Report: SAT prep courses get bad score
Each year millions of high school students take SAT preparation courses. But a new report says those programs do little to improve scores. Tamara Keith reports.
SAT test preparation books sit on a shelf at a Barnes and Noble store in New York City. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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Kai Ryssdal: In the high stakes world of college admissions, there's probably nothing with higher stakes than the SAT. That's why parents shell out millions of dollars for those test prep courses every year, hoping it'll give their kids an advantage. But a new report out today says there may not be much of an advantage after all. From Washington, Tamara Keith has more.
TAMARA KEITH: The National Association of College Admissions Counseling hopes its report chills the SAT prep business.
DAVID HAWKINS: There needs to be a buyer-beware notice for students and families who are thinking about commercial test preparation.
The group's David Hawkins says the report pulled together academic studies about the effectiveness of SAT preparation. It found that the average score increase as a result of the prep courses is 30 points.
HAWKINS: Preparing for the test is a good idea. Perhaps investing large sums of money in that preparation may not be as good of an idea because as the research suggests, you can probably get similar increases just by doing some self study.
The courses and private tutoring can cost several thousand dollars as opposed to $30 or so for a study guide. But students and parents must think it's worth it because they keep paying. Kristen Campbell is the national director of college prep programs at Kaplan.
KRISTEN CAMPBELL: Our families continue to come to us and tell us that preparing with us helps and that we're able to help them achieve their dreams and their scores.
The report also found that a significant number of universities use hard SAT cutoffs in admissions. So just a few points could mean the difference between getting in or not. And ironically, that bit of information could actually provide a boost to the test preparation industry.
In Washington, I'm Tamara Keith for Marketplace.
Comments
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From Philadelphia, PA, 08/26/2009
As the founder of www.icollegecounselor.net partnered with Edward Fiske of the Fiske Guide to College I can say this is a recurring worry every year for parents and students alike.
There is no question that some sort of SAT preparation is going to help your scores. The debate here centers around whether paying for a full course is worth the money. There is going to be a lot of variance in the value you get depending on what you buy. But it also has a lot to do with the kind of student you or your child is.
If they happen to be very disciplined and self-motivated, they can probably learn a lot for themselves from SAT/ACT prep materials on the cheap. However one of the benefits of courses or tutors are that they set a tangible pace of study which many times is helpful for students of all types.
Bottom line is that test preparation is highly recommended, and overall test prep courses do deliver results. The issue here, as it is most of the time, is one of money. If you are lucky enough that money is not an issue, a tutoring course is not a bad idea. Otherwise, other forms of preparation will work as well, you just need to understand your child's or own needs.
However some sort of preparation is highly recommended. The SAT is an important part of the admissions process as colleges see it as a chance to look at students on an "even" playing field (as opposed to possible grade inflation at easy schools). The thing is, if you don't prepare, the field really isn't even and it will hurt you.
For a more detailed response and other helpful materials, please visit www.icollegecounselor.net.
Best,
Steve Cohen
From River Falls, WI, 05/20/2009
I was surprised by the way the information was presented in this story. It indicates that test prep has only minimal impact on students scores on standardized tests (plural). However, the story only mentions the SAT. Significantly more students now take the ACT than the SAT for college admission. In fact in the Midwest and West -- and parts of the South -- it is the overwhelmingly predominant test. The NACAC report clearly discusses both tests. The implication in this story is that SAT is THE standardized test. There are two tests, more students take the ACT, and all colleges accept both.
Dr. Alan J. Tuchtenhagen
Associate Vice Chancellor
for Enrollment Services
University of Wisconsin-River Falls
410 South 3rd Street
River Falls, WI 54022
(w) 715-425-3500
(fax) 715-425-0676
http://www.uwrf.edu/
From New York, NY, 05/20/2009
The good news is that the SAT/ACT grind is avoidable and there's no reason to think that a low score will prevent a student from getting a great education. In fact, the savviest students are figuring out how to skip the whole SAT nonsense and use their time and energy to dive into higher level learning early. This allows them to graduate from college by 19 or 20 (and often without debt, thanks to the shorter time spent in college).
Parents have been held hostage by the test-prep companies (I'm a parent of four recently-launched daughters, and I know how hard it is to turn away from the path everyone seems to be following) and students have been pawns in a process that is more about making money than helping students thrive in the ways that matter most.
Join those who are laughing at the lunacy of the current college-prep mindset and celebrating a whole new approach to getting a U.S. college degree by visiting http://www.NewGlobalStudent.com
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