The purpose of this page is to track results over time. We give thanks to God for the following results of the powerful combination of prayer (asking God for help) and diligent action (working hard and working smart):
July 2020: Student working out of high school wanted to enlist in the Navy. He had taken the ASVAB and scored a 26 on his first attempt. Later practice tests pointed to scoring a 31 and a 35. Student studied the four main subtests (AR, WK, PC, and MK) as well as Mechanical Comprehension (MC) and Auto & Shop Tools (AS) to increase scores for jobs he was interested in pursuing as a career. Made use of the Barron's prep book, khanacademy exercises for math, memorization of specific information. Student scored a 36 and had good MC and AS scores supporting his enlistment into the Navy as an Apprentice (Brock S., QSB, DQR, Muskegon, MI, online)
March 2020: Student working as an apprentice electrician out of high school wanted to enlist in the Air Force. He scored in the mid 30s on practice tests at the recruiter and scored a 46 after a period of preparation for the ASVAB. Focused on the four main subtests (2 math, 2 verbal), plus Auto & Shop, Mechanical Comprehension, Electronics Information, and General Science. The student swore into the Air Force soon after taking the test. (Sebastian S., QSB, DQR, Colorado, in person at Panera and online).
March 2020: Student a couple years out of high school wanted to enlist in the Navy. Her career prospects were not good, working one or two part-time jobs in retail. She previously scored 11 and 17 on the ASVAB. She worked diligently to prepare for the ASVAB, making use of the Barron's and Kaplan prep books as well as khanacademy for math skills conditioning and memorizing key math information and memorizing vocabulary words relevant to military service. She demonstrated her commitment by her willingness to meet at times that were sometimes late in the evening and working through her assignments. She recently scored a 76 on the ASVAB and officially swore into the Navy. Lachlan had a support group of people encouraging her and praying for her. One of the most improved scores I've seen any student make. Knowing the opportunity that enlistment provides for a change in this young person's life now and the change in the arc of their life over many decades is inspiring to me. (Lachlan M., Colorado, online)
October 2020: Student needed to pass the PRAXIS Math and Social Studies subtests for the Elementary Education test to be able to continue in her teaching program. Met with the student twice each week or more, typically at 7 am. Made use of official practice tests from ETS (3 "forms" for each of math and social studies). Identified khanacademy math exercises for conditioning. Walked through the test design document. The student previously scored in the 150s for the math subtest (almost passing) and needed to score 157 to pass the math test. The student scored 175. The student also passed the Social Studies Test. (Mattie T., QSB, DQR) (Colorado, online)
July 2020: Student in Colorado enlists in the Army after taking the ASVAB multiple times. Worked with the student for about 18 months, focusing on Math, Reading Comprehension, and Vocabulary development. The student had a reading disorder related to visual tracking that was diagnosed during this period and helped the student overcome a lifetime of challenge in reading. I thought this might be my first ASVAB student to not score high enough to enlist, after a significant investment in test preparation, but prayer and action are a powerful combination. :) (Edwin T., QSB, DQR) (Colorado, in person)
October 2019: Teacher in DC needs to pass all three Elementary Education Praxis tests to continue being a teacher in the DC schools. After weeks of prep, the student scored 142 (needing 150 to continue teaching in DC). The student, however, did not sleep well before the test and did not eat much. We discussed the importance of taking the steps needed to perform at her best (getting a good nights sleep, eating a solid meal, asking God for help) and she did those on the second test, along with additional prep, to earn a 170. She now moves on to preparing for the other two Praxis tests she needs to pass in the next couple months, Reading and Writing. The student used a combination of the one available ETS practice test and variations of problems on that test, and the khanacademy.org Praxis Core Subjects online resources to prepare for the test. (Sasha B.) (Online: Maryland)
September 2019: Student teacher in New Jersey passed the Elementary Education Math Praxis test (5733). After taking the test multiple times and being under threat of not being able to continue in his teaching program, he needed a 150 to teach in New Jersey. After studying for a few weeks he scored a 142. After studying another few weeks he scored in the 170s. We made use of the only available ETS practice test and the new khanacademy.org Praxis Core Subjects course with its two complete practice tests and exercises to prepare for the test. The student worked through and we reviewed each of the three practice tests multiple times. We also worked on mental math techniques to increase the student's speed (Steven D, QSB, DQR) (Online: New Jersey)
