Beware: Test-Prep Coaching an Expensive Way to Produce Very Small Gains

There is clear evidence that familiarity with the types of questions asked on tests like the SAT and the ACT will help students perform better on these important exams. The idea that scores can be improved has led to an entire industry that features various test-prep standardized test coaching models.

However, there is mounting evidence that these extremely expensive test-prep coaching programs do very little for students despite marketing claims to the contrary. A new report by the National Association for College Admission Counseling found that the costly coaching of test-prep firms boosted average SAT scores by a mere 30 points combined on the verbal and math sections (1600 possible) and but one point on the ACT (36 possible points).

Such numbers pale against the claims from these firms that coaching can help students improve by hundreds of points on the SAT or as much as five points on the ACT. When all is said and done, it appears that the gains students make after these expensive coaching sessions (more than a $1,000 per program), on average, could have been obtained in a more cost-effective manner.

Some Shady Doings Alleged

According to critics, some test-prep firms attempt to inflate their impact by giving students mock tests that are actually harder than the true exams. When students take those harder, sample tests, they obtain lower scores than normal. Later, when they take the real test, the students obtain much higher scores, a result that leads these test-prep firms to claim they have significantly helped students.

One such example is cited by John Hechinger writing for The Wall Street Journal. The article tells the tale of Jonah Varon, a straight-A student at Lowell High School in San Francisco, who theoretically scored 2060 out of a possible 2400 on a mock test by one coaching company, Revolution Prep, but later scored a perfect 2400, 340 points higher, on the real test.

Hechinger notes that Revolution Prep offers students a “score improvement guarantee.” The firm stipulates students will improve SAT test results by 200 points – the caveat, students who do not obtain a 200 point or more gain are not given their money back. Instead, they get to take the course a second time for free.

Varon gathered test scores from 15 classmates who apparently had very similar experiences then wrote an article for his school newspaper. Varon contended that either the mock test was scored more harshly or the exam was simply harder than a typical exam.

He concluded: “It seems like dishonest advertising.”

Colleges Feed into the Test-Prep Frenzy

Unfortunately, one key issue fueling the test-prep industry is the number of colleges that continue to place great emphasis on standardized test results and in particular see a 30 point difference among students as significantly relevant. Simply stated, at some schools, even the smallest of gains can be critical in the admissions process.

The report notes that colleges essentially promote SAT-prep courses whenever they establish a baseline score. The report also notes that many schools indicate that the thirty point difference could in fact be the catalyst for that student to be admitted.

So while it seems inconceivable that it would be worth it to spend thousands of dollars only to see a student’s combined math and verbal results go from 1110 to 1140, on the more selective side, the difference from 1310 to 1340 could matter, at least at some schools.

Try a Cost-Effective Approach First

If it just so happens that money is no object for you, utilizing one of these test-prep firms certainly would help you gain familiarity with the format of these exams and the type of questions that would be asked. However, familiarity can be gained in a number of other ways at costs much less than the $1,000 coaching course or the $100 per hour private tutorial sessions offered by these test-prep firms.

In talking with Hechinger, College Board senior vice president Laurence Bunin acknowledged that “familiarity with the SAT tends to provide the biggest short-term gains for students.” He of course recommended the materials provided by the College Board including their $20 study guide.

Other options do exist, each at a fraction of the price of the private test-prep tutorials. Unless money is truly no object, students owe it to themselves and their families to consider the most reasonable options.