How many sessions are needed to prepare a student for the SATs?

Students who take the SATs without any preparation are like the person who wants to write a book using pencil and paper instead of a computer.  It can be done, but the person using a “manual word processor” is at a distinct disadvantage.  The SATs are just not like school tests.  They do not merely measure what you know.  They test how well you can take the test.  A good tutoring program can help you learn strategies that lead to higher scores.  Prep classes teach strategies that help you identify the correct answer in less time.  Why approach a math problem by doing the algebra when a strategy can let you find the correct answer without spending time on the computation?  Why read an entire reading comprehension passage when a strategy can be used to locate the correct answer in a matter of seconds? 

For about ten years, a student has been taking teacher-designed tests.  The SAT is very different.  The student must learn new test-taking behaviors.  Developing a new approach takes time.  Yes, a student can pick up a few strategies in just a few days, but to optimize his/her chance of practicing and internalizing SAT strategies while reviewing the appropriate subject matter, an appropriate amount of time must be devoted to preparatory work. 

Tutors who specialize in SAT-preparation classes agree that 10-15 hours is the average amount of time that a student should spend in prep classes.  These classes meet once a week, and the student is expected to do homework in between the sessions.  Soar For Success, for example, expects students to put in 15-20 minutes a night for five nights and to take some of the practice tests at home.  That is enough sessions to “cover” the material, and it a long enough span of time for the student to begin to develop new test-taking behaviors.  

How Do I Find a Tutor?

How Do I Find a Tutor?

The other day, a friend asked me whether I thought more students worked with a tutor than in years past, and if so, what did I think was the reason. My immediate answer was yes. In the 60s, few students were being tested. The reasons for the increase are complex and varied. First, there are fewer adults today who are available to help children with their school work. Today, the norm is that both parents work, while in the 50s and 60s, the stay-home mom was much more common. Teachers, too, have less time to help. They have larger classes and more responsibilities. We are much better today at diagnosing learning disabilities, and so we identify more students who need help that cannot be given in the classroom. Furthermore, parents have become aware that tutoring helps improve high-stakes test scores.  Children applying to independent schools take the SSAT and ISEE, and high school students take the ACT or SAT.  They know that test prep classes really do help a student earn a higher score.  When a high school counselor has to work with an average 130 students who are applying to colleges, many parents feel that their children are not receiving the requisite personal attention. They turn to tutors who can coach an adolescent through the admissions process. 
Yes, more kids are being tutored these days.  So today, the person to turn to is a tutor.

But we should be careful not to assume that this means that schools are failing in their jobs. Actually, the opposite can be argued. Schools know more about how the brain learns. Teaching techniques have improved astronomically. With technology, the school environment is a richer learning environment. 
But schools work with large groups of students and are just not equipped to focus in depth with students on a one-to-one basis in ways that go beyond extra help.

How prevalent is tutoring?  More than you might suspect!  An article in The New York Times June 7, 2011, Educational Supplement reported that more than half of the families of the students in New York City’s prestigious independent schools hire tutors.  An independent survey performed in 2005 found that 30% of parents at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols, a private school in Cambridge, MA, had used a tutor just within the past year.  In 2004, Ireson reported that the U.S. ranks fifth in its use of tutors, after Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China [for more information, see http://academicachievers.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/does-only-my-child-need-a-tutor/].  If you time the visit to your town libraries just right, you can find tutors and students working together at just about every table. 

Tutoring is big business. Although the precise figure is impossible to determine because there is so much under-the-table tutoring, in 2010, Outsell, Inc. reported that the tutoring market is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion in annual revenues.   Other studies put the figure for educational support closer to $39 billion.  Many people offer their services as tutors. With so many tutors available, how do you decide whom to hire? 

Start by seeking recommendations from other parents and asking some probing questions. 

·         1. How long has the tutor worked with the child?  The longer the relationship the more likely the tutor have developed an effective program for the child.

·           2. Was a tutoring center or individualized tutor used?  With the exception of small classes for high-stake test preparation, group tutoring in student centers – sometimes called tutoring boutiques – may not serve the best interest of a child.  According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities, individualized tutoring might be more desirable.  Students with attention deficit, for example, tend to do much better when they are the only person being focused on by a tutor.  A private tutor gives more personalized attention to the student and presents material in a way that that child can assimilate it.

·          3. How did the tutor interact with their child?  Was the tutor challenging while also encouraging?  Was the tutor a successful role model?  Although tutoring sessions involve real work, did the tutor make the experience fun?  (To say this differently, learning is hard work, but that does not mean that everything has to be somber and serious.)  Did the child feel comfortable with the tutor?  Consequently, was the child positively motivated by the tutor (be aware that children who are oppositional and resistant might not be able to become invested in the process)?

·           4. What was the tutor’s teaching style?  Was most of the time spent with lecture and teacher talk, or were the sessions more interactive, so that the tutor consequently engaged the child?  Be sure to ask why tutoring was needed, so you know how to interpret the answer.  Tutors will naturally be more directive if they are preparing students for high stake tests or giving academic extra help than if they are working with a child to develop organizational and time management skills. 

·          5.  How successful was the tutor?  How long did the tutor work with the student before there was improvement in school?  Some students respond quickly to tutoring.  Most tutoring, however, takes significantly longer.  Also, keep in mind that tutoring is not always about getting better grades.  Failing to see improvement in school does not necessarily mean that the tutoring experience was unsuccessful.  Sometimes, for example, the goal is to reduce anxiety or to learn how to manage time. 

·           6. How frequently and in what manner did the tutor communicate with the parents? 

Be sure to interview the tutor. 

·           1. After verifying what you learned from friends, ask about the tutor’s level of experience.  Graduate students, for example, might be appropriate for short-term academic extra help and remediation, while someone with years of classroom experience and success in working with children who have learning disabilities might be better suited for working with a student who has special needs. 

·           2. How flexible can the tutor be when scheduling sessions and what is the policy about cancelations? 

·           3. Can the tutor be reached in between sessions if the child has a question or two? 

·           4. Where does the tutor meet with students?  Will your child have to go to an office in another town or will the sessions be held at your home or in a library? 

·           5. What does the tutor charge?  There is a tremendous range in the fees that tutors and tutoring companies charge.  You need to decide if you can afford the cost and if the fee is appropriate, given the tutor’s level of experience and professionalism.  Be sure to ask how payment is to be made.  

·           6. Does the tutor offer a no-cost consultation?  If so meet with the tutor to share your concerns and hopes.  Bring your child to the meeting.  All parties concerned need to feel comfortable with each other.

In the long run, finding a tutor is easy.  Finding the right tutor is more challenging.  To that end, doing your homework will go a long way toward helping you find the right person.  Be prepared to communicate regularly with the tutor you end up using.  Share the school report cards and conversations that you might have with your child’s teachers.  Have periodic conferences so you can ask questions, provide feedback, and offer suggestions.  Be prepared to hear some suggestions from the tutor about what you might be called upon to do. Helping a child is truly a team effort.