When it comes to preparing for the SAT, there are a number of options, from written guides and study software to online courses and personal tutoring. But are there good reasons to spend that extra time and money in preparation for the test?

Increase Your Score

Companies that offer college test prep courses and tutoring claim that they can help students improve their scores dramatically. Sylvan says that 75 percent its students raise their SAT scores by 160 points or ACT scores by 5 points. Princeton Review claims that “90% of our SAT students get into one of their top-choice schools.” And Kaplan makes a money back guarantee that scores will increase after students have completed one of its programs.

Practice tests and drills on the kind of material that are included on the SAT are part of any commercial test preparation. But there are also test-taking strategies, such as whether it’s better for your score to guess on hard questions or to leave them blank.

“Having an idea about what to expect is always helpful for students, and students tend to do better when they take the test for the second time,” says Casey Urquidez, Director of Undergraduate Recruitment at the University of Arizona. 

“Generally students do improve if they take a prep course, but not always,” says Bob Bardwell, School Counselor & Director of Guidance & Student Support Services for the American School Counselor Association and President of the New England Association for College Admission Counseling. “Anytime a student spends concentrated time and effort on something and learns the test-taking hints and strategies, there is bound to be improvement.”

Who Cares About SAT Scores, Anyway?

Although there is some debate as to whether SAT scores are as important to college admissions as they used to be, Jim Bauer, a guidance counselor at Dublin Coffman High School in Dublin, Ohio, still sees high SAT scores tipping the balance for many of his students.  Over 95 percent of his school’s approximately 1,800 students go on to some form of higher education.

“It’s been said that a number of schools are de-emphasizing the test, but so far, I just don’t see it,” says Bauer, who has been working in education for 39 years, and as a guidance counselor for 27. “Most schools that have many more applicants than slots still very much use the SAT and ACT.”

There are currently over 775 four-year U.S. colleges that do not require SAT and ACT scores for admission, according to FairTest.org, but many of those still use the scores to help determine merit-based scholarships.

For the past two years, Dublin Coffman has offered a course from a commercial company (Princeton) in preparation to all of its juniors for one week. While Bauer says it hasn’t been long enough to know whether or not the courses are helping, the most recent set of juniors scored extremely well.

It's As Helpful As You Make It

Taking a test preparation class also won’t do much good if the student doesn’t want to do better.

“I find that it’s a value to the students and the scores do increase when its intrinsic – when they want to improve it – when mom and dad come in and say I want them to improve their scores, that doesn’t work as well.

“So much of it depends on the student’s attitude. I had a girl who wanted to go to the naval academy, but she needed to improve her math score about 70 points – she worked hard, and she raised her score 100 points.:”

Of course, high test scores can’t make up for poor grades or classroom performance in the judgment of college admissions offices. And some tutoring or a test preparation course is unlikely to make up for years of just skating by in classes.

“The best preparation is taking appropriate course throughout high school, namely advanced English and math courses,” says Bardwell, “Students should also read as much as they can, both the classics and for pleasure.”

Tracy Zollinger Turner is an arts, culture and education writer from Columbus, Ohio.

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