> The NACAC did a study on this and they found that average gains of test-prep students is ~30 points (this was when the SAT was 2400 points).
> A 30 point increase out of 2400 points is not material to college admissions.
There must be some subset of students who gain much more from "test prep" than others? Even if its benefits for the average student are marginal, maybe there is a certain type of student for whom it is much more beneficial?
Not American so never did the SAT, but I honestly think I would have done much better in high school if I had one-on-one private tutoring. I struggled with focus and one-on-one attention helps keep me focused. Our son is similar – he's gifted and demonstrates his giftedness when the teacher focuses on him one-on-one, but then the teacher has to go spend time on the rest of the class, and as soon as that happens he stops doing any work.
> A 30 point increase out of 2400 points is not material to college admissions.
There must be some subset of students who gain much more from "test prep" than others? Even if its benefits for the average student are marginal, maybe there is a certain type of student for whom it is much more beneficial?
Not American so never did the SAT, but I honestly think I would have done much better in high school if I had one-on-one private tutoring. I struggled with focus and one-on-one attention helps keep me focused. Our son is similar – he's gifted and demonstrates his giftedness when the teacher focuses on him one-on-one, but then the teacher has to go spend time on the rest of the class, and as soon as that happens he stops doing any work.