Parents looking for SAT preparation in South Jersey have plenty of choices. There are large national test-prep companies, local tutoring centers, independent tutors, online programs, self-paced courses, and small-group classes.

So how do you decide which SAT prep program is right for your child?

After more than twenty years of teaching SAT prep, I have found that parents should look beyond advertising, guarantees, and promises of big score increases. Instead, consider who will actually teach your child, how the program works, and whether it fits the way your child learns.

1. Find Out Who Will Actually Teach Your Child

This is one of the most important questions parents can ask.

A tutoring company may have a good reputation or a big national name, but that doesn't necessarily tell you much about the instructor who will actually work with your child. Who will teach the course or tutoring sessions? How much SAT-specific teaching experience does that person have? Will your child will work with the same instructor throughout the program?

Teaching the SAT is different from simply being good at taking the SAT, just like a great athlete doesn't always make a great coach. An experienced SAT instructor should understand the structure of the Digital SAT, common question patterns, pacing, strategy, and the mistakes students tend to make. A good instructor sees the test's setup, traps, and patterns and helps students understand them to increase scores.

2. Make Sure the Program Is Designed for the Digital SAT

The SAT has changed considerably.

Today's Digital SAT is shorter and adaptive, and students take the test on a computer. But while the format has changed, the fundamentals of good SAT preparation have not. Students still need to understand the underlying math, recognize common question types, read carefully, manage their time, and know how to approach questions efficiently.

The Digital SAT also provides students with calculator tools throughout the Math section. Those tools can certainly be useful, but students shouldn't become so dependent on a calculator that it replaces mathematical understanding. In most cases, recognizing what a problem is asking and knowing the most efficient way to solve it is faster than reaching for a calculator. The test is now more about mathematical concepts than mathematical computation, and a good instructor will teach that.  The same thing goes for the reading and writing concepts.

A good SAT program should teach students how to approach the test by seeing it in a simplified form so that they can increase their scores with the skills they have.

3. Look at Participation in Class

Large classes can work for some students, but SAT preparation becomes more difficult when students do not participate.

No matter the class size, students should be participating in every session. If a student never interacts with the instructor, that student is not getting everything from the course that is there. 

4. Decide Between a Course and Private Tutoring

Not every student needs private tutoring.

A well-designed small-group course can be a good choice for a student who needs comprehensive instruction, structure, practice, and accountability.

Private tutoring may make more sense when a student has very specific weaknesses, an unusual schedule, a particularly ambitious score goal, or needs instruction tailored almost entirely to his or her needs.

Many students benefit most from a combination of the two: a comprehensive course to build the foundation and several individual sessions to concentrate on particular areas. And since students take the test at least twice, this hybrid approach is actually both cost-effective and time-efficient.

The important thing is to choose based on the student. Do not automatically assume that the most expensive option is the best one.

5. Ask What Happens Outside of Class

SAT improvement does not come only from attending lessons.

Students need opportunities to practice what they learn. For most students, a little practice goes a long way, especially in the establishing the main strategies and tactics for the test. A good SAT program should provide some homework that builds on the skills they are learning rather than simply a series of disconnected lessons.

6. Be Careful With Score Guarantees

Parents understandably want to know how much their child's score will improve.

Unfortunately, no instructor can control every factor that determines an SAT score. Students begin at different levels, put in different amounts of practice, respond differently to instruction, and sometimes simply have better or worse testing days.

Any instructor or program that guarantees a certain score increase is actually a red flag. Be careful of anyone who promises such specific increases. They usually tell you more about the quality of a program than about how well your child will learn in that program.

7. Consider Whether Local Experience Matters

Online SAT preparation has made geography less important than it once was, and students can receive excellent instruction from almost anywhere.

There can still be advantages, however, to working with someone who knows the South Jersey and Philadelphia-area college landscape and has spent years working with students from local schools.

An instructor familiar with students from Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, Moorestown, Marlton, Medford, Mount Laurel, and the surrounding communities may have a better sense of the questions local families are asking about SATs. A local instructor is also more familiar with local high schools and their programs and approaches.

Local experience shouldn't be the only reason you choose a program, but it can be a useful additional factor.

8. Talk to the Instructor Before You Enroll

This may be the simplest piece of advice.

Before spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on SAT preparation, talk to the person who will be teaching your child.

A good instructor shouldn't automatically push every student toward the most expensive package. Sometimes a course is enough. Sometimes tutoring makes more sense. Sometimes a student isn't ready to begin serious SAT preparation at all.

You should come away from the conversation feeling that the instructor understands your child and has a reason for the recommendation being made.

Choosing SAT Prep in South Jersey

Ultimately, there is no single SAT prep program that is right for every student.

Look for experienced instruction, familiarity with the Digital SAT, reasonable class sizes, a clear plan, and an approach that fits your child's needs.

At HASSSAT SAT Prep, I use the same principles in the programs I teach. I have taught SAT preparation for more than twenty years and am the author of Barron's SAT Express. I personally teach every HASSSAT course and private tutoring session, working with students throughout South Jersey, the Philadelphia area, and online nationwide.

Whether you choose HASSSAT or another program, ask questions before enrolling. The goal isn't simply to find SAT prep. It's to find the right SAT preparation for your child.