<p>Or, and this is my honest opinion, a high school student who is involved in stimulating activities (e.g. debate or math competitions), learning well in advanced high school courses, and reading independently is already learning everything that one needs to know to do well on the standardized tests. I'm not sure how many recent readers of this thread have seen all the posts since the thread was opened, but plainly in my generation it was possible for students to score very high scores on the tests while being busy in high school and NOT taking test-prep courses. I have seen it done. I think it can still be done, as long as what is keeping a student busy has some benefit for the student's ability to read, solve math problems, and write. </p>
<p>I agree that working a lot of hours at a typical job that a teenager is able to pursue consumes a lot of time, and may not have a particularly large pay-off in test readiness. But colleges also take that into account if a student really needs to be working to help pay the family bills, in which case test-prep might be prohibitively expensive anyway.</p>
<p>tomorrow is my last day for the SAT prep class i took (im a sophomore)</p>
<p>at first i thought it would be a waste of money
but my parents are super crazy azn (both were born in asia; poor families etc.)</p>
<p>but then i look back
i took a practice sat b4 the classes
and i scored somewhere around a 1640 :(</p>
<p>my latest practice test i scored a 1950
and ive been to 5 classes, once a week for 3 hours that night</p>
<p>yes at first i thought it was a waste, i can just study for the test with books
but then at the classes they teach ways to do the test better, for example they recommended not spending time memorizing vocab or roots or that stuff, but "listening" to the sentence and just memorize the words the SAT uses alot, instead of the "500 words list" they always post up</p>
<p>i also found the essay writing was helpful
i got a 12 on the practice essay. my instructor in the class typed up a sheet, with an EXACT formula for ANY essay topic (as SAT topics are extremely generalized) with just basically a couple of blanks. he also had us memorize a couple of historical figures with exact dates that could be used for virtually any topic</p>
<p>so in the end i think it was worth it
as for my parents
my dad said
hey it might be 500 dollars down now, but the difference between in a little score different could be more than that :)</p>
<p>A really good test prep course, including PSAT prep for National Merit, is worth every dollar. The money we spent on the test prep was the best investment we ever made as our son became National Merit. If you get a high enough score on the PSAT, you have the potential to become a semi-finalist or a finalist with potential good merit aid.</p>
<p>Honestly, I despise expensive SAT prep programs and probably would not use one even if I had the monetary resources.</p>
<p>I understand that some people feel the need to use them, and I do not look down upon people to do. Personally, I feel that natural ability and a little discipline are the avenues to success. I got a 2170 the first time without prep and then worked a bit in critical reading especially, and writing a bit; to my excitement, I far surpassed my expectations with a 2280. I could not afford an SAT prep course, so this was very exciting. To me, an SAT prep course would feel like cheating because I know that some people can not afford them.</p>
<p>Therefore, I would say that hard work is the best way to achieve your goals.</p>
<p>I dont believe generally in test prep but I believe one company, testmasters, is different. It is not so much that their tricks I appreciate ( although that was amazing) but the fact that they have a library of 15 more ACTUAL SAT..exams that are not released to public over the blue boook. I believe prcaticing with real previously administered exams is the best.</p>
<p>I beleieve I am an outlier case. I know I am rlly intellegent (about 135 IQ)and get good grades but my psat/sat scores were abysmal to say the least.
Improvement
1670---------> 2000...ovver a year</p>
<p>Tsang, You obviously never picked up an SAT book before you were introduced to the prep classes. You mention that you have come to the realization that the prep classes are worth it because they simply taught you to "listen" to the words? You do realize that there are dozens of SAT prep books in the market that offer just as much "advice". You just haven't been looking hard enough. Im not saying that the classes that you took are COMPLETE waste of money and time, but seriously, the recommendations and the so called ultra secret techniques that you get from your tutors come directly from the books. From my personal experience, its become quite obvious that these miracle courses are based off the exact lessons in a prep book. The 20 dollar books are the blue print of your thousand dollar SAT course, but somewhat adjusted to meet the needs of each student-which of course, you can easily do yourself. Now if a SAT book and a real life SAT tutor are similar if not nearly identical, why do so many people pour money into these classes when they could just read the book themselves? It all comes down to discipline. Obviously someone who hasn't read a book since grade school will benefit much more than someone who studies regularly . I don't think the classes are worth the money, but you seem to have benefited tremendously from them. Instead of saying "500 dollars down now, but the difference between in a little score different could be more than that", wouldnt it be better to say "I spent ZERO dollars on SAT courses and made just as much of a difference as the moron that spent 500 dollars on a PR course". Nevertheless, you should experiment with both ways of preparation and see which one suits you best-you might just end up saving thousands of dollars! </p>
<p>I believe in test prep. D2 used Testmasters. She attended the classes with the attitude that she would eke every bit of information she could out of what was presented, and she followed up with the supplementary "exam club" (SAT offered every Sat and Sun for additional practice). </p>
<p>Now the disclaimer: my s also took an SAT prep class. He went with the attitude that he already knew everything presented. In doing so, he missed the point of the prep classes. In other words, if you don't have a good background in geometry after one year of class, then a three-hour review session is NOT going to suffice. My son is right in that you don't actually learn new material. A course like Testmasters helps you "master the test", duh.</p>
<p>I compare test prep to Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France (or whatever it is). Does he practice riding on the course or as similar a course as he can find? You bet he does. Obviously, practice under similar conditions and learning all the pitfalls and tips to increase speed helps. No, it is not cheating.</p>
<p>Can you practice on your own? Sure. I've just found - with three kids - that few have the self-discipline to actually do the test prep as assiduously as they think they will.</p>
<p>D2 (Testmasters prep) did qualify for National Merit and has remarkably high SAT scores. I honestly believe the test prep helped and that she would not have scored as high left to her own devices. My disclaimer on this child is that she watched her brother and his attitude and knew ahead of time that if she didn't approach test prep with a positive attitude that it would be her loss. She worked on the test directions and timing and her most common pitfalls and steadily improved her testing skills. </p>
<p>The money spent on test prep can be more than made up with scholarship money should D3 choose to do so.</p>
<p>I asked alot of other high scorer parents if their children took a prep course, and found that most of the people I know who scored well did not take a prep course. My thoughts also that my son would go crazy in a class of average students, as they discussed how to answer math.</p>
<p>So he went ahead and took ACT without any prep course, and he got a 36. Obviously he is a good test taker anyway, but that is the point. If you are a good test taker, I do not think it helps, and is a waste of time and money.</p>
<p>one caveat: he DID take the PSAT prep course at his school as he knew that the PSAT was a high stakes test and did not want to take the chance of not doing well. Also, that course was already geared toward high test scorers. It was not expensive, though</p>
<p>I do not know if it helped, as he never took it before, but he did well enough for semi-finalist status (I am assuming.)</p>
<p>I took an free group class at a local college and it did absolutely nothing for me, most likely because most of the kids in the class were trying to get average scores whereas i was trying to get a 1900+
I improved my score by studying on my own and disciplining myself and even thought my scores aren't where I want them to be yet, I'm at least on my way.
