Borland Educational

Background

History of the SAT and ACT
Interesting historical timeline charting development and evolution of the SAT and ACT from late 19th century to the modern era. Wikipedia articles here and here flesh out the topic further.

Scoring

Compass: Comparing SAT and ACT Scores
Compass Education Group's excellent comparison tool for equating PSAT, SAT, and ACT scores. The go-to concordance option relating all three tests. Download PDF here.

SAT/ACT Concordanc at act.org
This conversion tool takes a score from one test as an input and outputs an equivalent score on the other.

New SAT and ACT Score Ranges for Popular Schools
"What's a good score?" It depends on the particular school you're shooting for. Find estimated 25th-75th percentile SAT and ACT score ranges for 360 popular colleges and universities.

Blogs

The Critical Reader
Erica Meltzer's outstanding SAT/ACT prep site. Great advice and free study guides to help students tackle reading and writing sections of each test.

PrepScholar SAT/ACT Blog
Good source of basic, generic advice on a wide variety of topics pertaining to SAT and ACT prep, college admission, and more.

Other

Calculator Policies: SAT and ACT
SAT and ACT policies regulate the types and models of hand-held calculators allowed for use on mathematics sections of these tests. Up-to-date, official information.

Erica Melter
Summary of super tutor Erica Meltzer's approach to reading comprehension. Excellent general strategies for tackling reading tests of all kinds. Meltzer's reading and writing test prep site here.

Swell Education Group: Practice Tests
Naomi Zell’s Swell Education hosts proctored, "dress rehearsal" practice tests with detailed score reports for students taking the SAT or ACT.

Compass
Best corporate outfit. Excellent one-stop-shop for standardized test prep, also offering proctored practice testing, Tutor quality will vary, as is the case with any large company (luck of the draw).

Reviews

“Standardized tests are a necessary step in applying to colleges, and, with his support, I was able to achieve the scores I needed to be competitive. I am currently finishing a degree in physics at the University of Chicago and am immensely grateful for his help four years ago. His test taking strategies have also been very useful on the GRE while applying to graduate school physics programs. Thank you again, Chris!”

Ben F. (Student: 2013)

"[Chris’s] methods are extremely effective and he is one of the kindest, most supportive men I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

"Working with him has been one of my best academic experiences and I congratulate Chris on his hard work and dedication to the success of his pupils."

Harrison M. (Student: 2017)

“His competence, compassion and ethics as a tutor are exemplary.

"Chris is a wonderfully friendly, sincere and caring human being. His personality is delightful, making the sessions enjoyable.”

Judy S. (Client: 2006)

"The students benefited from [Chris's] assistance, and we found him very personable, helpful and eager to learn new teaching techniques and philosophies.

I feel he would be an excellent addition to any tutoring staff."

Linda N. (Employer: 1980)

"I enjoyed working with Chris because he could explain things I did not understand and make them clear to me. Chris was very patient when it took me a while to understand things."

Martha S. (Student: 1993)

“Chris is a phenomenal math, PSAT, and SAT tutor. I studied with him for over three years and am so grateful for all of his invaluable knowledge and the confidence that he instilled in me as a math student.

"Now, years later, the same standardized test-taking skills that he taught me for the PSAT and SAT are helping me immensely in my LSAT prep.

"Chris is patient and efficient in his teaching. I would highly recommend him to everyone!”

Gary C. (Client: 2016)

"Chris Borland tutored my son and did an excellent job. He obviously is a very well qualified teacher and I recommend him without reservation."

David C. (Client: 1980)

Chris is also incredibly supportive, and recognizes when confidence is lagging. He holds his students accountable by giving them specific work and challenges and also rewards their gains, and is able to pivot his teaching style if a certain way of explaining things isn't working.

"I highly recommend Chris to any student who is studying for a standardized test ..."

A.S.M. (Client: 2021)

Most importantly, you taught Joey to understand that hard work does reap its own rewards. Joey did well enough in school and on the SATs to gain acceptance to a number of UC Schools, of which he chose UC Davis to attend. Thanks Chris for you effort and diligent tutoring of Joey the last three years, we really appreciate all that you did for him.

Larry L. (Client: 2005)

"Chris tutored my son for the SSAT test and … it was worth every penny. My son responded very well to him and developed learning strategies that [he's] using to this day."

Michal V. (Client: 2014)

"[Chris] has a keen sense of the orderly nature of learning, and did a particularly good job of helping students with the organizational work needed to excel at math ... one of the best young teachers I've seen."

Bruce S. (Administrator: 1985)

"[Chris] is patient, understanding, enthusiastic and always guides Andrew in the learning process with a very positive attitude. If Andrew gets distracted, Chris is able to guide him back to the subject at hand by being assertive, yet respectful. His focus on Andrew's progress has resulted in a very noticeable improvement in Andrew's skill level in Algebra, his attention to detail, his neatness, and his self-esteem..."

Karen C. (Client: 1999)

"Chris Borland has provided test prep tutoring for two of our three children, one for the SSAT and then the ACT, and the other for the SSAT. They both dramatically improved their scores as a result of his tutoring and were accepted to their first-choice schools.

Jennifer C. (Client: 2020)

"Fantastic tutor. We set a goal for my SAT score, and with Chris's help I got there. Has years of experience and knows the test inside and out. Cannot recommend more highly."

Jack R. (Client: 2014)

Chris is patient, knowledgeable and was helpful in identifying my weaknesses and addressing them. My work with Chris on test prep also helped me in the classroom resulting in improved grades both my junior and senior years. He is easy to work with and never made me feel stupid. I highly recommend Chris Borland for test prep and math tutoring.”

T J (student: 2018)

"Chris Borland tutored my l4 year old twins for several weeks before they took the SSAT test for entrance into private schools. He has a very good rapport with kids and makes the sessions fun and interesting.

Chris's strategies about standardized test taking proved to be excellent. Both boys improved their scores significantly and openly attributed their success to their work with Chris..."

Anne C. (Client: 2003)

“Worth every penny!

"As the high school application process in SF is already stressful and time consuming, I was looking for an efficient strategy for my B/G twins to prepare for the SSAT. Chris has deep experience with test prep and presented a very clear, efficient, and effective strategy for the twins to follow. His approach resulted in a huge increase in test results.

"We would highly recommend him to anyone for standardized test prep!”

Irene L. (client: 2018)

Knowledge is Power