Big Money, Mediocre Results: Fixing the Broken SAT Prep Industry

_{College Board President David Coleman, left, attends an announcement event, Wednesday, March 5, 2014, in Austin, Texas where College Board officials announced updates for the SAT college entrance exam, the first since 2005, that is needed to make the exam a College Board a better representative of what students study in high school and the skills they need to succeed in college and afterward. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)}

RCEd Commentary

Anyone who has spent time with a college-interested high school student can attest that the SAT is the most important test they’ve taken in their young lives. Although a strong SAT score alone won’t get you into college, it does get you a seat at the admissions table, and many college offers rely on SAT scores to differentiate between two otherwise equally qualified candidates. It’s no wonder, then, that the SAT prep industry is valued at $4 billion.

Unfortunately, that industry is broken. For decades, SAT prep has been dominated by a handful of behemoths such as Kaplan and Princeton Review that are stuck in the past. Most parents opt for their group courses that, despite carrying a price tag of up to $1,700 (the cost of a 30-hour small group course from Princeton Review), are designed for median students – those who are in the middle 50 percent when it comes to academic performance and college aspirations. Furthermore, group courses provide only a broad overview of what the exam entails and offer little in the way of one-on-one attention or addressing students’ specific areas of weakness. For parents of high schoolers who are high-performing or struggling compared to their peers, these courses are a flat-out waste of money and will barely move the needle when it comes to score increases.

The large SAT prep institutions offer one-on-one tutoring as well (for $150/hour and up), but the materials those tutors use are adapted from the group courses or self-study guides. These companies lack curriculum designed specifically for one-on-one tutoring that can be customized to fit the unique needs of each student. The tutors are typically underpaid (making $18-$30/hour), in comparison to those at premium local firms ($35-50/hour) who charge roughly the same amount, so the student is generally not getting the most talented teacher to work with on top of the curriculum deficiencies. Families end up paying much more than they would for a class and getting low value in return.

The fact is, the SAT is “gameable” and all students can perform well on it, provided they prepare in the manner that provides the greatest payoff for them individually. Because the SAT is a standardized test, each administered exam must fit the same standards, and the goal of SAT prep should be to train students in those standards. If you don’t believe the SAT can be prepared for and scores can improve, then why would the College Board partner with Khan Academy to offer free, self-study, software-based SAT prep? The College Board knows the uncomfortable reality that SAT scores improve with the right prep – however, the right prep rarely comes from the large SAT companies like Kaplan and Princeton Review.

For example, with over 210 math skills tested on the SAT, the likelihood is low that the 20-25 specific issues a particular student has will be covered in a group class (or a tutoring program with non-customized curriculum.) While some of the issues a student has may be reviewed and the student may see a small point increase, the majority of the student’s time will be wasted reviewing topics that he either already understands or are so advanced they are out of his grasp. This approach makes for inefficient, and in some cases, shamefully ineffective preparation that gets covered up with weak guarantees and glossy marketing.

Just as the College Board has acknowledged the reality that the right kind of SAT prep works – the Khan Academy option will be fantastic for very disciplined and motivated students – parents need to expect more of SAT prep and refuse to settle for a one-size-fits-all approach from classes or one-on-one tutoring. Parents need to be better educated through school administrators and guidance counselors about what results they should reasonable expect from a group course or tutor, and they should hold companies responsible for delivering those results.

In any other industry – one where well-intentioned parents who want the best of their children wouldn’t guarantee keeping it afloat – charging thousands of dollars and delivering mediocre results would be unacceptable. Why should the SAT prep industry be any different?