It is too early to make assumptions about future scores anyway. Light prep, about how best to take the test and then taking the test once or maybe twice, can be useful- next year.
High school life should not be distorted by a focus on test scores.
If you child’s abilities aren’t accurately demonstrated on tests, but more meaningfully in grades and extracurriculars, it is NOT necessary to submit scores at all. (Although for merit aid, some do require scores).
We went test optional for our youngest and she got into all the schools she wanted. Low stress and she enjoyed her last years of high school, dancing instead of doing test prep.
I think $5k is crazy. We paid $100 an hour for a few hours of one on one tutoring to go from a 1330 PSAT to a 1370 SAT and then my son just did all of the practice tests in the Official College Board book and went to a 1470 2 months later. 80 hours is an insane amount of time to prep,.
Test prep can definitely help and like some others have said, my kids probably did more review with a tutor than they would have on their own. But there is a ceiling to any kid’s score. There is also a typical increase from sophomore to junior year due to more knowledge. Plus, for many kids a 10th grade PSAT or ACT is just for practice and the may not do their best.
You may want to find a more flexible arrangement. Perhaps some tutoring late summer / early fall to prep for the real junior year PSAT and maybe a fall ACT. At that point you can better asses the need for tutoring.
Also, come up with a list of schools that are realistic targets. The test target scores may be lower than you think.
Before you spend the money (which I assume is not breaking the bank), make sure the child is committed to do the work. Best training in + best effort = best results. Cost seems a bit high, but we don’t live in your area. Both both D’s improved with test prep. Did full prep on older D (18 quarter points on ACT at top end of ACT range). Younger D did one quarter of the prep (very high score to start with) and improved 7 quarter points. Would consider spending on essay prep as well, we did not. Mirror image of my second D got a lot more acceptances with prepped essay.
Prep didn’t help either of mine. They weren’t thinking in “testing mode.” No, they had no interest in self study. I don’t regret what we spent (less than 1k.)
But I quickly realized D1 would need to match strongly in every other respect, to get to her college goals. You could say, we invested in the research, the family time, clarifying her interests, understanding how to strategize. It’s something I personally picked up from on random comment by anothr poster. Be the sort the college wants, despite scores.
Sounds like we are in very similar situation. My sophomore son has a high gpa with sports and good EC’s. His PSAT and a practice ACT were not as high as he hoped. I met with several test prep services and spoke to other parents. To make a long story short it seems most beneficial to tailor the studying to your students learning style. For us that means using the summer for self studying using Khan academy SAT prep as a guide along with a few prep books and then some tutoring late July to brush up on weak points. I think forcing my son would have been counter productive as he would see it as punishment. On the other hand if you child prefers classroom learning I would go with that. Either way best of luck.
Does your kid want to do prep? Did she sit an actual real ACT already? (what was that score) Why would your expectations be so low for an advanced student?
I just reread this thread, and I don’t see anything about what this kid got on her first ACT attempt at a 10th grader…and I don’t see the target score the family or kid wants to aim for. How did I miss this?
Is Huntington Learning where you are being offered a $5000 contract for prep? If so…spend your money more wisely and find an individual SAT or ACT tutor who will really hone in on YOUR kid’s weaknesses.
And take your own advice…do all the freebies first.
In your situation with a student ending 10th grade, I would suggest any test prep for the ACT or SAT wait until the two months just prior to when she takes the tests…near the end of 11th grade. It was strongly suggested to us, that test prep end just before the test administration dates.
If your kiddo takes the test at the end of junior year (most kids do not take the SAT or ACT until near the end of JUNIOR year), then she has the chance to retake in early fall senior year if needed.
Not sure why you had her take an ACT test as a 10th grader.
And really, don’t discard the SAT as a possible better choice for her.
And remember those test optional schools. You have already visited two!
What level of math is your D taking now? One of my sons had a math score increase 220 points from freshman year PSAT to SAT junior year. 80% of that was simply getting through Alg II, Pre-Calc/Trig and Calc AB. Verbal also increased significantly as he got into more advanced lit classes.
We got the Blue SAT Book, but my sons didn’t do the entire thing. S1 did one full test and was satisfied he was ready, S2 did one full test, all of the math sections and a couple of essays (back when there was an essay component – he has documented but unaccommodated fine motor issues, and we wanted to be sure he could write an essay in 25 minutes and that he had a sense of how much time was allowed.) S2 never did prep on during the school week, and except for the full test, no more than an hour on the weekend, for about six weeks.
Some kids do better on one test or the other. May be worth it to try each and see where she is stronger. S2’s school felt IB kids did stronger on the ACT because they focus so much on each subject, but time is more of a factor on the ACT than the SAT, and speed is not his strength. He would have tried it if he had been unhappy with his SAT scores, but he was pleased and we didn’t push. He did choose to take it a second time, but did zero prep, as it was June of junior year and he had just finished APs and IBs.
