Are SAT Prep Classes an Unfair Advantage??

Test Preparation
21

<p>The SAT and IQ tests are completely different things. Although they are called 'aptitude' and 'intelligence' tests, which both mean testing your natural or inherent abilities, the SAT doesn't test your natural abilities like an IQ test does. For an IQ test, you are asked to solve problems, skills you develop outside of school. On the SAT, you are asked to apply knowledge you learn in school. Prepping for an IQ test won't help at all; it tests HOW you think, which you can't really change. Prepping for the SAT will help; it tests WHAT you know, which you can easily change. Taking the prep class is just a way of increasing what you know. A higher IQ (more problem solving abilities) may help on the SAT, but a high score on the SAT (having more knowledge) won't help at all on an IQ test. The IQ is a measure on aptitude and the SAT is a measure of knowledge. Therefore, you can't compare prepping for the SAT to prepping for an IQ test.</p>

<p>Also, a prep class is basically a review class (I agree that the strategy classes are useless; you are trying to change HOW you think, which, as I mentioned, is an inherent ability). The classes just help you recall knowledge. No one is 'holding your hand'. As I said a few posts ago, the people who take the review classes are the ones who actually care about their future. They use the class as a guide, like a review session for a chemistry test in school. These people have the initiative to do things ontheir own and won't need help. The rest (people not in review classes) don't care and can't do things for themselves. They are the ones who will need someone to hold their hand in college.</p>

<p>In conclusion (if what I said before has made any sense at all), SAT classes are not limited in how much they help (unless you're already in the 2300s). The only people who are at a disadvantage are the poorer people. (As for people who don't have time, thats BS. In the long run, life is short, but short term, you have plenty of time and if the scheduling doesn't work out, get a tutor (but, the poor can't, so they are at a disadvantage)). </p>

<p>P.S. - I think we're straying a little from the original question of Are SAT Prep Classes an Unfair Advantage? to Are SAT Prep Classes helpful?</p>

22

<p>Zel, don't hate on people taking SAT Prep classes. They're useless and unnecessary, and anyone who's motivated and practices with the collegeboard book along with a princeton review book for tips can do just as well. They're just giving money away. Guess they didn't really need it. </p>

<p>You're supposed to do whatever you can to make things work. Honestly, the line "you gotta do what you gotta do" is the perfect line here. I'm just against prep classes because they're a waste of time and money.</p>

23

<p>Kamikazewave: By no means am I saying that prep classes are the best way to go. I'm just saying that they are very helpful. I also believe that prep books are better as they are MUCH cheaper (my prep class is costing me $120) and can provide the same if not better score improvements, but that is not the issue being discussed here.</p>

24

<p>oh no worries, i'm not hating on anybody...there's nothing wrong or immoral about taking prep classes, and i don't think they're an "unfair advantage." </p>

<p>i actually think they're a disadvantage in the long run...b/c i don't think that the test is designed to measure ability *after *a specific class...but whatever, nice to see a (semi-)factual discussion on CC...and a passionate one, at that.</p>

<p>disclaimer--i have never taken a prep class, so i'm sorry if i misrepresent them. but i know many ppl who have, and this is extrapolation of that.</p>

25

<p>Everybody has advantages and disadvantages; those people who have money can afford a prep class, those who don't can't afford the class and may have to settle for a book - theres no way around that, so theres no sense in arguing whether its fair or not, lifes not fair, you just gotta deal with it.</p>

26

<p>i personally thought sat prep classes were stupid. i took the princeton review classes and i learned absolutely nothing. in fact, my math score actually dropped when i came out after they forced their useless tactics onto me. that was junior year. when i retook it this year, i just studied on my own and i got 2250. princeton review got me a 2080. lol.</p>

<p>all i did was cram for two weeks lol.</p>

<p>basically, all sat classes do is force you to work. if you can work hard on your own, you don't need prep classes. biggest waste of money EVER.</p>

<p>you don't need someone to teach you how to memorize vocab and you don't need someone to assign you practice tests :|.</p>

27

<p>2100ish to 2360, 1 prep class for 2 months, 3x a week.</p>

<p>and I got a lot of extra essay practice and a prospective recommendation letter out of the deal. I thought it was worth every minute.</p>

<p>perhaps, though, I'm the only one who took useful classes.</p>

28

<p>All I did was use the Collegeboard and Princeton Review book. Trust me, if I could pull it off with my weak English skills, anyone can. All it takes is study. By yourself is actually much more productive than class, which tells you useless information, since you can just focus on your weaknesses.</p>

<p>What I did.</p>

<ol>
<li>All 10 practice tests spread over several months</li>
<li>SAT question a day.</li>
</ol>

