Test Prep Company Taking The SAT?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

Hey all, I created an account just to ask this question. This might sound strange, but I’m genuinely curious about this because I’ve never seen anything like this before.

So I took the new May SAT yesterday at a local high school. As I was checking in, I noticed a grown man in line, and I recognized him as the owner of a test prep company who had come to talk to my school about the SAT. The proctors were confused initially, and they mistook him for a parent until he said, “No, I’m taking the SAT with my daughter.” And so he did–he sat in a desk, used the appropriate materials, and took the SAT as if he was one of the high school students.

I have no issue with him being there, I just found it slightly odd. I guess it had never occurred to me that test prep companies need to have some way of knowing about the new test, and taking it would be a great way to obtain that knowledge :slight_smile: Again, I was just kind of perplexed. Has this ever happened to anyone else–have you ever had an adult or a tutor taking the actual SAT alongside you?

2

Yes–in fact, I’ve been that adult during various administrations of the SAT and ACT. I’ve sometimes gotten curious looks or extra scrutiny from the people in charge, but the students have always ignored me entirely.

You are correct about why tutors and teachers take the test, but you might consider that their presence provides benefits to student test takers as well. For example, teachers/tutors/adults have often been at the forefront in bringing to light problems with test forms (i.e., the June 2015 misprint fiasco) and test centers (bad proctors, etc.)

See some coverage here, for example:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/education/edlife/01proctor-t.html?_r=0

http://blog.prepscholar.com/sat-testing-center-problems-proctor

http://perfectscoreproject.com/2011/11/fair-test-procedures-for-sat-day/