Although many colleges remain test optional, there are good reasons to prep for and take the SAT or ACT. Most students feel some anxiety about taking college entrance exams. A good test prep course or working one-on-one with a tutor can help alleviate some of this anxiety by allowing students to become familiar with the exams and test-taking strategies. Here are some questions to ask if you are shopping for a test prep class:
Who will be teaching the class? Some test prep companies use recent college graduates who had high SAT/ACT scores when they took the exam in high school. Be cautious if this is the case. There is a difference between scoring well on an exam and being able to teach others how to do well. Be sure to ask about the training the instructors receive to help them become effective teachers, not just effective test takers. The best programs either use experienced educators as instructors or use educators to train instructors.
