Everybody wants private SAT/ACT tutoring. It makes sense. The teacher or tutor can focus on a single child, diagnose his or her individual issues and prescribe specific material aimed squarely at meeting specific needs. There are no other distracting kids in the room and no hooligans walking in late or leaving early or misbehaving or any of the other classroom nonsense that our kids have to deal with. They don’t have to share learning. They don’t have to share the teacher or tutor.
But we’d like to make a case for group classes.
Now, that means SMALL group classes. If classes are too large, they become unmanageable and focusing on individual students becomes difficult. But as long as group classes are a manageable size, there are a few real advantages to them over one-on-one lessons.
First, learning works very well in a group setting. Kids realize that their difficulties and challenges are not unique to them and the ability to commiserate with other students often helps kids feel comfortable learning. Many kids who are shy have their questions asked or answered by other kids and many kids learn well from their peers.
Classes also provide strong structure and discipline. When our private students fail to do their homework, we admonish them and in a rare case, we’ll even call a parent to report chronic delinquency. But in class, if they don’t do their homework, they look like they’re not keeping up with their peers. It’s a little more intimidating to walk into a class setting looking unprepared. And while it seems wonderful to focus on individual needs, classes provide a basic framework both for skills and strategy that the vast majority of kids can really use. They are tried and true, constantly honed and updated.
Lastly, they are less expensive. Our group classes, for instance, work out to $60/hour, lower than any professional tutor might charge hourly, and a fraction of what our SAT/ACT teachers charge for a one-on-one session. And even for a parent able to spend more, the ideal situation may be a group class, accompanied by or followed by one-on-one tutoring. Combinations work great, and private tutoring is more effective after a basic group class.
The March 14 SAT and April 11 ACT are approaching and for many students, an additional SAT/ACT is offered at school in March or April. Now is a great time to get started if you haven’t or to work on improving your previous score, and a small group class at BTS is a great way to start!