Growth Reflection

Since I have moved to the United States, I have grown in every subject. From math to

becoming more confident in myself, I have improved tremendously. Among all those areas, I

want to reflect on my growth in reading and writing through standardized test results. Last year,

when I first started attending Manara Leadership Academy, I had no clue what PSAT and SAT

were. I came in and was asked if I want to take the PSAT. The first question that came to my

mind was what is PSAT. I was told that it is a test that will help me with the SAT. As I

mentioned, I had no idea what was SAT but I decided to take the test as my counselor assured

me that it will be very beneficial to my future.

After receiving the results, I felt very despondent about my performance as my score was

only 360 out of 710. By that time, I was aware of what SAT was and how important it was for

my academic future. I had to improve my reading and writing skills in order to get into college

and be successful. It was a considerable challenge for me as English is my fourth language and I

was barely starting to speak it. I decided to borrow a few SAT books and use Khan Academy for

practice. I started practicing for the SAT during the winter break. Around spring break, I started

to feel very confident as I was scoring around 500 in reading and writing. Therefore, I signed up

for the SAT test in May. I took the test and believed I would at least receive a score around 600

in reading and writing.

The scores were released two weeks after the test. I was very shocked upon finding out I

had only received a score of 540. I was very disappointed and did not have the motivation to

practice for the next test. After a week, I finally gained the courage to take the test again and

improve my score. I talked to my peers about how they were practicing for the test. They told me
to read books if I really wanted to increase my scores. The school was about to end and I took

the decision to read at least ten books during the summer and take the August SAT. I also found

a few new SAT books offering new strategies that can help me manage time efficiently. I took

the test in late August and expected the best this time instead of just assuming scores.

After receiving the scores, I was happily surprised.. All the practice I had put forth had

finally paid off and I got 640 out of 800 in reading and writing. My constant practice was the

reason behind my success and I believe If had more time to practice, I would have made it very

close to 800. I feel proud of the effort I put in to increase my score. This encourages me to keep

pushing through while facing future challenges being aware of how much work I can put forth to

reach my goals.

In conclusion, I have grown a lot in reading and writing and the SAT test is the evidence

of it. It was a great personal challenge for me and through practice, I was able to impressively

improve myself. Going through this process has improved my self confidence and enabled me to

become more comfortable with the idea of having new challenges thrown at me in the future.