Professor Mark Kover: Test Strategist

Hello, this is Shellee Howard, and I have the honor of speaking with Mark, and I can't wait to share with my listeners. Mark is an educational entrepreneur and elite test strategist for both bright and motivated students who wish to attend a highly selective university. To that end, he has coached top students from coast to coast, producing significant score increases for motivational— for motivated students across all sections of the ACT and SAT. He frequently works with honors and AP students whose priority or prior diligent prep efforts yielded them score increases that soon plateaued and then lifts them up even higher. From my own perspective, Mark has worked closely with so many college-ready students, and I've seen amazing increases. So I am super excited to share with you, um, our guest today, Mr. Professor Mark. Welcome to the show.

Hi, Shellee Howard.

Awesome.

Thanks for having me.

You're welcome. As I start with all my guests, can you please help our listeners understand what you are passionate about?

Yes. Uh, if I had to put it in two words, I would say, uh, reviving visions. Actually, um, I'm passionate about specifically in, in the educational realm, um, being a catalyst for expanding and elevating students' and families' destinies. And I've found how those can be intertwined. A lot of times, making a big impact in a student's life, coming alongside them, having the honor of coming alongside them and coaching them, um, and seeing them achieve a whole new level just opens up a world of possibilities. And that brings joy to them and to their families. And so it's— that's a joy that I have. Had for the last about 11 years.

So I remember when we first met, it's been a few years now, and I was so in awe. Can you share a little bit about your background and how you got into test strategy?

Yeah, it's interesting. That's a great question. I, I was thinking way back to when my dad— when I was in high school, we took a, we took a long drive and I tend to be a very careful observer. I don't always necessarily speak the first thing I see, but I, I sit back and I observe carefully and I look for patterns. So pattern analysis is a big thing that I am known for. And he basically— I kind of summarized the last, the previous 10 years of our family's life, and he was blown away. And he said, you are such a strategic thinker and a visionary. He said, you know, he worked with chemical engineers. He was a safety director for a large chemical manufacturer. And he said, you know, you want to be a chemical engineer, you think, but you would be bored out of your mind just working in a plant the rest of your life. You need to, you need to think higher. And so that's when I, that really shifted my destiny and thinking about who I was. And he was absolutely right. And then I, when I was in corporate America, so after my master's degree in computational biochemistry, chemistry, which of course is a lot of very detailed analysis, a lot of, a lot of mathematics and physics and chemistry all integrated together. And I, I saw that innovation happens at the overlap of various fields. And but then I got into the business, I got into systems integration and business analysis. And I ended up being on all these strategic visioning teams in corporate America, in areas that I wasn't necessarily a content expert in, but that fit my identity. And so when I shifted into education, I think the difference that I can make is that I bring things from the corporate world like balanced scorecard, key performance indicators, you know, what gets measured gets optimized, those type of things from the corporate world, and I bring that into the educational realm. And it really is the, the secret sauce, so to speak, that brings students who've already, again, like you said, they've improved, they've worked hard, you know, they've done the things, they've taken the generic group classes, and now they're looking for that next level lift. And that's where I come in.

So amazing. So I often tell the story of my firstborn's experience with Test Strategy, and I don't know if I've shared this with you. I think my, my listeners might appreciate this. So my firstborn thought it was a really good idea. Now he He was a great student and a pretty proficient test taker. And I remember him coming to me and saying, Mom, I got this. You don't need to worry about it. I'm going to test prep on my own. You know, don't, don't worry. And I'm like, oh, all right, that sounds awesome. And he took his first test. And I remember when he got his score, he literally had tears.

Oh, yeah.

He, for the first time, was like so grounded in reality of, wait, this is a different test than I've ever taken before. Before. Yes. And then I said, now would you like to do it my way? And my way was working with a test strategist, right?

Nice.

And then amazing things happened. He increased his SAT score by 300 points, which opened up the Ivies, which opened up Harvard. Mm-hmm. So can you speak to the difference between tutoring, test prep, and test strategy? Cuz a lot of times people don't know there's a difference.

