When I first stepped into Dr. Li’s classroom, I had no idea what to expect. I took the shuttle van to Rockville as I live in Clarksville. I hoped the drive would be worth it. It was.

Every class began with an hour-long mock exam followed by a review period where we could ask questions. On the first exam, I scored below a 700 and was disappointed, but eager to improve – my goal was to score an 800. At first, I was nervous to ask all my questions as I thought that many of the other students had scored much better than I. But Dr. Li welcomed all questions and consistently encouraged us to ask for help and to seek out the highest level of understanding. His excitement and desire for us to succeed was palpable as he taught us tricks and helped us improve.

Dr. Li’s class prepared me in every way to succeed. His unique and thoughtful methods for solving problems allowed me to easily complete the test in the most efficient way possible. I learned how to look at math with a more open mind and to look for creative ways to find an answer. Not only did Dr. Li guide this process, he provided innovative techniques to maneuver tricky questions. For example, on many problems involving sequences of numbers, Dr. Li taught us an interesting technique to find the answer using geometry and similar triangles. This was one of many new methods I learned that helped me to improve my score and understand the subjects on the test.

As the number of weeks left until the test began to dwindle to just one or two, Dr. Li spent an entire class reviewing the tricky questions and topics that he knew were consistently tested on the exam and often missed by students. He ensured that we knew how to handle the problems. Dr. Li consistently went over the class time to continue explaining problems and answering questions that we did not have time to finish in the normal class time. His dedication and passion for teaching us made me more enthusiastic about spending my weekends preparing for an exam. I came to enjoy learning math, even beyond just for the subject test.

On the day of the test, I felt prepared and ready to do well. The questions mirrored what I had encountered in Dr. Li’s class, and I applied his techniques for quick problem solving. I completed the test with time to return to tough questions and with this extra time, I was able to find answers for all but one.

In Dr. Li’s class, I mastered new skills and improved the basic methodology that I learned in my usual school math class. I was very excited to score an 800 on the subject test and thank Dr. Li for teaching me everything that I needed to know!

C. B., Glenelg HS