Why fully digital classes?
2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic brought about drastic changes to education during tumultuous and, quite frankly, scary times. Students and parents everywhere suddenly found themselves awash in digital platforms and curriculum that can be challenging to navigate during normal times, let alone during a global pandemic. Unsurprisingly, many students struggled to stay motivated and engaged in class.
This is why we at Vanguard made it our mission to make our classes fun, interesting, robust, and personalized. Vanguard transitioned from hybrid to fully online classes at the start of the pandemic. Taking time to train our team in systems, technology, and online pedagogy has enabled us to maintain the high standards we hold for our students. Our online structure also makes attending class easy when students travel, not to mention our students who join us from Pakistan, India, and other places around the world! This flexibility allows our students to focus on the many academic and extracurricular commitments they have without missing a beat in their test prep.
Don’t students usually do better in in-person classes?
While online learning may not be for every student, our students at Vanguard have excelled in our online curriculum. The proof is in the test scores: on the March 2023 SAT alone, Vanguard students saw an average score increase of 240 points. Furthermore, the score increase is amplified the lower the student’s initial diagnostic score. For example, a student who came to us with a diagnostic score between 1000 and 1100, the average increase was 300 points! What’s more, our team of instructors are trained to be experts on both the SAT & ACT, nurturers of the incredible minds we’re blessed to educate, and leaders who inspire students to outperform all their expectations. Our students frequently say that their classes and office hours are the best part of their days.
How are your classes structured, and what makes Vanguard unique?
At Vanguard, while we pride ourselves on efficiency, we don’t believe in quick fixes or techniques meant to ‘hack the test.’ Instead, we simply teach our students the topic. For all subjects we teach, our curriculum is carried out in four phases.
1.) Subject phase: the students and instructor cover every nook and cranny of subject matter for Grammar, Reading, Math, or Science. Students develop a comprehensive knowledge of the subject and learn to apply what they’ve learned to novel situations.
2.) Application phase: the students now have the opportunity to take the knowledge they’ve acquired in subject phase and apply it to the test. Students complete practice test sections which they then review with the instructor and target weak spots until the student consistently earns perfect/near perfect scores and can correct the questions he/she misses.
3.) Drill Phase: this is designed to keep the students’ skills in their respective classes sharp from the day they complete the application phase until the day they take their test. Vanguard supplies the student with a detailed study plan to follow, and the student meets with the instructor regularly to keep test scores high.
4.) Testing Phase: students have now finished all classes they are taking with Vanguard and complete full length SATs/ACTs to prepare for their big day.
All the while, students enjoy unlimited complimentary office hours that are either in a small group setting or one on one with their instructor. Our small class sizes and frequent 1:1 meetings allow our instructors and students to develop a close connection unlike anywhere else. At Vanguard, we don’t just teach a curriculum; we teach our students because we know our students.
Want to find out more about Vanguard and your road to the SAT/ACT? Learn more about our test prep services here!
Ari McGuirk
Division Supervisor of Test Prep
University of New Mexico, MFA
Pennsylvania State University, BA