For many juniors in high school, the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) looms as a big ugly monster on the horizon. Indeed for both parents and students, the anticipation of taking this test creates all kinds of unwelcome anxiety. The stress becomes enhanced for the competitive college-bound individual who wants to get into a better-than-average school. In order to achieve a respectable score on the SAT and to ward off excessive amounts of stress, students should give adequate time to prepare for this examination. For those parents who can afford it, private tutoring and specialized schools are also available.
Most parents prefer one-on-one private tutoring to an SAT school. Parents, whose children I have tutored for this test, have told me that they opted for a private tutor after having enrolled their child in a program at school and got minimal results. Certainly some help is better than none, and this would apply to that help gained at a school or specialized preparation center. The problem with the school or group approach is that many students tune out while enrolled and therefore do not experience the gains that one-on-one help can provide. In a one-on-one situation, the student has no choice but to interact with the tutor, whereas in the group environment a student can often get lost in the shuffle. Such factors as non-participation, inattentiveness, and lack of interest will certainly mitigate against any gains in score. Of course, in the one-on-one situation, the competence of the tutor plays a significant role as well.
In my years of tutoring privately for the SAT, (go here for more information
SAT Test Preparation) I have found that putting the student in the test situation and then reviewing what they failed at is most effective. In other words, I let them take an actual math section test, under the same time constraints as the actual SAT, and then I go over it point by point. Then I request that they retake the entire test after reviewing my notes and worked-out solutions. After doing this repeatedly, their ability to get through the problems successfully increases dramatically. Bear in mind that while I show them the step-by-step solutions, I also fill in their weak spots by re-teaching them material they need to know. By providing this type of tutoring, the students test scores invariably go up; and both they and their parents are always pleased with this accomplishment.
