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CORTLANDT, N.Y. High school students preparing to apply to college in the spring likely spent the holiday break studying for the SAT, but sources disagree on the benefit of many of the test prep tools as the multi-billion dollar industry continually offers solutions to improve students grades.
A kid who doesnt do an SAT prep class is handicapped, said Agnes Leyden, former Hendrick Hudson High School PTA president. The cost of the class is subsidized through the district. It levels the playing field among kids who can afford it and those who cant, she said.
It's possible to spend an enormous amount of money prepping students for college and taking the SAT, which is being offered Saturday, is only a small portion of the cost. Registering for the test costs $49 and College Board, the non-profit that administers the test, offers online courses for $70. The Official SAT Study Guide is $22 and private prep classes and tutors can run into the hundreds. About half of students take the SAT twice, according College Board.
Hendrick Hudson School District subsidizes SAT test prep classes through Revolution Prep, a private test prep company. The initiative at Hen Hud began about three years ago and to date 231 students have taken the six week night course. Leyden was PTA president at the time that Revolution Prep was hired to provide classes.
Revolution Prep says the "average" score increase in group courses is "about 200 points." List price for one student admission into a group course is $499, according to Revolution Prep's website.
Some sources debate whether radical point increase claims are appropriate. For example, the National Association for College Admissions Counseling released a 2009 study, saying, Contrary to the claims made by many test preparation providers of large increases of 100 points or more on the SAT, research suggests that average gains are more in the neighborhood of 30 points.
Point based claims about average scores have landed other test prep companies in hot water. For example, Kaplan filed a claim against The Princeton Review with the Better Business Bureau for claiming that average students' scores could experience gains of up to 255 points using its SAT program. The Princeton Review permanently discontinued the challenged score improvement claims, after the BBBs National Advertising Division agreed with Kaplan that the claims were a stretch.
Its very hard to tell what the true impact of the course is, said James Mackin, principal at Hen Hud. We feel there is a benefit or we wouldn't be offering it.
Some students feel the courses do help.
It helped with reading comprehension the most, they taught you good tips, Danielle Levy, a college-bound senior at Hen Hud said. They stuck with me the first two times I took it.
Levy also took the SAT multiple times and studied at least one hour, five days a week for months before taking the test for the final time.
Kyron Huigens, a father of five daughters in the Croton-Harmon School District said there are many test preparation options ranging from inexpensive online courses to more expensive tutoring.
Its always intensive to some degree, and really to a great degree, because really a lot hangs on it all, he said.
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