Families play a crucial supportive role as their students navigate their academic journey towards college. However, with the evolving landscape of standardized exams like the ACT and SAT, families often find themselves overwhelmed and unsure of how to best support their children. As school leaders, it’s essential to bridge this knowledge gap and empower families with the tools and information they need to actively participate in the college preparation process.
Informational Sessions
Host informational sessions for both students and families, starting as early as the elementary grades. Utilize events like Back to School Night to introduce your school’s initiative for enhancing ACT or SAT instruction and scores. These sessions should articulate the goals and purpose of the initiative, outline actionable steps for student and family involvement, and provide avenues for ongoing communication and updates. By offering a clear vision and empowering families with knowledge, they become partners in the journey towards academic success.
Ongoing Communication
Families need to know their students’ numbers as much as students do. Maintain momentum by providing regular updates to families throughout the school year. Ensure that families are informed about their student’s academic progress, including practice test results and performance benchmarks. Share comparative data at the school or cohort level, as well as national averages, to provide context for student performance. Incorporate practice test results into existing communication channels such as progress reports, family-teacher conferences, or mail merges.
Empowering with Tools and Resources
Empower families with tools and resources to support their students at home. Provide recommendations for outside resources, study materials, and best practices for test preparation. By equipping families with actionable strategies, they can play a more active role in their student’s academic success.
Integration into End-of-Year Reporting
Include data on student exam performance and progress in end-of-year report cards. Highlight improvements made throughout the year and provide updates on the overall initiative’s progress. By integrating this information into existing reporting structures, families receive comprehensive insights into their student’s academic journey. In addition, it’s recommended to include practice test results in the existing progress report or family/teacher conference structure via mail merges.
Celebratory Events
Host celebratory events, such as a breakfast or recognition ceremony, to honor students and families for their efforts and achievements. Recognize students who have shown significant improvement in their exam scores from the beginning to the end of the year. By acknowledging and celebrating their hard work, families feel valued and motivated to continue supporting their student’s academic growth.
By implementing these strategies, school leaders can foster a collaborative partnership with families, ensuring that they are actively engaged and empowered to support their student’s academic success on the journey towards college.
Reflection Questions for School Leaders:
- What current communication channels and strategies can I leverage to better inform and empower families about ACT/SAT preparation, and how can I ensure that these efforts are consistent and ongoing throughout the academic year?
- How can I ensure that the information and resources provided to families are accessible, understandable, and actionable, taking into account the diverse needs and backgrounds of our student population?
- What metrics and benchmarks will I use to measure the effectiveness of our family engagement and ACT/SAT preparation efforts, and how will I use this data to make informed decisions and adjustments to our strategies over time?
Moments to Connect with Families about ACT/SAT Throughout the Academic Year
| Month | Item/Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| August | New Student Orientation | Family facing event to share school’s initiatives and goals for the coming year. |
| September | Beginning of Year Practice Test Score Update | Written communication shared with families about the purpose of practice exams and how to interpret and respond to their students’ scores. |
| October | Back to School Night | Family facing event to reiterate goals and provide a status update since the start of the year (i.e. practice exam results and actions taken). |
| November | Progress Reports | Written communication shared with families about how their student is performing across academic metrics such as grades, GPA, and exam scores. |
| December | Suggestions for Winter Break | Written communication shared with families on actions they can take during winter break or in the coming months to improve their students’ test scores. |
| January | Middle of Year Practice Test Score Update | Written communication shared with families on how to interpret and respond to their students’ scores from the year and offering insights into school-wide performance since the beginning of the year. |
| February | Steps to Prepare for March ACT/SAT | Written communication shared with families including best practices for supporting students as they approach their first full length exam administration in the spring. |
| March | Suggestions for Spring Break | Written communication shared with families on actions they can take during spring break or in the coming months to improve their students’ test scores. |
| April | Progress Reports | Written communication shared with families about how their student is performing across academic metrics such as grades, GPA, and exam scores. |
| May | End of Year Practice Test Score Update | Written communication shared with families on how to interpret and respond to their students’ scores from the year and offering insights into school-wide performance since the beginning of the year. |
| June | End of Year Celebration | Family facing event celebrating student growth and excellence related to ACT/SAT exams. |
Building a positive school-wide culture around ACT and SAT assessments is challenging and essential. This blog is part of a series, “10 Strategies for Building a Culture of ACT and SAT Success,” where we’ve outlined strategies to help school leaders. If you have questions or need support as you build a school-wide culture, please reach out to Thomas O’Brien at thomas@winwardacademy.com.
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About Winward Academy – Winward Academy is one of the world’s leading innovators in the online education space, providing web-based academic support that enhances students’ knowledge, confidence, and competitiveness in middle and high school academics and in college applications. We help thousands of students every year by providing personalized, comprehensive ACT and SAT test preparation and extensive math curriculum support. The Winward Academy learning platform honors over 40 years of education and cognitive psychology research, incorporating proven techniques that promote effective learning.
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