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Tutoring Results

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Unlike most test prep companies, our score improvements are genuine, calculated using only official tests - not tests that we manufacture.

Every year, we work with students who have widely varying initial scores. While our average 2010 student improved 320 points from the Sophomore PSAT and 210 points from the Junior PSAT or incoming SAT, we include within our score improvement data students who begin with extremely high baseline scores and for whom maximum potential improvement is limited. For instance, our 2009-10 data includes students who started with scores as high as 2320 out of a possible 2400 on the SAT and 168 out of a possible 180 on the LSAT. Accordingly, students who begin with lower incoming scores have higher average improvements than those quoted below.

We only use official College Board, ACT, LSAT, GMAT, and GRE tests, not tests that we manufacture. We do this to ensure that our data are as reliable as possible. As the following Wall Street Journal article confirms, many test prep companies manufacture initial tests that inflate improvement data: SAT Coaching Found to Boost Scores -- Barely

Starting in 2010, we have had a number of SAT students who either did not take the PSAT in their sophomore year or came to us after having taken the PSAT in their junior year. We measure the improvement of these students either from the junior year PSAT or an actual test (College Board-published SAT or ACT-published ACT) proctored at our offices.

SAT

	If the Student Had a Sophomore PSAT Score...			If the Student Had No Sophomore PSAT Score...
	Average Incoming Score (10th Grade PSAT)	Average Final Combined Score	Average Improvement	Average Incoming Score (11th Grade PSAT/SAT)	Average Final Composite Score	Average Improvement
2010	1760	2080	320	1980	2185	205

	Incoming Sophomore PSAT Score	Average Final Combined Score	Average Improvement
2009	1830	2170	340
2008	1895	2210	315
2007	1830	2150	320

ACT

	If the Student Had a Sophomore PSAT Score...			If the Student Had No Sophomore PSAT Score...
	Average Incoming Score (converted from 10th Grade PSAT)	Average Final Combined Score	Average Improvement	Average Incoming Score (converted from 11th Grade PSAT/Prior ACT)	Average Final Composite Score	Average Improvement
2010	23.7	30.2 (~2020 on the SAT)	6.5 (~390 SAT points)	22.8	27.0 (~1830 SAT points)	4.2 (~250 SAT points)

	Incoming ACT Score (converted from Sophomore PSAT)	Average Final Composite Score	Average Improvement
2009	25	32.3 (~2150 on the SAT)	7.3 (~435 SAT points)
2008	23.8	30.3 (~2030 on the SAT)	6.5 (~390 SAT points)
2007	24.5	31 (~2070 on the SAT)	6.5 (~390 SAT points)

GRE

In the 2009-2010 academic year, our average score improvement on the GRE was 220 points

GMAT

In the 2009-2010 academic year, our average score improvement on the GMAT was 80 points

LSAT

In the 2009-2010 academic year, our average score improvement on the LSAT (scored out of 180) was 10.5 points. (This year our LSAT students came in with initial scores as high as 165, so average improvements were lower than would they could otherwise have been.)

Notes on our Methodology:

SAT improvement is calculated from sophomore PSAT to highest combined SAT score (highest combination of section scores across test dates). If no sophomore PSAT was available, the junior PSAT or a prior SAT was used instead. The ACT improvement is from sophomore PSAT (or junior PSAT/prior ACT if no sophomore PSAT was available) to highest ACT Composite score (highest total score on a single test date). Most colleges follow the same methodology.
We include all students who have received a minimum of six hours of tutoring.
Unlike other test preparation companies, we use only official College Board and ACT tests, not tests that we manufacture. Our score improvement data are based entirely upon improvements on actual PSAT, SAT, and ACT tests administered at area high schools by the College Board and ACT. We do this to ensure that our data are as reliable as possible. For further context and information, please see the following Wall Street Journal article that details how many test prep companies manufacture initial tests that inflate improvement data: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124278685697537839.html
According to the College Board, the average improvement on the old SAT for students who received SAT coaching was 69 points (29 points on the Verbal and 40 points on the Math). http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/coaching.pdf
We use the sophomore PSAT scores because most of our students begin prep work with us in the summer before their junior PSAT.
Our average ACT score improvement is greater than our average SAT score improvement. We believe this is primarily because our average ACT test taker comes in with a lower starting score.

Please Note: We work hard to help our students achieve these improvements, which are many times more than the industry averages. However, individual score improvements depend upon a variety of factors outside a tutor’s control. Marks Education makes no guarantees about score improvement.

* SAT is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product. ACT is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc. PSAT/NMSQT is a trademark jointly owned by the College Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which were not involved in the production of, and do not endorse, this product. None of the trademark holders are affiliated with Marks Education or this website.