Opinion SAT
SAT prep: does it pay off? Does attending SAT prep courses ultimately help your score?
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T. Koop
By Trevor Book I think it is a subject that should be tried by many students in hopes of boosting up your SAT score and having a good chance at getting into a college you want. SAT prep was a concept that first started in 1938, it was created by Stanley H. Kaplan, and it has been helping students prepare for the SATs ever since. “In the past, 85% [of students] have done better by taking [the program] sophomore and junior year. Comparing it to real SAT scores by triangulating, comparing three scores: the PSAT for eighth grade or freshmen year, junior year, [and] the actual SAT Test [to] see if students’ scores have improved over time,” Cynthia Schnieder said. “[It] gets students used to how questions are written, eliminates answers, [and to help] students choose what they want to do in their life.” This is what the SAT program does, prepares you for the best that you can be. “All students are going to benefit from it because there will be questions you can eliminate from the SAT,” Schnieder said. If students go to SAT prep, they are most likely going to be prepared for any possible question and some parents might think about the money that they will be spending. “HHS is more affordable than some [other courses]. Private SAT places are up to $1000,” Schneider said.
A few good reasons to take SAT prep, as shown above, are to improve scores that can help you get into a nice college at a cheaper price. Despite these reasons, there are also a few problems that students find why the prep course is unhelpful. “It’s only once a week and a lot of the information isn’t really helping,” junior Parker Amato said. Students taking the course only have five weeks and one PSAT. Because of the short time span of the class, students like Amato might consider not taking the class. However, you never know until you try. “It is not going to hurt anybody to take the course and in some way help you learn how to study,” Schneider said. The teachers are just trying to help the students get the best score they can because they are important. “I think it is important because the SAT score is important for the future, so it is important to prepare,” Amato said.
Trevor Book is a first year staff member. Check out his Marvel Battle blog on huntleyvoice. com.
The SAT prep program is there to make sure you know what to study because if you do not study what you learned in the program, you may not be well prepared for the test. “I would recommend [SAT prep], but also practice outside of school and manage your time outside of school,” Amato said. Now, when I mean practice outside of school, I mean you can practice for an hour, a couple of hours, even 30 min. Then you can go and hang out with their friends. The practice is meant to help you. Now I have firsthand knowledge of the program and I know how short it is and how it is only five weeks long but I can tell you it does help. I believe HHS has one of the best programs and it is fairly cheaper than other SAT prep programs outside of the high school. If you want to surpass your goal, I would go into the SAT prep program at HHS as soon as possible. LET’S ROCK THIS SAT JUNIORS! HUNTLEYVOICE.COM 19
