Forget the Brand Name: Parent’s Here’s What Actually Predicts Whether a Test Prep Programme Works

Two programs at the same price can produce completely different outcomes, and the difference is invisible from the website

The SAT went fully digital in 2024 and the ACT changed its format in 2025. Any prep program still teaching from pre-2024 materials is preparing students for a test that no longer exists.

Whether a given program has updated is not something a parent can determine from a landing page, and it is one of several quality differences that never appear in marketing.

Most parents evaluate prep programs the way they evaluate cars: reputation, price and instinct. That works for cars because cars are standardized. Prep programs are not. Two at the same price point can produce entirely different results for the same student.

Some of the most heavily marketed programs run outdated materials, hire instructors who never scored well themselves, or lean on prerecorded lectures that a book would replace. Some smaller programs deliver considerably better results because they hired well and rebuilt the curriculum.

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The five criteria that predict outcomes

A program that performs on all five will usually deliver. One that falls short on two or more usually will not, regardless of its advertising.

1. Instructor quality and credentials*

The single biggest predictor. Strong instructors have three things: high personal test scores, real teaching experience, and the ability to explain a hard concept more than one way.

Ask what your student’s specific instructor scored on the SAT or ACT, how long they have taught, and whether the same person leads every session or the class rotates.

Programs staffed by instructors who did not score well themselves generally cannot teach students to score well. It is an obvious point that many programs fail.

*Ask about the assigned instructor, not the program’s best-known one.

2. Curriculum built for the current test*

Ask to see materials that explicitly reference Bluebook, Desmos, section-adaptive modules and current question types. If a program cannot produce that quickly, that is the answer.

Outdated curriculum is the most preventable cause of underperformance and the easiest thing on this list to verify.

A program whose sample materials show a no-calculator math section is teaching the pre-2024 test.

*Ask for the date the curriculum was last revised, not just whether it is current.

3. Proprietary practice material*

Programs that only use College Board or ACT practice tests are charging for material a student can access free.

What justifies the fee is original content: proprietary questions, mistake analysis tools, and drills built around specific question types.

A student who has already worked through the official Bluebook tests gains nothing from a program that assigns those same tests.

*Ask what proportion of practice material is proprietary versus recycled from the test makers.

4. Live instruction with feedback loops*

Recorded lectures can supplement live teaching. They cannot replace it. Students need real-time questions, personalized feedback on their own mistakes, and accountability.

Ask how many live hours are included, how homework gets reviewed, and whether a student can ask questions between sessions.

Programs built mainly on prerecorded content typically underperform live-taught programs at the same price.

*Count live contact hours, not total course hours.

5. Verifiable score improvement data*

Any program worth considering can state the average score improvement of its students and back it with data.

“Students see significant improvement” is marketing copy. A specific figure, such as an average gain of 187 points, is a data point. That number is offered here only as an illustration of what a real answer looks like.

Programs that measure outcomes usually deliver them. Programs that do not measure often do not deliver.

*If a program declines to give a number, treat the refusal as the answer.

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Where parents go wrong

Reading price as quality. Expensive programs can be mediocre and moderately priced ones can be excellent. The correlation is weaker than families assume, and the premium often buys brand marketing.

Trusting reputation that has aged. A brand strong ten years ago may have quietly declined, while a program built specifically for the digital test may outperform it. Brand awareness is not a curriculum audit.

Accepting vague answers. Average improvement, instructor credentials, curriculum revision dates, refund terms and class sizes are usually buried or phrased to sound impressive without meaning anything. Parents who do not push for specifics rarely receive them.

Deciding under time pressure. Families who start in the spring of junior year cannot afford weeks of comparison, and urgency favors whichever program runs the most aggressive sales cycle. A good program can wait a week for a considered decision. A bad one often cannot.

