different views regarding the nature of the exam, and the many issues surrounding college admissions.
Private Schools Are Expected To Drop Dreaded Entrance Test This September 19, 2013 article from the New York Times gives hope that sanity may be restored to the admissions process for New York City private schools.
Let's Not Forget About Academics
New York State Education Department The official site for the state includes a vast wealth of information, including district report cards.
New York State Global History and Geography Exams
New York State U.S. History and Government Exams
SAT and ACT Exam Dates
Downloadable version that you can use to include these dates in your own calendar.
You can also view the dates in Google Calendar using the live view below. To view more dates in "agenda" view, simply click "look for more." To view details about the test date, including registration deadlines and the date that scores will be available on the web, simply click on the text "SAT" or "ACT" for whichever date you desire.