Announcement about 2020 summer SAT/ACT workshop

Dear Parents and Students of 2020 Summer SAT/ACT Workshop at JAC,

Many of you might have noticed the news released yesterday by UC about suspending SAT and ACT testing admission requirement until 2024. If you are not aware of this news, you may see it here.

I would like to make two announcements here about my teaching plan for JAC’s 2020 summer SAT/ACT workshop:

1. The workshop at JAC will proceed as planned without any change, according to the schedule laid out here.

2. If you have paid for the fee for this summer program, but have decided to withdraw from the program, please let me know for me to refund the fee to you.

But before you make any decisions about taking/cancelling the SAT/ACT workshop, please be reminded of another sentence in yesterday’s news, “…UC will continue to keep standardized testing optional through 2022. Applicants in 2023 and 2024 will still have the option to submit their test scores but it will only be considered for purposes such as course placement, certain scholarships and eligibility for the statewide admissions guarantee.”

While the wisdom of removing a standardized test from college admission requirement remains to be debated,  nothing will change the unchanging fact that all aspiring college students need to master the skills of reading, writing, and advanced math concepts. One thing we know for sure: In a world teeming with uncertainties, perplexities, and ambiguities, it has become even more crucial for students to think in order to understand and cope with a rapidly changing world with a rational and critical mind.

Let me also share with you my teaching philosophy about this SAT/ACT workshop. It has been a tradition in my SAT/ACT workshop that I do not teach test-taking skills, quick fixes, or anything tricks unrelated to the enlightenment of my students’ intellect, as you can read from my yearly program description, which is cited here for your information:

B. JAC’s Teaching Philosophy and the expected Students’ Learning Attitude

The SAT/ACT workshop at JAC has traditionally been taught with the philosophy that thinking and understanding precede test-taking skills, and that complete grasp of the concepts behind all test questions is key to high test scores. Other lesser tactics such as quick-fixes, short-cuts, or last-minute crash-course-type approaches, though helpful to some extent for some people, are not the main stress of this workshop. The course contents and study materials are laboriously developed by Dr. Jeng, who believes that knowledge is acquired not by learning the strategies for dealing with the tests, but by cultivating in learners the habit of focus and concentration and thorough understanding of the topics under study.

This workshop therefore emphasizes teaching all relevant concepts in English and Math to help participants develop a clear mental picture when they face the real test. Accompanied with numerous practices, all acquired concepts will turn into practical skills.

That said, please reply to me and let me know of your decision about the 2020 Summer SAT/ACT Workshop to be starting at Jeng Academic Center on June 15, 2020.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jeng