by Jeremy Rutherfurd

Created on: October 21, 2009   Last Updated: October 24, 2009

Every year, as test time approaches, university-bound high school students wring their hands and worry about how well they will do on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). A great many score far lower than anticipated and they (and their parents) panic, fearing they won't be admitted to their college of choice.

A decision some make is to use the services of an SAT preparatory school, such as Kaplan, Princeton Review, Huntington Learning Center or one of their myriad competitors. Such SAT prep courses can be expensive, ranging from $400 for online classes to as much as $500 an hour for intensive one-on-one tutoring.

The question then arises: Are these SAT prep courses worth it?

The Critics

Critics emphatically say "no," and point to two reports to prove their point. One, undertaken by the College Board - publisher of the SAT - concluded that "coached students are only slightly more likely to have large score gains than uncoached students."

Based on a survey of SAT test-takers in 1995-6, 427 of whom were coached and 2,733 uncoached, the report found that the typical score gain for coached students was 8 points in the verbal section and 18 points in math. (A maximum score on the SAT is 2400 points.) Alarmingly, the report also noted that "about 1/3 of students experience no score gain or score loss following coaching."

The second report cited by critics was issued by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) in 2009. It concluded that "coaching has a positive effect on SAT performance, but the magnitude of the effect is small."

The results - from three large-scale studies undertaken in 1999, 2002 and 2009 - showed that "the effect of coaching is larger on the math section of the exam (10-20 points) than it is for the critical reading section (5-10 points)."

The Reality

Based on my own experience as an SAT tutor (I coached students for nine months in 2009), I am not surprised by the results of the College Board and NACAC studies. But I disagree that SAT prep courses are not worth the cost.

These coaching sessions are well worth the money if the right kind of student takes them. The student needs to be motivated, hard working and willing to take direction from a tutor or instructor. Also, to get the maximum benefit from the course, the student needs to enroll months before taking the SAT, preferably six months ahead of time, and during the summer, if possible (so the student can concentrate solely on SAT preparation).

For such students, an SAT prep course

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