Two-Test Dream Score All-Inclusive Package
Parents of high schoolers with learning differences...
Here’s how your child can crush their goals on the ACT or SAT without resorting to the brutal time-crunching strategies most test prep companies recommend.
Does your high schooler have an unopened stack of test prep books on their desk? Did their first ACT or SAT score come back lower than you both expected? Did the small group prep class you signed them up for actually lower their score?
Test prep can be a frustrating and overwhelming experience for students with learning differences. Our brains work differently than most test prep materials and tutors expect.
But high schoolers with learning differences can learn to study for these tests and hit their goal scores, same as anyone else. They can get into their dream schools, and they can learn to study for other standardized tests in just the same way.
Imagine your high school student awaiting their ACT or SAT test scores with excitement instead of anxiety. Imagine them running to show you the envelope instead of leaving it in their backpack for weeks. That’s all possible, with the right approach.
MYTH: Students with learning differences can’t do well on standardized tests.
My daughter had a great experience working with Jonah and her SAT results substantially exceeded our expectations. Jonah was able to teach her very helpful test strategies while substantially reducing her fear of the test. All this was accomplished without requiring excessive repetitive study. I highly recommend Jonah to all of those who want to do well!
It’s common to hear guidance counselors, college admissions consultants, and teachers say that the tests aren’t designed for neurodiverse people. The truth is, they’re right about that. The ACT and SAT disproportionately punish people with processing disorders, attention disorders, autism, traumatic brain injuries, and other learning differences via the structure and setup of the test.
But that doesn’t mean those same students can’t ace the test. Even with the odds stacked against them, they can excel on the test, hit their dream score, and gain admission and even scholarship money to their dream college.
But they usually don’t do it in the same way as their peers.
Having your high schooler sit down to take the test and just “see how it goes” probably didn’t encourage them, right? And the small group test prep offered by most schools doesn’t teach the test in a way that clicks with most neurodiverse learners.
Tutors at almost every test prep company you’ve heard of don’t know what to do with a neurodiverse learning style, and the speed-based strategies they prefer can make test prep stressful and demoralizing. Even a tutor with decades of experience and great results might be stumped if the tactics they’ve grown to rely on don’t work for someone.
About Me: 10+ Years Learning Differences Test Prep Tutor
My name is Jonah Fishel, and I’m a professional test prep tutor who specializes in learning differences.
I have over a decade of experience working with students with ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, autism, traumatic brain injuries, and other learning differences.
So many of my clients are so smart, but they’re smart in ways that it’s hard to show on a test like the ACT or the SAT. And once they get discouraged, they decide the test isn’t for them, and they stop trying.
I’ve taught these kids in every context you can think of, from juvenile detention centers to Manhattan penthouses, and I’ve found that the same approach works everywhere: it’s not about which test I’m tutoring or which tactics we’re learning, but about teaching the student that they’re capable of learning something and that it’s worth their time to do it.
The ACT and the SAT will only adapt to neurodiverse learners in a few limited ways. And the material and the scoring curve won’t change. But the way to learn the test and the way to practice the test can be adapted to everyone.
That’s what I’ve spent the past decade doing: learning to adapt my instruction to every learner’s style so they can learn what they need to ace the test in a way that works for them.
My SAT Results
According to the College Board’s own research, working with a private test prep company or personal tutor shows average score gains of 20-40 points, on average, with more gains coming in the math. This is hard to separate from normal testing noise, which is about 32 points (don’t think about that too hard–it’s more evidence of how poor these tests are at measuring anything useful). By contrast, a student working through the Khan Academy program for 20 hours is associated with an average score increase of 115.
My students see an average gain of 270 points on the SAT after the same number of hours working with me. That’s because I know how the test is written, how each question is designed, and how to exploit that design, and that’s what I teach my students.
I took the past year of SAT programs (23 students) and looked at their scores. I took their final official test score and subtracted the score of either their most recent PSAT (a decent predictor of SAT score for sophomores and juniors) or the first practice test I had them take before we started (if they didn’t have a PSAT). That gave me the score increase for each student. Then I just averaged them.
I recalculate this number every year, so check back next year to see if it’s changed!
There is no equivalent score reporting for the ACT that I could find. The ACT doesn’t publish its data, and there’s no Khan Academy program for the ACT.
That means I can’t do a big dramatic reveal for my average ACT score increases. So here it is, with less fanfare:
+5.4 pts
How Do I Get These Fantastic Results?
The key to test prep success is a study plan that works with your high schooler’s learning style instead of against it.
Most students and parents know that to score high on the ACT and SAT, they’ll need to practice. Probably a LOT.
But so many families don’t realize that just working through a few practice tests won’t cut it.
Students need to study in a way that is suited to their learning style, addresses the exact problems they’re having on the test, and immediately put what they’ve learned into action. It’s doing this consistently, not just repeating practice problems they don’t understand over and over again, that helps them improve.
There's a right way and a wrong way to lift weights
I like to compare test prep to lifting weights. If you want to get stronger, then really the only way to do that is to use your body to lift heavy things. No matter what else you do, you have to lift heavy things and work your muscles to get stronger, and you have to do it consistently to see lasting changes.
It’s the same with test prep. If you want to improve, you have to practice consistently and see steady improvements week over week. But just like doing 1,000 biceps curls every single week for a year won’t really make you stronger in the way you want, just running practice problems or studying in a way that doesn’t work for you won’t improve your test scores the way you want.
