What is Cognitive Agency anyway?

My name is Lydia Terry.  Nearly a decade ago, I started tutoring the SAT and ACT at one of the national tutoring companies.

I noticed right away that the students were putting in the work, but they weren't seeing results. They knew the formulas and rules, yet they were still struggling to turn that knowledge into a correct answer.

So, I set out to figure out why.  Why was it that students with high GPAs were not getting high scores? Why could a student get an A in Geometry but not score in the 90th percentile on the test?

Here's the truth. On test day, the student stands alone.

Their parents, tutors, teachers, and counselors can't take the test for them.

The problem with the company I worked for was the same problem that sometimes happens in high school. The student is passed along once the lesson has been taught, not when the information has been received and internalized. It has to be this way in high school; the course must be completed. 

However, tutoring shouldn't just repeat the high school process. It should bring something more.

My background is not in education. I love educators. My mother, grandfather, aunt, and uncle are all math teachers. I named my company "Ampersand Prep" because we work WITH the education system to support your child.

When I say I am not an educator, I am just saying that’s not what I went to college for nor is it what I did professionally until I opened Ampersand Prep. 

I was a real estate appraiser.

Appraisers use academics-geometry, algebra, statistics, grammar, writing, and reading VERY information-dense (and very boring) reports-to solve problems.

Appraisers are also heavily trained to resist bias.  To determine a value, we have to consider the seller and buyer’s point of view, not our own.  Every appraiser can tell you a story about appraising a house in a style they would NEVER buy, yet for some reason it was selling!

Every house was different, which means we couldn’t use the same process every time: we had to be creative. 

Good appraisers have what I call “Cognitive Agency,” which is the ability to use what you know to solve a problem in creative and unbiased ways.

The SAT & ACT test the academics, of course, but love to ask questions that bait bias.  So often students will answer a question with what they think instead of what the protagonist thinks.  They also ask questions in counter intuitive ways. For example, a problem may look like a geometry problem when it's actually an algebra problem, and so student needs to be creative in their problem solving.

When I teach test prep, I teach students how to use what they know in a practical applied way, and  I show them how to recognize and redirect bias.  Of course I teach the academics, but only if they are missing it; I don’t repeat the high school process.

The Cognitive Agency approach works. Our graduates, on average, are earning SAT score increases of 250 and ACT score increases of 7.

These are life trajectory changing score increases!

While we can't guarantee a certain score, we can guarantee continued support. If you choose to enroll your child in the Cognitive Agency Approach program, you will receive continued SAT & ACT support as long as your student is taking the tests.

To learn more about the Cognitive Agency Approach to test prep, click the "Contact Us" button to set up a FREE Student Success Session. Even if you don't end up working with us, we will help you determine which test is right for your child and set up a plan for success.