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What students report

Terry Ho credited instructor Kevin Parrish with a gain of more than 300 points. “Kevin isn’t just smart (he has a PhD!!), but he’s also a fantastic teacher who can break down even the toughest problems and make them easy to understand,” he wrote.

Kailyn Mack, who had taken several PSAT and SAT courses previously, described instructor Isabella Raicu as the most effective. Raicu “helped me raise my score by 200 (Which I didn’t even think was possible),” she wrote.

Jeremy Ume pointed to structure rather than personality. “The emphasis on tried and true test taking techniques and the thorough homework feedback were greatly appreciated,” he wrote, describing the course as a sound educational investment.

Kayla Hu valued material that went beyond the official tests. “I love the fact that the practice tests are completely different from those provided by the College Board,” she wrote, noting she had already worked through most of the Bluebook set.

Two students described arriving unwillingly. “When my parents signed me up for the course, I was not happy about it at all,” wrote Luciana Garcia, who said she was grateful after seeing her improvement. Will Keenan said he had not wanted to attend either, and that learning about the test made him realize he would have gone in unprepared.

Mariano Del Castillo put it in cost terms, describing the course as worth every penny.

What these accounts have in common is specific: live instructors, structured homework feedback, materials beyond the free set, and named score gains. That combination is what parents should be screening for.

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The questions to ask before paying

On the instructor

• What did this specific instructor score on the SAT or ACT?
• How long have they taught test prep?
• Will my student have the same instructor every session?
• What are their teaching credentials or academic background?
• Can I see their bio before enrolling?

On the curriculum

• Is the material updated for the current digital SAT and the current ACT?
• What proportion of practice material is proprietary versus recycled?
• Do students get full-length practice tests?
• How is mistake review handled after a practice test?
• What strategies do you teach that a book would not cover?

On the format

• How many students per class?
• How long is each session, and how many per week?
• What happens if my student misses one?
• Can my student ask questions between sessions?
• Are sessions live or recorded?

On results

• What is the average score improvement among students who complete the program?
• What proportion complete versus drop out?
• Can I see recent reviews rather than curated testimonials?
• Is there a score improvement guarantee?
• What is the refund policy if there is no progress?

On logistics

• What is included in the price, and what costs extra?
• How much outside time per week is expected?
• What tools or accounts does my student need?
• Does access to materials continue after the course ends?

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Red flags and green flags

Signals to treat as warnings:

• Vague answers on instructor scores or curriculum currency
• Expiring discounts, limited-seat claims, or other sales pressure
• Unwillingness to share average improvement data
• No refund policy, or an unusually restrictive one
• Instructors rotating between classes without continuity
• Marketing built on brand recognition rather than outcomes

Signals worth prioritizing:

• Willingness to state instructor credentials, including their own scores
• Materials that explicitly reference the current test format
• Clear refund and satisfaction terms
• Recent reviews citing specific score gains rather than adjectives
• Transparency on class size and instructor availability
• No pressure to decide quickly

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The right program answers the questions

Brand recognition and student outcomes are different things. Some reputable-seeming programs run outdated materials or underqualified instructors. Some quieter ones perform better by being disciplined about the five criteria above.

If you are evaluating programs now, set aside advertising, price and instinct. Ask the questions. Watch for the flags. A program that will work answers directly, shares specific data, and lets you decide without pressure. A program that will not hedges, deflects and pushes for a quick enrollment. That difference alone tells you most of what you need.

Test prep is a real investment of money and of a student’s time, and it is high-leverage when the choice is right. Families who pick badly usually do not get a second attempt within the same test cycle. Take the extra week.

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Dr. Shaan Patel is a Shark Tank winner, bestselling author, and founder of Prep Expert®, an education company that has helped students improve test scores, win scholarships, and gain admission to top universities. He scored a perfect SAT and is passionate about expanding access to education worldwide.

This article is written by the founder of Prep Expert®, a test prep company. The student reviews quoted are from Prep Expert® courses. Prep Expert® may benefit commercially if readers enroll.