Yeah, I appreciate the question. First of all, I— it's so exciting to hear that story. And obviously, like, that's, that's the goal. That's the joy. That's what— that's the why that we do this, um, is to see those total shifts in, in destiny and possibilities. Um, and I would probably say when I first started 11 years ago, I probably was generally mostly a tutor, although I had this identity and this view So quickly, you know, through some trial and error, I noticed that students didn't just need content. They didn't just need comprehensive content thrown at them, which a lot of times these 1,000-page books do, you know, which of course are, you know, other than you got $20, you can buy one of the test prep books. But they need foundational fundamentals that are leverage their access to a whole bunch of a whole variety of questions. It's more about process and application of knowledge versus just knowledge. I think that's another difference. I, again, I said before, detailed pattern analysis in the types of errors, and again, focused on your process and your execution rather than just, oh, I didn't know this, or I forgot this. General content review is great. And again, this is why the profile— a lot of times I get students not only that have tried self-study, but they've even done classes and work with other tutors. And so what's the difference, right? So efficient— if looking at their pacing strategy and their efficiency and evaluating that, and I, I've incorporated that more, even more recently into some of my classes where, especially the higher level classes, I've started to create elite classes for 750+ for, you know, say math or verbal on SAT or 33+ on ACT. And, you know, I've added extra detailed video. I literally make my students, even though we're doing this online, I make them record a video of their process and I make them do a reflection. So the more you can force them to do reflection and then force them to be able to articulate what was happening in the process of their decisions on, do I continue working on this problem that will probably take me another 2 minutes, or do I bail, guess and go, and, you know, leverage my time better? Those type of things, that's a coaching approach rather than a teaching approach. That is strategic coaching versus just a tutoring approach. Identify— another thing I thought about is instead of just vague, a lot of times I get this with students, and perhaps if parents that are listening, perhaps you've heard them say this before if they're frustrated doing their self-study, you know, oh, it was just a silly or stupid mistake, right? And while you— I can't, and they cannot fix silly or stupid. You can't fix that, okay? That is a— and, and really, I think that ties into some of the three giants that I've seen that I'll talk about later. Of what are impediments to increase test scores, but it's really a pride thing. It's a, it's kind of a saving face, or I got wounded because my score wasn't as high as I thought, as, oh, it was just silly or stupid. Well, you can't fix it. What about identify? So I work on identifying individual blind spots in their process, and, you know, I had a student, I could think of one example even just in the last year, uh, student that was at a 31 on ACT, and he's brilliant, and both his parents are doctors, and, um, he's got a photographic memory. But I did 5 hours with him, and he had a 35. I mean, 5 hours of strategic intervention, right? So those are the type of things that differentiate, I think, a tutor from a strategist. Um, yeah, I have more to say, but I'll Put that on the website.

Anyway, so I love your passion for this. I can just see your energy, your excitement. This is not just something you have to do. This is truly your mission to make a difference in these students' lives. And, and that's why I've always been a huge advocate of the difference between a student who just does free prep on their own I say what you put into it, you get out of it. And truly, I've watched students work with you that blows my mind because they're super smart, they have great GPAs, right? Intellectually, they're wow. But for some reason, their scores are not matching that intellect. And then I pass them to you, and then their score matches their intellect. And I'm always mystified How do you get from the low level to the high level? Like, what, what does that look like?

Well, I was thinking about— I love, I love what you said. I was thinking about an analogy. So, you know, would you, you know, would you want to jump out, do a parachute jump, right, by just going to someplace, having them strap one on your back and giving you a manual, right?

Or, or that sounds awful.

How about we start with somebody strapped to my back that's actually an expert? Okay, like, then, then that sounds a little better. In fact, I did this, uh, several years ago. I didn't parachute jump, but I did do a paragliding kind of thing where, you know, you go up in it, you're towed by a plane with an actual motor, and you're in a plane with no motor, but it's a glider, right? And so Once they pull the— really, you release the, the tow rope, right? It's all on you. It's all on— and, um, literally, uh, there's a point where the guy sitting behind me said, okay, I'm gonna let you steer now. And there are counterintuitive movements to do that right and to bank and to drop elevation and go back up. And so I was like, okay, I can clearly see I'm not capable of this. So I needed that guy in the background to course correct. So I feel like that's a good analogy. Um, and, and really a lot of times it's, it's little, little things, and little things are in the process. And, um, I'm trying to think. So there was a guy that was brilliant, a 9th grader taking AP Chemistry and AP Calculus BC. Okay, but he was at a 670 on the SAT Math. And so I, within 3, we actually, this was part of my, this was my inaugural elite SAT Math class that I'm, you know, we're going to be doing this summer again. And within 3 small group sessions, I think there's 4 or 5 students in the class, and I actually have mandatory one-on-ones I have 5 hours of mandatory one-on-ones in this 7-day challenge class over 3 weeks to make sure that students are on, on course. But, um, he— within 3 sessions and one one-on-one, he was at a 790, 800 consistently. So, um, the difference is in making that— again, consciously incompetent. Like, they, they presume, or they have one method that's always worked in school. Like you said, there's a difference between taking tests in school and taking these, these standardized tests. And so pacing is different. Your thought process is different. And, you know, finding out the flaws in the ointment in your, you know, instead of— and giving them flexible options. So that's the thing I think for him was like, no, there's 3 different ways to approach these type of problems. And I want to give you a full toolset so that in the moment— I mean, sometimes your fatigue hits you. Fatigue hits you and you're like, I can't, I'm having a mental block. Okay, then stop doing the high level and go to the easy path. So, um, I think that's, that's an example that illustrates, um, how you get these quantum leaps even in super bright students.

