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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Someone commented on another thread: "I’m an SAT tutor. [b]You can’t tutor a mediocre kid into a 1500+ kid.[/b] Sorry, but don’t waste your money."

So how much does it really help? And when is it useful to begin tutoring? For example, if you hired a tutor for your 9th grader and have him work with the coach weekly for a couple of years, is your 9th grader going to do worlds better than he otherwise would have due to the prep?[/quote]

While this is true, it depends on how long you tutor and why the child is mediocre. I used to teach SAT and LSAT for Princeton Review and Kaplan. The tests can be gamed by becoming familiar with the techniques used and patterns of questions. There are kids who aren't able to pick up on it very well no matter how much they practice, but those are outliers. Generally speaking, a kid who has been a good student historically (and has good reading habits) is going to be able to raise his/her score significantly with practice. For that kind of kid, doing well is really just a matter of how much time and focus they put into it. And spending a lot of money isn't necessary. Getting a test prep book and lots of practice exams is usually all it takes. For kids that aren't good self-motivators, taking classes will help them focus (and that's where $$ is usually spent).

It also helps if the parents were good test takers, and then can help explain things and keep them motivated to do focus.  [/quote]

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