I think studying on you own is the best thing you can do for yourself and as a lower middle class kid who can't afford a private tutor, it does make me angry that kids hire these tutors to improve their scores and I do regard it as cheating.
I would also like to point out that all of my friends took test prep as an elective in school this year as their elective and I chose to take AP European History. I did significantly better than all of them (sorry if that sounds snotty I'm just trying to make a point). Group classes are obviously not that affective.</p>
<p>"My daughter studied on her own, she's a pretty focused kid naturally, and she scored well on all the tests she took. My son however is somewhat disorganized and needed some help on how to take the test. He had a tutor who helped him bring his score up considerably and along the way taught him some grammar that he hadn't gotten in school as well as tips on how to take math tests."</p>
<p>This is what is unfair about test-prep courses. One person got a good score completely by themself. The other lacked whatever they needed to get a good score, but then the parents threw some money at the situation and voila, the other person has a good score too. Clearly the first person should have had a higher score on the test, but it appears that their natural advantage was negated.</p>
<p>I disagree. If my son is not doing well in a subject, we encourage him to do extra work, meet with the teacher, and work with a tutor to get over rough spots and back on track. A natural advantage in any class is a blessing - some students have a math ability that is enviable. However, something can also be said for the student who doesn't have that natural advantage but is willing to put in some extra time and effort to achieve.</p>
<p>I am mentioning hs classes, but extend the same belief to SAT prep. Natural advantage - great; extra INDEPENDENT work - great; extra work through an SAT prep class - great. </p>
<p>Don't begrudge any student a test score that reflects the best of his ability whether he got it with no extra work at all or had to work extra hard to shore up weakness. It seems petty to think: "I have a natural ability in this area; how dare you try to improve your grade, score, whatever."</p>
<p>Plenty of room for all and diverse ways to meet need.</p>
<p>(BTW - my daughter with innate ability did not begrudge my son the time and effort he spent preparing for the SAT; my son did not begrudge his sister her innate testing ability - well, not too much :) However, that fact that we "threw some money" to help my son with test prep was truly never an issue. We also "threw some money" when he needed a speech therapist, braces, etc.)</p>
<p>I don't begrudge anyone the score they obtain, through whatever means, but I'm willing to bet decent money (the cost of a prep course, at least) that taking a formal prep course is a waste of that money for most test-taker. The test-taker could use the same amount of money to buy interesting books and subscribe to interesting magazines, and get better test preparation and better preparation for life in college that way.</p>
<p>The difference is that I would distinguish between a regular class and the SAT. A tutor for a regular class should help someone learn more. In that regard hiring a tutor improves their education. There's nothing wrong with that.</p>
<p>With the SAT, a tutor isn't going to help them learn more, only do better on a test. Hiring a tutor for the SAT (to me at least) simply seems like buying extra points others may not be able to afford.</p>
<p>ha funny thing is that my "SAT prep" school/class was sued by CollegeBoard just recently. I laughed cause that class didnt help me at all and it was a POS</p>
<p>So, what we have here are some blanket statements that imply that capitalism is basically a bad system:
"If anyone can afford something someone else can't, that's unfair."
Ridiculous. I would say, if you don't like it, you don't have to live under it. There are plenty of democratic systems which a more socialist bent to choose from.
Also, apparently some people think that others should be told what they can spend their money on.
Or perhaps they think that putting money in the stock market (which perhaps "some people can't afford to do, so it's unfair") is a better investment than a child's education and future.
Or that helping someone who isn't born with the testing gene (an "unfair advantage" in itself) is somehow unfair. That's backwards logic.
Do you really think that if prep didn't work, it would be such a booming business?
Test prep companies and tutors provide a service just like everything else.
Some people would only get the same results if they studied the SAT for years and years. So they hire a professional. For those who feel that kids spend too much time on the SAT's, hiring someone to distill it for them saves time, not the reverse.
For those who don't need it, well, duh, don't buy it, just like everything else.
I didn't use any prep myself, but apparently I was born with the testing gene. My dad scored a perfect on all of his Regents exams, so I'm willing to bet it's really genetic.
But a lot of folks aren't. If they are willing to learn as much as they can and work hard to improve, should I just say: "No, sorry, can't help you, you should have been born with a different genetic profile, tough luck." Or should I help them?</p>