Wow.

Many more examples on the website.

But anyway, so I know there's a question out there that every parent and student is asking themselves. I've heard that is test optional or test blind. Why would I even put my student through this?

Well, maybe they haven't been reading some recent articles. Yes, obviously fair testing has— has a movement, has always been out there, and there are certain, you know, there, there are good things about that. And of course, with the pandemic, test optional became super popular. However, for scholarships and Definitely for scholarships and getting into honors programs, test prep was still important. In fact, even for admittance— admission, you know, 3 to 4 times more students in, in some cases were getting into schools that actually submitted a test score versus didn't submit a test score in the test-optional era. We're coming out of that. MIT just released an article saying, you know what, I'm sorry, there's a reason we had a policy of utilizing as one element of an application and assessing their chances for future success at our college and beyond was having these standardized tests. So we're bringing them back in. Um, so, and then even on, uh, there is another option. There is a kind of a fun new, um, for classical students that are classical educated and students that, uh, especially going to faith-based institutions CLT, the new CLT, the Classical Education Test, is available. So we're creating classes for that, but they were the only game in town actually through the pandemic. They are actually able to do proctored in-home exams. That's another option, but not for highly selective universities. SAT, ACT is still the gold standard.

So, so I often share with families because I, I meet them before you meet them usually, and they're exploring, and either the student has told the parent, I don't need to do this because they truly don't want to, or the parent has said, I've heard things. And so this is how I like to share it, and, and you may appreciate this. So test strategy, test prep, whatever you want to call it, uh, is a very important factor. It's one of the 7 most important factors that colleges use. And even if a school has said they are test blind, and our student has a perfect 35, 36 on the ACT, we're writing an essay about it.

Nice.

Now, how optional is it?

Hmm, nice.

So for a student—

I wasn't aware that you could— That's great.

So for a student who is looking to have that stand out, you know, they worked hard to get the test done. They fought through the pandemic. They did the hard work. I think they should be able to write about that, that goal or that, that difficult thing they accomplished.

Yes.

Then it goes back to the student who hasn't taken a test. Can the, can the school actually not see the essay about the student who worked hard to succeed?

And I would think that you and your essay writers work on extracting what was the valuable pieces, what were the critical success factors or things that you learned about yourself through this process to get to that score. And I think that's just as important. And I think, you know, when I was a teenager, I was short-sighted too, even though I was whatever my dad says, a strategic thinker. I was short-sighted. I mean, as parents listening to this, of course you can think back to some things decisions you made you wish you could take back in your youth. And I think it's shortsighted. That's why I really love working with you because your essay writing process that you start very early, right? And tied and anchored by the passion project. Like, who are you? What are your passions? What do you wanna see change in the world? How could you, what are some ways that you could implement that? Who are people in your life that, you know, you know, God's placed in your life, in your family, that could help partner with you to see that change happen. That whole process is— it's the process to— in the journey that's not just the destination that's important. I think the same is true in the test prep, uh, process and the strategy process. Um, and in fact, and of course, you know, if you're going to be looking to be in the professions, you know, you're going to end up continuing to take very strategic high-stakes, time-pressure tests in the future— MCAT, LSAT, PCAT, you know, all those type of things. So, um, anyway, I think that's a more holistic way to look at it. And, uh, again, a reason why doing it right when you're young, uh, is a much better idea than waiting and just saying, oh well, you know, I don't feel like doing this, it's not really that important.

So it's interesting you brought that up because that's the second reason I tell parents and students The benefit— so the first benefit is you increase your SAT or ACT or AP, whichever, and now you have another indicator of your success. But what I look at is college is a stepping stone to your future, right? It's not the end destination. So to your point, when my son went to take the MCAT, he used the exact same strategy that he was taught on the ACT, SAT, and he got a 98%.

Wow.

And that was attributed to not just his intellect, but he knew how to beat the test. So for families that are listening out there that are on the fence thinking, well, maybe my student is just not a good test taker, what would you say to that, that family to help them through that process?

