By Jessica Brondo
The Associated Press recently reported that The Princeton Review has dropped its claim that it raises students scores an average of 255-points (read the full article here). As a test prep professional, this really is not shocking to me because as their company grew, their classes grew as well and the quality of their teachers began to falter. However, what is shocking is the article’s report that the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC), of which The Edge is a member, claims that their study shows that test preparation only has minimal impact on score improvement (10-20 points on math and 5-10 points on reading to be exact.
Now, anyone who has worked with me (or knows any of the students who have worked with me) will know that this would BOGGLE my mind to the nth degree. I will NEVER settle for a measly 20 point improvement (and neither will any of the test prep instructors at The Edge). Our students improve well over 50 points in each section and this year as much as 420 points! However, that is not to say that we have magic fairy dust to sprinkle on all of our students’ heads so they magically improve their scores…..we’re working on it, but in the meantime there are definitely things that make a difference in terms of score improvement.
If you’re in an area where there are Edge tutors, we would LOVE to help you, but if you’re not here are a couple of things to ask when choosing a test prep company:
1. How big are the classes?
~Because most test prep courses take place only once or a couple of times a week, the instructors won’t be able to get to know individual students’ strengths and weaknesses if there are a ton of students in a class. After teaching classes for the past 8 years, I can confidently say that any more than 12 students in a class is a recipe for a bland test prep experience in which the instructor will be teaching to the masses and not to specific student’s needs.
2. Who are the instructors?
~Not all test prep instructors are created equal! Some people think that it’s important that an instructor has a teaching certification…IT’S NOT. Think about who our teachers are. Unfortunately most (and I do emphasize MOST) teachers didn’t have the most stellar SAT scores when they were in high school, and while they might be FABULOUS teachers, they probably aren’t as well-equipped to teach SAT prep….so that should NOT be a concern of yours. What should be a concern is what your teacher’s SAT scores are. Did they get a 650 on math when you are shooting for the starts with a 750? That’s no bueno. Make sure they are well into the 700s each time. Also make sure that the company screens for good teaching ability. While it might be impressive that Joe Shmoe got a perfect score on his SAT, but he’s an uber-dork and puts his students to sleep any time he opens his mouth. That’s not the situation you want AT ALL. So make sure there is a good balance between intelligence and charisma to maximize the osmosis of intelligence that should be taking place in class.
3. Do you use real practice tests?
~This might be the NUMBER 1 thing you need to ask!!! It has become a common practice in the industry for companies to write their own tests. This is a REALLY bad thing for students. Test-writing is a highly statistical practice that takes years and years to master and the people writing the tests for some of the companies are usually given little guidance when writing the test aside from “overload them with our technique questions.” (I know because I used to do this for another company.) Then they purposely make some tests easier than others. And THEN they end up given the hardest test first and the easiest test last so that they can brag about large score improvements. DO NOT trust a company unless they use real practice tests.
4. Do you offer proctored exams?
~This is really important. Normally SAT prep courses will offer several proctored exams, but since a lot of people are using private tutors, you will find that the private tutors do not give students the opportunity to sit for proctored exams. If they do, that’s awesome. If not, you either have to have/be a diligent parent and sit down to proctor your son or daughter to make sure that they get a sense of the length and timing of the test. The other option is to seek out places in your town that offer free or low cost proctored exams. ***Ours are free for all of our tutoring and course students and are a small fee for non-students.
5. Can I speak with someone who used you in the past to get a better sense of your methods?
~This will give you great insight into how the course is run, if there are any issues that you should be aware of, the best teachers, etc. If they don’t let you speak to someone, you should definitely be weary.
I wish we could work with all of you all over the world (and we will starting this fall with the introduction of our online course), but until then, I hope this helps in your selection of a test prep company.
Best,
Jess
