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This is one of the most commonly-asked questions from parents. Rather than simply giving an “it depends” deflection, I’m actually going to try to answer the question with something informative here. Of course, it really does depend on many factors, but my goal is to give you a broad strokes idea of the sort of improvement different types of students can expect to see from quality tutoring.
First, there are several general rules that are in operation here:
- 1. Students who start with lower scores can typically expect to see bigger improvements. This shouldn’t surprise you too much. If a student is missing half of the problems in a given section, there is much more room for improvement than if a student is missing only 5% of the questions.
2. Student effort matters a lot. I’ve had several students in my career that were true all-stars. These kids were engaged in our sessions, did all of the homework I assigned and even did additional work on their own. These students deeply cared about improving, and they were willing to put in the effort to make it happen. I have some crazy stories about score increases from students like this. One girl went from 1100 to 1900 on the old SAT. One guy went from 19 to 26 on the ACT. Those sorts of improvements take students who are unlikely to get into any schools of their choice and transform them into seriously competitive candidates at a lot of high quality universities. I hesitate to mention improvements like this to parents because I don’t want to make it seem like those improvements are normal. It isn’t that they are out of reach for most students. It’s simply that most students don’t put in that level of effort.
3. Tutoring quality matters a lot. This also shouldn’t be much of a surprise. When I first started out as a tutor, my students didn’t get as big of score improvements as my later students did. It simply took time for me to develop the experience and knowledge necessary to help students do their best. There are a lot of factors that go into “tutoring quality,” including curriculum, practice test quality, practice test grading feedback and technology. All of these play an important role in student outcomes.
With those qualifications out of the way, what can most students expect? In my experience, an improvement of around 3 points on the ACT is a reasonable expectation for most students who are scoring somewhat near the average. For students who are a good amount below the average, 4 or 5 points might be within reason. For students who are already scoring 28+, an improvement of a couple points is more likely. Keep in mind, however, that a couple extra points for a student who is already scoring 28+ often means scholarship money. Two points can be a really big deal if it takes a kid from a 28 to 30 or a 30 to a 32.
For the SAT, an improvement of about 200-250 points on the new SAT is a good expectation for kids who are scoring near the average. For students a good amount below the average, 300+ points might more be readily attainable, and 150 or so might be more realistic for students scoring higher.
Don’t interpret these numbers as being limitations on what a given student can do. That’s not what they are. Instead, they should serve as general expectations for what most students will do. As I said above, a student who brings a great work ethic to the table can absolutely outperform these guidelines.
At Test Geek, we do everything possible to give students the best chance to beat these estimates. We only hire tutors who have scored in the 99th percentile and can create an energetic, fun atmosphere with students. We have custom curriculum that is based on years of experience in the field, and our adaptive technology ensures students are getting the most from every hour they spend on prep. These things matter a lot, and we love success stories of kids blowing past these estimates!
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