Well, I would say, uh, everyone can improve in their test-taking capability. There are some people that are, you know, have severe test anxiety, and that's not my specialty, but you have other experts that you partner with that really help with the whole self-talk and the limiting beliefs. I was thinking about this earlier. Limiting beliefs are huge in when you actually step into the room. What do you believe about yourself? And, and what, you know, but the more you've practiced, the more you've practiced and simulated, it's like flight simulators for pilots, right? You don't want to, you don't want to go into a, uh, with a pilot that hasn't done like extensive thousands of hours of simulation, right? Same thing, uh, practice, really perfect practice makes perfect, as they say, some of the piano teachers say. Um, so I think that's important. And, um, yeah, I think, I think that's, I think that that's a, I think that answers your question. Um, did I, did I cover all aspects of that?

You did. And so for those students who really struggle with test anxiety, it is a real thing. I fought it for years with my second child, and I kept thinking they just don't prepare right, she's just not putting her effort into it. And she would explain it, and this may resonate with parents. She would come home and I would say, so how'd the test go? And she would always answer, I sat down and my mind went blank, and I don't know what happened. I prepared, I was ready, and then I panicked. I have partnered, like you said, with other people who work on test anxiety. So if that sounds like somebody in your world, please know it doesn't have to remain that way. My daughter has since passed the NCLEX and is a registered nurse because somebody took the time to help her through that anxiety.

Good for her.

So there are so many options. And remember, testing is one out of seven things, but it is one you cannot deny because it gives you a hard fact. Where other things are a little softer, right? So in wrapping this up, Professor Mark, you know, what are you an advocate for? What are you looking to change in the world?

Well, uh, I love the question. I, um, I do want to say that, you know, the— another factor that is pretty important, especially it kind of rose up during the pandemic when test optional was, was growing, is, is APs. APs are very important and So I, I'm a, I'm a passionate about and an advocate for bringing excellence and academic rigor to homeschool curriculum and giving access to audited AP courses for homeschool families so that they can get in. That's important for getting into selective universities, also important for international students. And but at the high level, I'm I'm an advocate for courageous moral leadership, and I think you embody courageous moral leadership. I mean, all that you're doing with Passion Projects, I know that you're donating some of your revenue to faith-based nonprofits fighting trafficking, things like that. But yeah, I think we've seen through a couple years of a lot of chaos, I think people that are strong, especially partnering with, with dads specifically, um, and moms, to anchor and strengthen the mental— the, you know, the self-talk and the mental health of their teens is very, very important. I mean, I think we're still seeing the effects of, of just anarchy and chaos and staying at home, being locked in your home for months at a time. I saw it with some of my students, even some of the students that I worked with that you sent, and, um, you know, really, really sad. And so I'm passionate about helping anchor their core beliefs and who they are and reality versus, um, uh, I guess reality of who they are versus what the world says they are, or what some of their friends say they are, and just shutting out the other voices and tuning into their true voice. And again, just like the example I said earlier with my dad, like, your parents— your parents know you better than you know yourself in some ways. They're still discovering somewhat of who you are and you are, but they have some really good insight. And so partnering with them and reinforcing those things is important. In fact, the process, I think, is— it's really what works the best. I know you're— you attract, you know, very active, very competent, busy parents with very competent and motivated students, whether they're accomplished in their careers or in their community or in their church. But the best for me is, is a balanced, intentional collaboration between the test prep strategist, the college admission strategist, the parents, and the students. And I think it's really the optimum results are when there's clarifying vision that everybody shares, frequent enough communication that everybody's on the same page, and that the parent reinforces, um, the strategies and the, the key fundamentals that the— whether you or I are bringing. So that's what I've seen that works the best. And abandoning any of those pieces ends in not as great results. So again, I'm excited when I see— I see joy. I want to be a creator of joy. And I've seen it a lot of times. And there have been times when I haven't. And again, you know, we need the critical success factors.

So outstanding. Well, if a family was looking to get some test strategy, what would be the best way they could reach you?

Yeah, well, they can reach me at— I would start with the website, so Go Fast Track Academy. So it's G-O-F-A-S-T-R-A-C-K Academy. There's not two Ts in there, just G-O-F-A-S-T-R-A-C-K Academy dot com. They can also reach out to me by phone, 877-771-9771. And I would love to talk with them about even our summer classes. We're introducing some new summer JET Tour classes of AP, specifically AP STEM classes, which again, sometimes it's— sometimes kids jump into an AP class and it is like jumping out of a plane for the first time with a parachute. So we want to create an on-ramp for them and the right training so that when they get there, they're ready to hit the ground running. Ground and they're more successful.

So outstanding. Well, I can't thank you enough for all of the amazing work you've done with our students, and we look forward to working with you again in the future.

Really enjoying this conversation.

Have a wonderful day.