Strategy, tips, and exam guides for the SAT, ACT, and AP® exams — from a Barron's author with 20+ years of experience.
Of the two main college admissions tests, the ACT is the one that still offers a paper option. Here's an honest, tutor's-eye look at how paper and digital differ on annotation, scrolling, Desmos, tech risk, and scoring, plus how to decide which fits you.
The most important AP Business with Personal Finance key terms, organized by the College Board's five units, with clear, scenario-based definitions and a free practice drill for each unit.
For a few years, the message to high school students was that the SAT no longer mattered much. Apply without a score, the thinking went, and you would be judged on your grades, your essays, and who you were beyond…
I tutor for a living, and even I won't tell you every student needs one. Whether your kid actually needs an SAT or ACT tutor usually comes down to a few plain questions. Here's how to work through them, and how to avoid paying for help that doesn't fit the problem.
A useful reading list for the ACT® and SAT® shouldn't be just a stack of classic novels. Both tests pull passages from a wide range: fiction, science, history, social issues, essays, and opinion writing. Students who can move comfortably across…
I got a handful of emails and texts from worried students and parents this week, all with the same problem: the ACT score that was supposed to be in MyACT had just vanished. If that's you, here's the situation. This…
ACT’s My Answer Key materials give students access to a post-test packet for eligible administrations, which means tutors can finally look at recent forms with some specificity. I had a chance to review the April 2026 ACT form, and a…
Test anxiety is more common than students realize, and it can be managed with the right tools. Here are practical techniques you can use during prep and on test day for the SAT, ACT, AP exams, and other high-stakes tests — from breathing strategies to free-response tactics.
Desmos is built into the Digital SAT, but defaulting to it on every problem is one of the biggest time-sinks I see in students prepping for the test. Here are 9 specific problem types where doing the work by hand is faster, plus the rule I drill into every student about when to put the calculator down.
Once you've worked through the foundational Desmos techniques (linear regression, sliders, graphing systems, the percent and fraction shortcuts), you've got the core toolkit most students rely on. (If you haven't yet, start with the free Ten Tips for Desmos on…