Walk in prepared.
Then crush it.
“STEM education is the leveler for all to be successful in the future needs of humanity.”
– Ian R. McAndrew, Ph.D
Photo from https://des.com/portfolio/academies-of-loudoun/
LTP proudly offers its AOS/AET Program, which we have taught for over eight consecutive years. Students planning to apply to AOS/AET will learn how to navigate the STEM Thinking Skills Test and Writing Assessment with age-appropriate verbal, math, and logic instruction that is specifically tailored to these admissions tests. In addition, students will learn important essay writing techniques that will both prepare them for the assessment and future essays.
We continually refine our course strategy with the goal of helping each student reach the second round of the AOS/AET admissions process. Our techniques, which include practice tests to mimic the real test-taking environment, have proven highly successful for nearly all of our students.
Course structure
The class is split into two sessions per week, one focusing primarily on the STEM Thinking Skills Assessment while the other focuses on developing necessary writing skills to be successful in the writing assessment. Class size is limited to eight students.
STEM Thinking Skills Assessment
The Academies of Loudoun suite of entrance assessments requires that students take a version of the STEM Thinking Skills Assessment, created by Insight Assessment. Scored from 250-300, this assessment measures five key indicators of success in a STEM-focused school environment: overall critical reasoning ability, out-of-the-box algebra skills, spatial relational thinking, tech logic, and scientific thinking.
During the course, students will learn how these categories will be measured and what types of questions are likely to be asked of them, as well as strategies to tackle specific questions that are guaranteed to come up on their assessment. Students will have ample opportunity to sharpen their skills via in-class questions, guided notes, and peer-to-peer collaboration. There will also be homework given weekly for which collaboration is also allowed. The course will additionally feature exclusive Thinking Skills Assessments crafted by experts to closely mimic the test they will take in the fall, complete with their computed score to track their progress.
Writing Assessment
The goal of the writing assignment is to evaluate the student’s ability to convey in an organized and comprehensible fashion their logical analysis of topics related to math, science, and current social or environmental events. Throughout the course, they will be guided through the fundamentals of grammar and writing skills that will help them progress to the content of their essays to fulfill each prompt. They will be taught to critically analyze and respond to prompts in which they must collect, defend, organize, and present hypothetical scenarios in accordance with real and recent prompts given in the Academies of Loudoun entrance exams. These essays will eventually be graded according to mechanics and content rubrics also derived from the Academies literature, along with unique feedback from our instructors on every practice essay, equipping our students with accurate expectations and preparing them for success.