August 2019: Student "Alpha qualified" to be a "Nuc" in the Navy. In addition to preparing for the four main subtests (2 math, 2 verbal), also prepared for Mechanical Comprehension, General Science, and Electronics Information. (Spencer F, QSB, DQR) (Online: Virginia)
August 2019: Student raised his ASVAB score from 24 to 51, enabling him to enlist in the Navy. (Anthony W) (Online: Alabama)
August 2019: Student increased his ASVAB score from 23 to 43, enabling him to enlist in the Navy. (Zach T., QSB, DQR) (Online: New Jersey)
June 2019: Student scored a 57 first time taking the ASVAB test. His Mom prayed for him for two days. (B. Scarborough QSB, DQR, Master & Commander DVD)(Online: Kentucky and South Carolina)
April 2019: Student scored a 52 on the ASVAB after scoring a 13 initially, enabling the student to enlist in the Marines (or possibly another branch of service, as the student is interested in serving as an EMT or Firefighter, the Navy may be a better option, we'll see). The student made use of the Passkey book and khan exercises over a period of seven months. The student is unusual in that he's highly disciplined: he regularly runs more than 10 miles to get to work in Los Angeles and invested a significant amount of time in his studies. The student met with me weekly at 5:30 am his local time which also demonstrates his level of internal motivation (G. Suarez QSB, DQR). (Online: California)
March 2019: Student scored a 36 on the ASVAB after a previous score of 17, enabling the student to enlist in either the Army or Marines. Student prepared for a period of six months, scored a 17, then took time to work in the mountains of Colorado for a few months. The student came back from the mountains, prepared for two weeks, and scored a 36. The difference is probably mostly due to the student taking the steps to perform at his best and manage test anxiety on test day (sleep, eat a solid breakfast, pray: ask God for help), rather than any significant increase in math or English capability (Reed L. QSB, DQR). (In person: Colorado)
February 2019: Student scored a 36 on the ACT. My involvement was minimal, meeting with the student a couple times to discuss strategy for each of the subtests, techniques for finding the correct responses, and question types to look for. I'm sure the student's Mom, a woman of deep faith, was praying for the student. The student made use of the publicly released ACT practice tests as well as the practice tests in the Official Guide (red book).
7 December 2018: Completed the first Habitat for Humanity construction day with a student, an experiment in combining service to others in unexpected but humble ways (feet washing) with learning and development. The group of volunteers completed framing the second floor of a four-bedroom house for a family in the Denver area.
November 2018: CO resident going to grad school at UNC Chapel Hill had to take a challenging Berkeley online Calculus course over the summer and early Fall in order to enter grad school. Worked with the student to develop her understanding of Calculus as well as understand some of the unusual problems that come with the course. Like most college math classes, we made heavy use of previous tests from the course and various online resources (wolframalpha.com for confirming solutions, symbolab.com for seeing the steps, desmos.com for visualizing, etc.). Asked God for help (Libba R., QSB, DQR).
October 2018: Student in CO turned around an "F" in Algebra II in the classroom to an "A" by retaking the course over the summer using BYU Online's self-paced course. Met with the student daily in the summer and three times per week at the start of the school year to complete the course in a short period with excellent results (Drew B., QSB and DQR).
October 2018: Student in PA scored 78 on the ASVAB after a period of intense study. I worked with the student on preparing for the Word Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension, and Mechanical Comprehension subtests (another tutor worked with the student on the two math subtests). Met with the student twice each week for a period of weeks (Anthony K, QSB and DQR).
October 2018: Student in DC area increased her ASVAB score to 40, enabling her to enlist in the Navy. Student demonstrated perseverance, working for about a year to bring up her score. She didn't pass on the first attempt, but didn't give up (Cat H., QSB, 5 Big Ideas book).
September 2018: Student passed the PRAXIS Core Math test with a 160 (up from 134, needing a 150) enabling the student to teach in New Jersey. (Linda G., DQR)
Some time between June 2017 and September 2018: Student passed the ASVAB, enlisting in the Marines. Made use of khanacademy for math practice exercises and videos (Hector B., QSB).
[gap in tracking results]
October 2017: Student passed the Math and Science subtests of the Elementary Education PRAXIS test. She passed the Reading & Language Arts and Social Studies subtests in September. The student had previously taken the PRAXIS test twice with no success.
October 2017: High School Senior increased his ASVAB practice test score from 30 to 63, enabling him to enlist in the Navy. He will continue to study for the test to reach his goal of a specific position within the Navy, but a Navy career is now possible.
September 2017: Denver Public Schools High School Science teacher passed the Science PRAXIS test.
September 2017: Increased High School Junior's SAT score from 1050 to 1240.
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