<p>And I went up 120 points (single sitting only) on the next test.</p>

<p>And I don't think anyone can complain about my score :D</p>

29

<p>LOL i did 20 practice tests in 2 weeks. HAHA me and my procrastination.</p>

30

<p>I'm a parent who is also a trained SAT tutor, and I can say that the benefit of tutoring or classes by those who are specially trained in this type of test-taking is that they give a lot of tips on test-taking strategies and "trick" questions that you wouldn't get by "just studying." The SAT is in some ways like a "game" or "puzzle" that requires certain skills, but those skills are not the same ones as those required for succeeding in college. </p>

<p>I do not think SATs are much of a predictor of college success, and that "aptitude" and "intelligence" tests are relative. I had mediocre SATs as a youngster and graduated Magna Cum Laude and am now working on a second Master's degree in middle age. By the way, when I took a practice SAT for my current job, I scored an 800 -- if the SAT was really a test of aptitude or raw intelligence, then my score would be the same as it was in high school or lower because I haven't taken one in 25 years. </p>

<p>I've seen a lot of people classified as super-smart because of high SATs (my own spouse and one of my kids included!) who did not succeed because they had poor time management, organizational skills, and not much of a work ethic. Some people are really good at "test-taking" but not much good at real life. In my opinion, colleges should stop paying attention to the college board cash cow, and just look at students' grades and the quality of the high school they're attending. But then, I'd be out of a job!</p>

31

<p>I, too, had the reasoning that SAT classes were useless, that they didn't teach you anything that you couldn't learn from a book.</p>

<p>Two years later, a good twenty-five-ish weeks of combined SAT prep classes, and a regular JOB at an SAT prep center, I stand corrected.</p>

<p>
[quote]
i'm saying that a score received after prep class is not an accurate reflection of your personal "scholastic aptitude"/college readiness...if you're prepping differently than everyone else, clearly the test will be measuring something else for you.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Nowadays, the only "accurate reflection" of "personal 'scholastic aptitude'" is probably taking the test without any study at all. And with the emphasis colleges place on the SATs nowadays, it would be rare for most to score high without any studying at all. Most students study in some way for the SATs if they're determined to go to a relatively good college, imo, because they realize how important the SATs are.</p>

<p>I don't think that prep classes teach you "differently" -- what could be so ridiculously different from learning on your own? There is no instant five hundred point bonus for taking a prep class, or learned secrets released by the College Board ONLY to prep centers.. what prep centers do, from my own personal experience, is inspire students to study. With set times for practice tests, test review, review of material, the student can then really focus -- as well as see things in different lights as shown by instructors, etc. -- and much more so than if said student committed him/herself to taking a practice test but was vulnerable to distractions, rescheduling, etc.</p>

<p>
[quote]
will someone be holding your hand in college?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>No, but not only is an SAT class geared specifically toward the intent of scoring high on the SAT and not really toward teaching students for the heck of it, high school itself is, from what I hear, drastically different from college itself. There's a lot of hand-holding that supposedly disappears once you enter college, so the transition will be tough for most, anyway.</p>

<p>There's much more I can say -- but I've already written a whole essay in this post. And a college application essay about my SAT prep experiences. (;</p>

<p>But for anyone who says SAT prep classes don't help -- I went from an initial 1850 to a 2240, and 600 on MathIIC/Lit to 790/740, respectively.</p>

32

<p>sat prep classes are analogous to personal trainers that help you stay in shape</p>

33

<p>Please list some of those tips and tricks, because my parents forced me into one of those classes my sophomore year...and I never learned anything.</p>

<p>Also, none of the high scorers I know ever got much from a prep class/or took one, myself included.</p>

<p>There's one trick I still remember. Plugging in the answers if you don't know the answer to a math question....haha...as if a person who didn't know how to do those questions could score high anyways.</p>

<p>For someone with a 1800 combined, SAT classes might help. But if you're like the majority of people at CC after the 2300-2400 range, they won't help you much.</p>

34

<p>Of course, just because one has money for prep class, that alone does not guarantee success. D's friend paying for Princeton Review prep course and got 2040 on his first try.
I refused to pay for this kind of test, but I did order tons of book from Amazon, total less than $60. D scored higher than her friend by nearly +250 points.</p>

35

<p>No test prep classes in our house. Got the Blue Book; DS1 has written a half-dozen essays, done parts of a couple practice tests for question format, and completed one full test for the endurance factor. He takes the SAT on Saturday. Unless something really off-the-wall happens, this should be it.</p>

36

<p>yeah, i think its pretty unfair, considering that the sat prep courses are very very expensive and not alotta people can afford it</p>

37

<p>It is an unfair advantage considering the cost. Like yort mentions, it excludes students who haven't the financial means to pay for such SAT prep courses. While it is true that hard work and dedication can help a student bring their SAT score up, it's not the same as paying and just getting professional advice from people who already know the test inside-out.</p>

38

<p>It's not reliable, so it's not an unfair advantage. There are a lot of free stuff, you can get all the test prep books in the world for less than $100 or maybe less.</p>