I’m in the camp of getting the standardized testing done junior year. Senior year is too crazy and that mental energy should be going towards good senior year grades and application essays.
Thank you all, great feedback and advice. We will skip the 5K in test prep and use a hybrid approach of many of your suggestions. Again, greatly appreciate the experiences everyone shared.
The only person who knows what’s best is you and your daughter.
80 hours and $5k are a lot of time and money, but if it makes the difference between going to a school you like and a school you love…and spending $250k in the process…it’s a worthwhile investment.
Different kids respond differently to larger classes, self-study, etc. If your daughter is on-board with the investment and wants to do the work, it might be a really good option. 80 hours does feel like a lot.
You still have time, so my suggestion would be to ask around and get recommendations. What is the background of the instructor(s) and can the program show you results (it’s really hard to know…but they should be able to give you a sense of improvement since it’s their program).
Our oldest did the standard after-school prep in a group of 10-12. Worked out fine. Our younger one didn’t respond to the larger group, studied and took the SAT, and after a so-so first score moved to the ACT with a tutor (recommended by a few people with Ivy League children) in very small classes (max of 4 per session). The tutor was embarrassingly expensive per session, but the number of sessions was limited to half a dozen (2 hours each). The students were grouped based on ability and focus needs. Our child’s ACT improved dramatically over the comparable SAT performance. It was money well spent.
Sidenote: We asked the tutor why she was so much more expensive than anyone else (individual hours she charged $350/hr - NJ). Her response was that she didn’t want to waste her time with individual students and that she felt strongly her time was better spent in groups. For groups of 4 or 5, she made slightly more money per hour, but it wasn’t about money. When asked why the group prices were still so high, she said that she only had so many hours in a day (nights and weekends) and that those paying for her classes were helping cover the costs of the classes she does for free in districts without sufficient support for their students. I thought that was a pretty good answer, and felt better about paying what we did for her help.
I am surprised by the responses in this thread. $5,000 for 80 hours for one-on-one prep is ridiculously cheap. But I am equally surprised by OP’s low goals of a 25 to 30 on the ACT for an honors & AP student.
Also surprised that folks think that 80 hours of test prep is too much. Depends on the student, but for one who responds to one-on-one tutoring, the benefits of $5,000 for 80 hours should be tremendous both in the short term & in the long run.
Any student willing to put in 80 hours should score above 30 on the ACT. OP’s standards are too low for an honors & AP student.
P.S. I do appreciate that $5,000 is a significant amount of money, but not significant when compared to college tuition, and insignificant when likely benefits are taken into account.
I assume OP has the funds available or OP would not have started this thread.
Also, an advantage of a tutor is that student’s should not make the same mistakes repeatedly under the guidance of an experienced tutor. This, in turn, should reduce student frustration & test anxiety.
@BmacNJ : Assuming that the tutor is qualified & competent, I have no idea how you found a tutor willing to work for such a low price.
Because your daughter’s weakness is in math, she should derive more benefit from being tutored than kids with weakness in other areas because math is the most learnable section on the ACT & SAT.
Starting in the 10th grade with tutoring means that she will benefit not only on standardized tests, but also in her classroom performance.
Consider it a blessing that your daughter is willing to engage in 80 hours of one-on-one tutoring.
In my opinion, not hiring this tutor is likely to cost both you & your daughter a lot more than $5,000.
P.S. I started a thread today titled “Schools Enrolling the Most National Merit Scholars”. If your daughter improves her standardized test scores & GPA , she can earn automatic college scholarships even for numbers well below National Merit qualifying numbers. But for a NMS, college can be tuition free plus many other benefits.
But, even without stellar scores & grades, better standardized test scores & better grades should yield more college options for your daughter. The freedom to choose one’s college or university is certainly worth more than $5,000.
If you are determined to spend money on it, have your kid take a practice test to see how she does. Then if improvement is neede, offer her $1,000 to raise her score by whatever gets her to the 75th percentile of the school at the top of her list.
@Publisher the point is that kids can and do get very large increases without enduring 80 hours of prep and spending that kind of money. For free Kahn academy will analyze old test and you can prep accordingly. If you have to use a tutor a few sessions can help you with the ins and outs of the tests. So even if you can afford it, why pay that kind of money when it’s simply unnecessary?
There are many reasons to use a tutor and it’s a personal decision for each family. Not all students learn the same way…some benefit from interaction, some struggle to teach themselves concepts while sitting alone in their rooms, some benefit from being taught by others, and some need to be held accountable.
An experienced standardized test tutor who knows how to teach the concepts, tips and tricks of these tests, time management of tests, and/or which strategies may work best for a given student, is well worth their price for many families.