You still need to practice consistently. But there’s a right way to practice that works for your brain and your body that will get you consistent improvement if you stick to it.
Why working one-on-one with an expert gets results
That’s why I’ve spent the past decade learning to adapt my instruction and recommendations to each learner individually. I’ll take everything we know:
- their past test scores,
- their learning preferences
- their academic history
- their neurotype
- any assessment or evaluation results
- your insight as a parent
- their own ambitions and self-knowledge
…to create a personal study plan that’s perfectly suited to help them reach their score goals.
In this study plan, I’ll lean on everything I know about your student’s learning preferences and ability to teach them the most effective strategies for their learning style.
Do they struggle with task-switching? How about telling similar words apart? How about time-blindness? All of these situations need a different approach than a traditional test prep company would teach. But my individual approach and experience allows me to teach your child the exact strategies that play to their strengths instead of just avoiding their weaknesses.
The study plan, at its core, is about teaching a high schooler how to prep for a test instead of preparing them for the test.
It’s about teaching them to understand their own learning and what will be most effective for them, so they can study by themselves and get the results they want.
A dedicated student can study hundreds of hours and not see improvement. But a dedicated student with a clear plan that suits them and provides a framework for their prep can see results in a matter of hours.
Two-Test Dream Score All-Inclusive Program
I offer one-on-one test prep tutoring for high schoolers with learning differences preparing for the ACT or SAT. To allow me to meet my clients’ diverse needs, I do not require students to follow a certain curriculum, and I don’t charge hourly.
Instead, I work with each student individually, providing exactly what they need to succeed and working together until it’s done.
I’ll provide one-on-one test prep, the structure and study plan for our program, all the materials, accountability and reminders for the student, all the scheduling, score tracking, additional content instruction (in math, reading, and more): absolutely everything that is needed to help your child reach their dream score.
In this all-inclusive program, everything is taken care of. To my knowledge, there is no other program like it anywhere in the world.
The program includes...
- The most effective test prep strategies for your child’s learning preferences
- My favorite secret techniques for finding shortcuts on difficult questions
- Private and patient instruction on weak content areas that will appear on the test
For most students, I’ll recommend meeting once a week (for 1h45m). However, I may recommend meeting more often (at no additional charge) in order to hit our score goals.
- Access to a sophisticated online testing and tracking platform with all officially published tests and thousands of practice questions
- Additional exercises, video lessons, and instruction that I’ve cultivated over a decade in business, assigned as I see fit to drill exactly what we learned in session
- A paper book of my favorite materials, send directly to your home
- Email/Zoom/phone support for student and family to discuss any concerns, questions, extra practice, materials, etc. 6 days a week
- Text support for homework questions, etc. 7 days a week, so students can reach my on my personal cell phone with questions and concerns
- Full transcripts, audio recording, saved whiteboards, and session summaries for students, parents, and other stakeholders, every single week, to keep everyone in the loop.
- AI-generated summaries and explanations of every single session, hyperlinked to the video recordings so students can review at any time, forever
- Constant analysis of our approach and explanations of why I’m making those changes to get the best possible results
- Weekly update emails to the whole family (and IEC, if you have one) with scores, concerns, notes, and more
- Before each test, I hold a small group class for all my current students and a small group of new students (max 10)
- We cover testing anxiety and timing/pacing strategies to maximize performance on the test that week
- We also create a morning-of plan for the test, pack bags, and set alarms so everything is ready
I’ll also throw in small group content sessions, EF coaching, testing anxiety management sessions, and anything else in my power to deliver to get your student their dream score. And that’s because…
The Dream Score Guarantee
Due to the sophisticated cognitive assessment that I start every program with, and the care and attention I put into each student, I have complete confidence in my test prep program.
For that reason, I guarantee that each student will hit their goal score in just two official test dates.
If they fail to do so, even for reasons out of their control, I offer a full refund of the cost of the program–every cent back.
What’s the catch?
There is a catch: I can’t guarantee any score on the test, just the goal score we agree on together. At the beginning of the program, I’ll administer a one-hour cognitive assessment.
This assessment will tell me which test prep strategies will work best for your child, but it will also predict an ACT/SAT score “ceiling” (that is, how high they could score with reasonable study time of 20-40 hours).
We’ll use that prediction to decide on a goal score together–that is the score I guarantee.
The score ceiling prediction is based on a huge data set and compared to national test results, so I am very confident in its ability to predict the outcome of our program. It’s only because of the accuracy and history of this assessment, in fact, that I’m confident in making this guarantee!
Is Your Student a Good Fit?
Due to the amount of attention and care I provide each student during the course of this program, space is very limited. I only accept 4 students for each test date, and not everyone is a good fit.
Students who are a good fit for this program are:
- Still 8-10 weeks away from their next test date
- Able to meet regularly on a virtual platform
- Have the time in their schedule to dedicate at least 5 hours a week to test prep (that includes instruction time with me)
Things that parents are often concerned about, but aren’t problems:
- Haven’t had all the math on the test (I’ll just teach them)
- Executive function problems or are disorganized (I’ll take care of scheduling and reminders, and if it’s a big problem we’ll do executive functioning coaching at no additional charge)
- Anxious test takers (We’ll work on managing test anxiety together as part of the core program)
If any of this sounds like your student, we might be a good fit. These spots fill up fast, so don’t wait–click the button below to schedule a consultation and learn more about the program.