In the classic movie Bull Durham, Kevin Costner walks along dark street at night and stops underneath a streetlight. A gift wrap tube is sticking out of the nearby garbage can. Costner picks up the tube and practices his swing while finding his reflection in a window. This scene brilliantly captures what every master-of-their-craft knows – the skills for success must be practiced regularly and remain on the proverbial front burner, at all times.
At ETP, our online test prep programs have been tested in local classrooms over the past four years. We’ve authored test prep courses that run after school, during summer session, and for some classrooms, on a daily basis. The classes that practice daily simply practice one question, each morning. We were delighted and surprised when we began to observe that students who practiced just one question each day had the most significant increase in their scores, seemingly out performing those students who crammed their practice after school or on weekends. This lead us to create a daily video lesson for our Expert Level SSAT and ISEE prep students. These videos offer just one lesson, per morning, and model the exact thinking and strategies we teach in order to most effectively approach test questions. They’re designed to reinforce our online course by keeping each student’s newly acquired skills on the front burner. Please visit our YouTube channel to see a sample lesson.
“If I miss one day’s practice, I notice it. If I miss two days’ practice, the critics notice it. If I miss three days’ practice, the public notices it.” This famous quote, attributed to Franz Liszt, is popular with anyone who practices, from pianists to ballet dancers, baseball players to test takers. By keeping your test skills on the front burner, you’ll be poised to score your best on test day.
