Young Scholars Circle sponsors STEAM-Tastic Career Fair
STEAM-Tastic Fair is a FREE event for grades 3 to 8 students and their families. Please attend and get a chance to win $200 off our test prep courses.
STEAM Engagement is Crucial!
Mrs. Krishna Cart, the Founder and Literacy Coach of Young Scholars Circle, will talk about how to nourish your children’s giftedness and the necessity of enriching their creativity and critical thinking skills.
Academies of Loudoun Writing Workshop and the STEM Thinking Skills Test Prep
Mark your calendars for these Academies of Loudoun Freshmen Application Timeline (current 8th grade).
We want to give you a heads-up that there is homework before the first sessions of both AOL Prep classes. The writing workshop homework usually takes a lot of time to accomplish because students must reflect on their extracurricular activities from 6th to 8th grade. See the attached PDF screenshots of the student dashboard.
The New TJHSST Holistic Process
21 Dec 2020 Category:
Academies of Loudoun, Holistic Process, Math Problem Solving Essay, Problem Solving Essay, Science Problem Solving Essay, STEM, STEM Thinking Skills Test, Test Taking Strategies, TJ Math, TJ Science, TJHSST Holistic Admissions, Young Scholars' Approach Critical thinking and writing skills are crucial skills to help our students face the challenges of this world.
Krishna Cart, MA Ed, NBCT
The Fairfax County School Board unanimously approved the new TJHSST Holistic process last December 17, 2020. The Board increased the capacity of admitted students to 550. The highest evaluated students are offered admissions by pathway until the cap is reached.
The universal screening tests like the Quant Q, ACT Reading Aspire and ACT Science Aspire were replaced by Math and Science Problem-Solving Essays to focus more on the thinking process that are applicable to the problems that we face in our society today. Selected students must display problem-solving skills and STEM aptitude by writing a Math or Science problem-solving essay.
The former Student Information Sheet (aka SIS) was replaced by Student Portrait Sheet with additional questions. Selected students must exhibit Portrait of a Graduate attributes and 21st Century skills in a Student Portrait Sheet.
It is crucial to prepare your students ahead of time. Our classes go beyond the test prep and are meant to enhance your students creative and critical thinking skills.
CCTST-N Question Categories for AET & AOS applicants
Congratulations for making it to the semifinal round! All Academies of Loudoun (Academy of Science and Academy of Engineering and Technology) will need to take CCTST-N as one of the requirements in the final round, along with essay writing, usually scheduled on the second Saturday of January of their 8th grade.
Since this is a new entrance test adapted by the Academies of Loudoun, there are no commercially available materials for purchase. What are some skills that your student might need to be considered prepared for CCTST-N?
Here they are in a nutshell, according to the CCTST-N user guide manual:
ANALYSIS: Students must know how to apply analysis to gather information from charts, graphs, diagrams, spoken language, and documents. People with strong analytical skills attend to patterns and to details. They identify the elements of a situation and determine how those elements interact. Strong interpretation skills can support high-quality analysis by providing insights into the significance of what a person is saying or what something means.
INTERPRETATION: This can b applied in contents like Reading, Writing, Science, Logic and Math. We use interpretation to determine the precise meaning and significance of a message or signal, whether it is a gesture, sign, set of data, written or spoken words, diagram, icon, chart, or graph. Correct interpretation depends on understanding the message in its context and in terms of who sent it, and for what purpose. Interpretation includes clarifying what something or someone means, grouping or categorizing information, and determining the significance of a message.
INFERENCE: This is the ability to draw conclusions from reasons and evidence. We use inference when we offer thoughtful suggestions and hypotheses. Inference skills indicate the necessary or the very probable consequences of a given set of facts and conditions. Conclusions, hypotheses, recommendations, or decisions that are based on faulty analyses, misinformation, bad data, or biased evaluations can turn out to be mistaken, even if they have been reached using excellent inference skills.
