SAT prep courses at DV, with extra help, really pay off

By Anya Tikka
MILFORD — Delaware Valley High School students are getting lots of help preparing for their SATs, those much-dreaded standarized tests that many colleges use as an important part of their admission criteria.

The tests are offered throughout the country to students in their junior and senior year. Interested students can also take a subject SAT test. They're usually advised to choose their best subjects in order to showcase their skills.

“Kids can sign up for an elective, a 90-day, or full semester course to prepare them for SAT,” said high school Principal Brian Blaum about what the district offers by way of help.

The course is taught as a part of regular curriculum, and splits between 45 days English and 45 days math. They’re both taught by the regular high school teachers.

“We’ve had this for a while, and lots of kids sign up,” Blaum said.

The number is between 100 and 150 each year.

“It absolutely helps them,” he said. “We have students who excel, and we’re very proud of them.”

The school’s SAT results are routinely above national and state averages.

Teachers offer extra help. One way is by offering an SAT question of the day, taken from previous exams, to prepare the kids for the real test.

A perfect 1600 score is achieved when a student scores 800 in both English reading and math. The written part of English is also scored on the same scale, but is often not considered as important.

Drake Eshleman, who recently got a perfect 1600, got praise from Blaum.

“We’ve had quite a few kids who score 800 in English or math, but not recently in both,” he said. “It doesn’t happen often.”

Blaum said Drake didn’t take the SAT course offered by the school because of his very busy schedule.

“He’s very busy with activities in and outside school," Blaum said.

He expanded on the Delaware Valley’s record.

“Going back on our records, every year during the last five years, we’ve had a number of students who score the perfect 800 — and we had another one in 2012 who had 1600," he said.

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