MAST / MCVSD Entrance Exam Prep — Summer Curriculum

For a rising 8th grader • Target exam: mid-January 2027 • ~9 summer weeks (July 6 – Labor Day)

How this plan works

The MCVSD exam is two one-hour multiple-choice sections (Math and Language Arts), each scored 1–35, covering NJ Student Learning Standards for grades 6–8. It rewards applying concepts, not memorizing procedures. Summer is for building the foundation and fixing weak spots; the fall (Sept–Dec) is for timed mock exams and polish.

Weekly rhythm (about 5–6 hours/week):

• 3 study sessions of 60–75 minutes (2 math, 1 language arts one week; flip it the next)
• 1 weekly quiz (20–30 min, timed) on that week’s topics
• 1 reading day — 30 minutes reading a nonfiction article or short story, then explaining the main argument out loud to you (this is disguised paired-passage prep)

Keep it to weekday mornings if you can. Consistency beats intensity — this mirrors what Foley/Mathnasium-style programs do (they run ~28 hours of instruction plus practice exams over months, not cramming).

Free/cheap resources to use throughout:

• mySWOTs (mcvsdprep.com) — free MCVSD-style timed practice tests, math + LA, with solutions. This is your primary practice source.
• Khan Academy — Grade 6, 7, 8 Math courses (free, has mastery quizzes)
• CommonLit.org — free leveled reading passages with paired texts and comprehension questions
• IXL (optional, ~$10/mo) — searchable by NJ standard, good for drilling one skill
• Practice Test Geeks MCVSD page — free question banks
• Foley Prep online diagnostic ($75) — save this for late August or early fall as a formal benchmark

Week 0 (before starting): Diagnostic

Have her take one free timed mySWOTs math test and one LA test cold, under real conditions (quiet room, timer, no help). Don’t prep for it — the point is a baseline. Score it together, no judgment. Circle the topic of every wrong answer. This list customizes everything below: give weak topics a full session, strong topics a quick review.

Weeks 1–4: Math foundations + Reading habits

Week 1 — Numbers & Operations

• Session 1: Integer operations (negatives!), order of operations, absolute value
• Session 2: Fractions — all four operations, mixed numbers, comparing/ordering
• Session 3 (LA): Single-passage reading comprehension. Two CommonLit passages: practice finding main idea, author’s purpose, and “which sentence best supports…” questions
• Quiz: 15 mixed arithmetic problems, timed 20 min

Week 2 — Ratios, Rates, Percents

• Session 1: Ratios, unit rates, proportions (classic MCVSD word-problem territory)
• Session 2: Percents — percent of a number, percent change, tax/tip/discount, simple interest
• Session 3 (LA): Vocabulary in context. Rule: never define the word first — plug each answer choice back into the sentence. Start a vocab notebook from her reading
• Quiz: 12 ratio/percent word problems, timed

Week 3 — Expressions & Equations

• Session 1: Simplifying expressions, distributing, combining like terms, evaluating
• Session 2: Solving one- and two-step equations and inequalities; translating words → equations (“three less than twice a number”)
• Session 3 (LA): Grammar block 1 — subject-verb agreement, pronoun case and clarity (its/it’s, who/whom, vague “they”), verb tense consistency
• Quiz: Mixed equations + 5 grammar items

Week 4 — Proportional Relationships & Linear Basics

• Session 1: Graphing points, proportional relationships, slope as rate of change
• Session 2: Linear equations (y = mx + b), reading graphs and tables, which equation matches this situation
• Session 3 (LA): Grammar block 2 — sentence structure: fragments, run-ons, comma rules, combining sentences
• Quiz + checkpoint: One full timed mySWOTs math test. Compare to baseline. Adjust Weeks 5–8 toward whatever is still weak.

Weeks 5–8: Geometry, Data, and the LA sections that ambush kids

Week 5 — Geometry I

• Session 1: Area and perimeter (triangles, quadrilaterals, circles, composite shapes)
• Session 2: Angle relationships — vertical, supplementary, triangle angle sum, parallel lines with a transversal
• Session 3 (LA): Paired passages. This format (two texts, compare/synthesize) is specific to this test and must be practiced deliberately. CommonLit has paired-text sets. Ask: where do the authors agree, disagree, and what would Author A say about Author B’s claim?
• Quiz: Geometry problem set, timed

Week 6 — Geometry II

• Session 1: Volume and surface area (prisms, cylinders), unit conversions
• Session 2: Pythagorean theorem, scale drawings, similar figures
• Session 3 (LA): Argument analysis — claim, evidence, reasoning; identifying the strongest/weakest support; persuasive techniques
• Quiz: Mixed geometry, timed

Week 7 — Statistics & Probability

• Session 1: Mean/median/mode/range, how outliers move them, reading dot plots, box plots, histograms
• Session 2: Probability — single and compound events, sample spaces, proportional predictions from samples
• Session 3 (LA): Revising and editing passages — word choice, transitions, “which sentence should be deleted,” logical order
• Quiz: Data/probability set + 5 editing items

Week 8 — Word Problems & Mixed Review

• Session 1: Multi-step word problems mixing percents, rates, and algebra (the exam’s favorite move)
• Session 2: Targeted review of her two weakest math topics from the Week 4 checkpoint
• Session 3 (LA): Targeted review of her weakest LA category
• Quiz: Full timed mySWOTs LA test

Week 9 (late August): Full dress rehearsal

• One full mock exam morning: math test + short break + LA test, timed exactly, Saturday ~9 AM to simulate test day
• Review every wrong answer together; sort misses into “didn’t know it” vs. “careless/timing” — they get fixed differently
• This is a good moment for the Foley $75 online diagnostic if you want an outside benchmark and score report
• Celebrate finishing the summer program. Seriously — take her for ice cream. Motivation in September matters more than one more worksheet in August.

Test-taking habits to build all summer

• Pacing: ~35 questions per hour means under 2 minutes each. Skip and return; never sink 5 minutes into one problem.
• No penalty mindset: answer everything; eliminate two choices, then choose.
• Plug in answer choices on algebra questions when stuck.
• Read the question before the passage on LA? No — read the passage first, but preview the question stems.
• Careless-error log: keep a running list of her repeat mistakes (sign errors, misread “not,” skipped units). Reviewing that list the night before the exam is worth more than new practice.

Fall roadmap (so nothing is missed)

MAST-specific notes worth a family conversation

• All MAST students participate in NJROTC instead of PE — uniforms, drill, the whole program. Make sure she’s seen this and is excited (many kids love it; some don’t).
• Curriculum is heavily marine science/engineering focused; the info session is the best place to gauge fit.
• Algebra I in middle school is not required to apply, but students who aren’t proficient must take MCVSD’s mandatory five-week summer Algebra course before 9th grade — worth knowing now if her school offers Algebra I in 8th grade.