Your Journey to College: Foundations that Matter

by Susan Powers

When families think about college admissions, test scores often feel like the whole story. In reality, those scores are just reflections of something more manageable: steady growth in core skills over time.

In math, that journey starts with pre-algebra basics like mean, median, percents, and proportions. These are concrete skills that can be practiced bit by bit, in classwork, homework, and everyday life (think tips, discounts, and data in the news). By Algebra I, students build on that foundation with algebraic manipulation, lines and slopes, linear systems, and quadratics, turning numbers into patterns they can recognize and use. Geometry and Algebra II then layer on concepts like area and circumference of circles, similar triangles, trigonometry (SOHCAHTOA), and different forms of parabolas.

Language arts grows just as gradually. Identifying complete sentences, punctuating correctly, paraphrasing, and learning new vocabulary are all daily habits that strengthen reading and writing. Later, recognizing subjects and verbs, ensuring subject-verb agreement, and summarizing a paragraph’s main point make complex passages clearer and less intimidating.

Each of these milestones is specific, teachable, and absolutely doable. Focus on one step at a time, and trust that these small wins are quietly building your path to college success. 🏆

	Math	Language Arts
Pre-Algebra	✅Mean ✅Median ✅Percents ✅Proportions	✅Identify complete sentence ✅Punctuate sentence ✅Paraphrase sentence ✅Acquire vocabulary ✅Identify & understand transitions	9th Grade
Algebra I	✅Algebraic manipulation ✅Lines / slopes ✅Linear systems & solutions ✅Function nomenclature ✅ax²+bx+c	🎯All of the above ✅Identify subject and verb ✅Subject-verb agreement ✅Summarize main point of paragraph	10th Grade
Geometry	✅Area/circumference of circle ✅Similar triangles ✅Arcs/sectors ✅SOHCAHTOA
Algebra II	✅3 forms of parabola ✅Quadratic solutions