EVALUATION: Evaluative reasoning skills enable us to assess the credibility of sources of information and the claims they make. Strong explanation skills can support high-quality evaluation by providing the evidence, reasons, methods, criteria, or assumptions behind the claims made and the conclusions reached.
EXPLANATION: This skill is somewhat self-explanatory! Explanatory reasoning skills enable us to describe the evidence, reasons, methods, assumptions, standards, or rationale for those decisions, opinions, beliefs, and conclusions. Strong explanatory skills enable people to discover, to test, and to articulate the reasons for beliefs, events, actions, and decisions.
INDUCTION: We use inductive reasoning skills when we draw inferences about what we think is probably true based on analogies, case studies, prior experience, statistical analyses, simulations, hypotheticals, and patterns recognized in familiar objects, events, experiences, and behaviors. Inductive reasoning can provide a confident basis for solid belief in our conclusions and a reasonable basis for action.
DEDUCTION: Deductive reasoning moves with exacting precision from the assumed truth of a set of beliefs to a conclusion that cannot be false if those beliefs are true. Deductive validity is rigorously logical and clear-cut. Deductive validity leaves no room for uncertainty, unless one alters the meanings of words or the grammar of the language.
NUMERACY: Numeracy refers to the ability to solve quantitative reasoning problems, or to make judgments derived from quantitative reasoning in a variety of contexts. More than being able to compute a solution to a mathematical equation, numeracy includes the understanding of how quantitative information is gathered, manipulated, and represented visually, such as in graphs, charts, tables, and diagrams.
Wanted to try out some sample questions? Visit our CCTST-N Practice Test online. Since your students will take it online, it makes sense to practice them online!
Get a Head Start on the School Year With These Test Prep Classes in Northern VA
As the new school year begins, students have a fresh chance to make a good impression. The steps students take now can help ensure a successful future.
Test prep allows students to learn about the format and types of questions asked on important tests. This helps them understand these tests, and work on areas that require improvement.
Young Scholars Circle offers a variety of test prep classes for elementary, middle school, and high school students. Our classes have been proven to improve test scores and increase the likelihood of success after high school. The following are our top test prep classes.
CogAt Test Prep
The CogAt test is used to determine the eligibility of students for gifted programs. In Fairfax County, scores on this important test are one of the factors used to determine eligibility into the Level 4 Advanced Academic Program (AAP).
Our CogAt Comprehensive includes age and skill appropriate lessons focused on verbal reasoning, quantitative problem solving skills, nonverbal aptitude and critical thinking. During this class, students take three full-length tests. This helps them learn the format and types of questions asked.
Our CogAt Score Booster helps build stamina, reduces carelessness and helps students manage their test taking skills. Once the student has learned all the strategies, this score booster will help them boost self-confidence and reduce test anxiety.
TJHSST Test Prep
TJ Comprehensive is a year-round course designed for 6th & 7th grade students to help them learn ahead of time all the concepts that they will not learn in the regular classrooms. This serves as an enrichment course as well as it trains them to read and write analytically and think critically in science and math classes.
Our TJ Intensive Classes are three separate classes in reading, math & science designed for 8th graders, and taught by licensed teachers specializing in their areas of expertise. Students will learn the format and types of questions asked in the TJ admissions test, and the skills needed to boost their science, math, English, and social studies academic grades. These intensive classes significantly improve the likelihood of success.
If your student is already getting at least 80% in two or three subjects, then the TJ Score Booster is a good fit to practice test taking skills, reduce test anxiety and build stamina.
ACT and SAT Combo Classes
We have SAT and ACT Combo Classes to help prepare for both ACT and SAT tests. Target two birds in one stone!
New SAT Compact Class
Our new SAT Compact Class allows high school students to practice for the SAT test well in advance. This class helps boost test scores, improving the likelihood of college acceptance.
ACT Test Prep Classes
Our ACT test prep classes give high school students the opportunity to learn the format and types of questions asked on this important test. This class is perfect for students that have never taken the ACT, and students that wish to improve their score.
Young Scholars Circle provides students with the information they need to improve test scores and increase their chance of future success. Please contact us for more information about our test prep classes.
