Plan, Prepare & Perform: A Powerful Guide to Test Prep
Plan, Prepare, & Perform: A Strategic Approach to Test Prep Fueled by Expert Tutor Insights and Scientific Research on How We Learn is a powerful exploration of how to adopt the right mindset, develop a customized study plan, build confidence, and get the most out of every second you invest in studying.
The chapters in the book will help you:
- Understand what standardized tests are and aren’t measuring
- Keep standardized tests like the ACT, GRE, GMAT, etc. in perspective
- Adopt a growth oriented, ownership mindset
- Remove mental barriers about intelligence and testing in general
- Develop a customized, strategic study plan
- Study in specific ways proven through scientific research to be effective
- Incorporate test prep into everyday life to build skills naturally
- Help you build confidence, manage stress, and get in the “zone”
- Explore specific test taking strategies to squeeze out extra points
- Guide your preparation through the day of the test itself
If you haven't done so already, you can download a free introductory chapter.
We’ve spent many hours on this book, and we’re excited about having finally launched it. It's currently available on Kindle and in PDF form for $9.99.
However, if you use the code "earlyorder" after you click "Add to Cart" below, you receive a 15% discount. We plan on leaving this discount up for the first 30-60 days to encourage people to purchase and give us feedback.
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I wish someone had handed me a copy of Plan, Prepare, Perform 13 years ago when I started as a test prep teacher and tutor. Mark's book distills so clearly the lessons I've learned (the hard way) working with hundreds of GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and SAT students, most crucially that mindset and confidence matter a tremendous amount in a student's test day success and that even the most dedicated cramming is no substitute for a well-planned and deliberate practice routine. I'm already planning ways to implement the book's astute practical suggestions with my current students."
Sonam Singh, Cornell University Ph.D., English, 10+ years of SAT, GRE, & LSAT tutoring experience with Kaplan and MyGuru
"I've been preparing students for the ACT for almost a decade, and I've never encountered a book that so thoroughly addresses the whole person's development as a test taker. This book is a must-read for anyone who is serious about long-term preparation for success on standardized tests."
Kaitlyn S. Reimer, Dean of Instruction at one of the nation's leading charter school networks
“Easily 30-40% of my GMAT students come saddled with issues from test anxiety and fear of math to generally unhelpful attitudes toward learning and study. Unfortunately, these issues are far from the "crunchy," data-driven approach of most test-prep books.
Mark Skoskiewicz's Plan, Prepare, Perform deftly handles all of these concerns and more.
Its writing is accessible, its suggestions applicable, and its techniques work--my students' successes are a testament to this. Plan, Prepare, Perform is not only a document I am eager to recommend to current and future GMAT students, but also a resource that I wish I had had during my initial preparation for the exam."”
Rowan Hand, Founder, Your GMAT Coach (Professional GMAT tutor and MBA Admissions Advisor)
“I think strategy and organization are crucially important in a study plan. I think people tend to underestimate what it takes to remember something, to encode it into long-term memory. People tend to be too casual—“Oh, I’ll just figure that out if it comes up”—rather than being strategic about study. Strategic thinking is very hard, and I think most people avoid it or give it short shrift.”
-Mike McGarry, GMAT expert with a BS in physics and an MA in religion, both from Harvard, and over 20 years of teaching experience specializing in math, science, and standardized exams.
"If I believe that intelligence is “fixed”, then I have no purpose in secondary education. Yet, I know it's a belief that all too many people hold.
In my day to day interactions with students who come in performing at various academic ability levels, Mark Skoskiewicz’s main themes of his book , that mindset, strategic planning, study habits, and confidence play a far more significant role in standardized testing success as well as overall academic success than most students and parents realize, ring very true for me. Most true is his assertion that standardized tests are used to predict success at the next level, not to measure intelligence. The themes in this book are all steps in a process that can lead to improved outcomes. Therefore, I completely agree with and enthusiastically recommend this book for all high school students, college students, and adults who wish to develop a plan for improvement in their future endeavors, be they academic or otherwise.
Public School English teacher in one of the top 100 U.S. high schools, 14 years of experience.
"MyGuru does an excellent with this book in breaking down test preparation into a formulaic approach based on how people learn best. I've found it a helpful resource for how develop our own products at Learnerator."
Luke Liu, CEO, Learnerator (maker of test prep software for most AP tests as well as the ACT and SAT)
Are you a “bad test taker”? Do you know someone who is? Plan, Prepare & Perform has some good news for you: there's a way to overcome the problem. It all begins with the right mindset, a “growth mindset.” Too many people hinder their own academic success by failing to commit to the right test preparation methods.
This book provides a fresh perspective on standardized tests and the painful process of preparing for them. Plan, Prepare & Perform helps test takers (and their families) to evaluate their situation, as well as their own strengths and weaknesses, and create a customized study plan.
This book is a valuable resource both for students and for parents trying to help their children to increase their scores while decreasing their anxiety. I highly recommend this book.
Yael Redelman-Sidi, the founder of Ivy Road Admissions, a boutique admissions consulting firm. She blogs at Admit1MBA about MBA admissions, and at Admit2Med about the long process of medical school admissions
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Additional Benefits
Everyone who purchases the book earns unique discounts on online test prep solutions from four of our trusted partners. Each offers high quality practice problems and tests, as well as the ability to engage in deliberate practice in specific areas and receive immediate feedback through video-based explanations. Preparing for tests in this manner has been proven to build skills better and faster.
These discounts are significant (10-50%), vary by partner, and are subject to change.
PLAN, PSAT, SAT and ACT Prep from ePrep
SAT, GRE, and GMAT Prep from Magoosh
AP, SAT, and ACT Test Prep from Learnerator
LSAT Prep from LSAT Freedom
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