<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I decided to log-on to provide the anxious/confused/hopeful among you a realistic view of what the SAT/ACT industry is really about. My apologies for providing what might seem like a bleak or discouraging portrait of test prep, but I think an objective voice can be helpful. </p>
<p>THE ENTIRE TEST PREP INDUSTRY THRIVES ON ANXIETY</p>
<p>That's rule #1 for any test prep company. The stakes are so high and the content so seemingly inscrutable that parents are willing to shell out ridiculous sums of money for tutors/classes. Parents usually find tutors through word-of-mouth or through their school, but even these avenues are riskier than they may seem. Why? Most of word-of-mouth referrals are not a function of a tutor's quality, but, rather, of how the family feels about the tutor. Is the tutor nice? Does he try? That's often enough reason to provide a referral. I've seen dozens of instances in which parents provided referrals for tutors who hadn't helped the students improve much or who hadn't even finished working with the student. And when the tutee doesn't get a good score, the beauty of this industry is that the parents/students blame themselves/anxiety/the College Board, and never the tutor. That's a great deal for tutors, but it's ridiculous and unfair. But again, that points to the way this industry runs. The tutoring companies are incentivized to portray these exams as all-encompassing, life-defining tests and to portray themselves as saviors. Neither of these is actually the case, but to a parent and to students who want to get into good schools, it often seems that life starts and ends with the SAT/ACT. It's not surprising that parents feel so much exasperation/anxiety with these tests. Most parents lament that when they took the SAT, there was no Kaplan, no books, no prep. You just go in, take the test, and see what happens. The fact that this entire industry has popped up seems to indicate that there must be some secret or magic behind today's SAT that didn't exist before. BUT THAT IS NOT THE CASE. The fundamentals of what the SAT tests haven't drastically changed, but people's perception has. After 7 years as a full-time tutor, I've come to the conclusion that, in the best case scenario, SAT prep is a form of anxiety-management and, in the worst case scenario, a scam.</p>
<p>Before you sign up for your next course/tutor, keep these things in mind:</p>
<ul>
<li>I worked for 5 companies (yes, including the big ones), and not one company asked me to verify my score report.</li>
<li>The most extensive training I had was a 4-hour morning session looking through the company's manual</li>
<li>A lot of the gains students see on the exam are a function of familiarity with the content and increased cognitive ability -- both of which only coincide but certainly do not result from test prep</li>
<li>High price does not equate with high quality</li>
<li>Tutors/teachers have no training in dealing with anxiety management. And, after all, isn't anxiety the reason parents sign their students up for these tests?</li>
<li>Almost all test prep companies provide the same superficial tricks. There is VERY VERY VERY little differentiation among test prep companies</li>
<li>YOU CAN LEARN WHAT YOUR TEACHER/TUTOR provides by reading an SAT book from Barnes and Noble</li>
</ul>
<p>My qualifications: Full-time tutor for 7 years, Ivy League grad with the equivalent of 2370 on the SAT.</p>