Faculty within Jenkins Hall said they are pleased with ongoing results from the POST, a student tutoring service located on Marshall University’s campus. The POST, or Praxis or Student Tutoring, can benefit students within the College of Education and Professional Development, Mikalyn Murphy, one of the student tutors, said. 

Murphy said the program specifically determines strengths and weaknesses of each individual student and works towards the main goal of passing all three sections of the Praxis, an exam all students within the COEPD must complete and accomplish in order to move forward with their degree.

“All students need to pass these tests in order to get into the program, so it provides a great deal of stress,” Murphy said. “I think our tutoring is most helpful for students that have really struggled with the content. They can come here and learn that there are people who really care about them personally and wish for them to succeed.”

The Praxis tests measure the academic skills and subject-specific content knowledge that educators need. 

While the Praxis test consists of reading, writing and math, the POST highlights each subject in regards to each student and their personal difficulties. 

“Math is definitely the subject we help with the most,” Murphy said. “It seems there is a constant mental block when it comes to students and math. For most, the struggles with math reflect what they learned in their early years of education.” 

Depending on whether or not the student has previous test scores, Murphy said tutors can begin by deciphering what needs worked on within each specific category.

“I normally begin by giving them a study guide that I have made and then follow with a practice,” she said. “This is the first step in figuring out their strengths compared to their weaknesses.”

Murphy said tutors like herself may also incorporate practice tests that mimic how the real Praxis exams will appear, allowing students to get a proper feel of what they will be experiencing when testing. 

Following each tutoring session, students are encouraged to continue practice and work on their own time to better enhance what they have been taught. 

Murphy said studying outside of tutoring can greatly affect test results. 

“I think it depends on how much work someone puts in,” she said. “If the student is coming consistently and working outside, I’ve noticed that scores drastically go up.” 

Murphy said the POST continues to help students daily with achieving their goals within the education program, and the program could encourage future educators to help their students.

“Our main goal is to help them to see their own successes,” she added. “One day when students have their own classroom, they can take a struggling student and give them the same encouragement.” 

Carson McKinney can be contacted at [email protected].