BOOK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW BOOK EMPOWERS STUDENTS WITH STUDY SKILLS TO GET MONEY’S WORTH IN COLLEGE

High School Is a Waste of Time and College Is a Scam…Unless You Have Study Skills 

WASHINGTON (February 18, 2019) – Parents struggling to find ways to ensure their child is armed with the necessary skills to succeed in college have a new resource to avoid any costly academic crises. Published by Rowman & Littlefield, This Book Will Not Be on the Test: The Study Skills Revolution, is part on-the-ground college insider tell-all memoir and part study skills Bible backed by cognitive and educational psychology.

“Considering the amount of money spent on college, it’s criminal that most students never learn how to learn, even though they’re expected to do it like a job,” said author Paul Smith Rivas. “Most kids won’t hit the ground running in college — not because they don’t study, but because they don’t know how to study. I wrote this book to give students the methodologies and practices needed for real success, complete with practical “science of learning” techniques like writing your own explanation of what you’re learning and connecting it to what you already know.

Written by Paul Smith Rivas, the book also alerts parents to a huge problem in American education today – that high school doesn’t prepare students to thrive in college and a jumbled, ad-hoc approach to learning will cost them money and valuable opportunities.

Rivas is the director of SMITH RIVAS Study Skills & Academic Coaching, a Washington, D.C.-based academic accelerator founded in 2014 to help students earn better grades in less time. SMITH RIVAS takes research about how people learn and translates it into practical study skills that students can use to succeed in their classes. Before discovering the value of study skills towards the end of a 20-year career at UC Santa Barbara, Rivas spurned Stanford for a full academic scholarship to UCSB, where he triple-majored in math, sociology, and Spanish while working 10-50 hours per week in the Athletic Communications office.

The book has an astoundingly diverse list of endorsers, including bestselling author on productivity Daniel Pink, PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff, science of learning experts author Ulrich Boser and Dr. Stephen Chew, several former professional athletes, and a graduate of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Offering explicit study skills solutions for the academic, financial, and mental health problems caused by this unfortunate reality, This Book Will Not Be on the Test helps families, teachers, and administrators have more rewarding experiences in schools. Everyone will recognize their college-bound students in several of the chapters.

Request a review copy of This Book Will Not Be on the Test or an interview with the author by contacting Paul Smith Rivas directly at (202) 615-7791, paul@smithrivas.com, or smithrivas.com. Rivas is also on Twitter and Facebook @SmithRivasDC.

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Media Contact: Jon-Michael Basile

Email: JonMichaelBasile@gmail.com

“As college costs continue to soar, it’s become even more important to get the most out of your time on campus. You can get on top of schoolwork, participate in rewarding extracurriculars, and prepare yourself for an exciting post-college life by following the steps in this smart, practical book.”

• Daniel H. Pink, author of When and Drive

“Paul Rivas has a gift for understanding what it takes to unlock a young person’s academic potential. In this book is his invaluable guidance, for every type learner: something every college-bound student, and their parents, should read.”

• Judy Woodruff, PBS NewsHour

“Every kid who wants to be a college athlete should read This Book…”

• Ryan Spilborghs, former Major League Baseball player

“This Book… is exactly what international students need to thrive in American universities.”

• Nomvula Mbambo, Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls ’12, Brown University ’17

“A tremendous, on-the-ground application of the science of learning that entertains and inspires.”

• Ulrich Boser, Author of Learn Better

“Paul Rivas takes research about how people learn and translates it into effective practices that students can implement and use to succeed in their classes.”

• Stephen L. Chew, Samford University Psychology Professor and Chair

To request a review copy of This Book Will Not Be on the Test, email Rowman & Littlefield publicity contact Emily Johnson at ejohnson@rowman.com or reviews@rowman.com.