<p>Many of the big test prep companies boast that all of their instructors scored in the 99th percentile when they took the SAT. That marketing ploy has always bothered me and I feel like venting about it.</p>
<p>First, I know plenty of people who earned perfect scores on the SAT that I would not want anywhere near my kids. Second, scoring that high does not necessarily mean you are a good teacher.</p>
<p>Before I sign my six-year-old up for a basketball camp, for example, I am more interested in the coaching credentials of the instructors than in their player profiles. We all know that some of best coaches/teachers were not great players/students. We also know that many of the most talented athletes and students cannot adequately explain how they do what they do -- they just do it.</p>
<p>Some big test prep companies hire and then "certify" (whatever that means) bright college kids with absolutely no teaching experience to work for them as private tutors. They then bill these kids out at $125 per hour. Am I crazy or is this highway robbery?</p>
<p>When you are trying to find expert help for your child, ask around (do your homework) and try to find an expert teacher.</p>
<p>I agree, just because a person scores high on a test doesn't make them good at teaching. I went to a summer program where the teachers sucked because they were hired based on their education rather than their teaching experience/skill. The result was that they could never explain and usually skipped basic concepts because it was deemed too basic for their smart minds to even go over, leaving students confused. </p>
<p>And also, I never go for commercialized test prep. There was a classified jobs ad in the local newspaper where I live that had Princeton Review hiring new SAT instructors. The pay? $18 an hour. At least in my location, these instructors aren't quality tutors.</p>
<p>It's a good marketing ploy, but as you note, meaningless as far as determining the quality of test-prep.</p>
<p>I scored in the 99%ile in the PRAXIS Biology examination, which would make me eligible to provide the information in a "secrets to success" type book that is marketed for that exam. The book is about $30, but I'll give you my two secrets for free:</p>
<ol>
<li> Read the questions carefully before answering them.</li>
<li> Know the material.</li>
</ol>
<p>These are the strategies I used to get such a high score. I'm not sure they're worth $125 per hour, though.</p>
<p>I totally agree that a 99% score does NOT mean someone can teach. My physics teacher was brilliant but a terrible teacher. I'm an A student but was failing physics...but still got an A with the curve, because all of the A students were getting Cs and worse. He was that bad.</p>
<p>An older friend of mine taught for Princeton Review...her training was pretty intense and she had to audition. Not everyone in her class made the cut (she's a natural teacher, though). But they don't use novices for the private tutoring...she had to prove herself as a class instructor before she'd be eligible to tutor. Only the best instructors work as tutors since that pays more.</p>
<p>sigh .. PR and Kaplan should just make a guide to "Young Entrepeneurs - How to Make Big $ from Little Children" since thats the only thing they are good at . LOL</p>