Every year, millions of high school students register for the Scholastic Aptitude Test, commonly referred to as the SAT, as part of their college admissions journey. In the class of 2022, 1.7 million students took the SAT at least once, while in Maryland alone a total of 151,031 students took either the SAT or a PSAT-related assessment in the 2021-2022 school year.
Given that a student’s SAT score is considered by most colleges and universities when making admissions decisions, students are encouraged to study for the exam in order to maximize their score. However, the cost of prep books and courses on top of the $55 fee for the exam itself can limit the accessibility of many study resources.
In an effort to increase the accessibility of SAT prep resources, encourage students to study and improve test scores, MCPS announced in late January that it would be partnering with FEV Tutor to offer free SAT tutoring sessions for all MCPS high school students.
These one-on-one sessions take place over a six-week period and are offered seven days a week. On Mondays through Fridays, tutoring sessions can be scheduled between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The current tutoring period began in January and will end in March. A second tutoring period has already been planned, with sign-ups set to open on Mar. 12 and sessions beginning on Mar. 20. Registration for this tutoring period will be available online.
FEV Tutor, the company that MCPS has partnered with for this project, is an online one-on-one tutoring service based in Woburn, Massachusetts that serves schools and students in grades K-12 throughout the country. Its learning approach emphasizes a data-driven, customized program design meant to address every student’s unique needs, as well as widespread availability on any device via a videoless two-way instant messaging system. The company has received various awards and accolades for its work, including a Supes’ Choice Award in the Virtual Instructional Experience Category in 2021.
FEV Tutor officially became an approved tutoring provider in MCPS on Jan. 25, 2022. At the time, it was listed as a source of free tutoring and 24/7 homework help. Students who wish to access these resources can do so through Clever with their MCPS Google Account.
So far, many MCPS students have reacted positively to this SAT prep option. “I would definitely consider taking a course,” Richard Montgomery High School sophomore An Tran said. “Having free and accessible prep courses makes me feel reassured that I won’t have to completely self-prep.”
Richard Montgomery High School senior Katherine Beza also shared her support for this new tutoring program. “I think it’s really important that MCPS strives to have these opportunities available to all kinds of students because not everyone has the money or the time to buy practice books,” Beza said.
Beza also expressed hope that in the future, county-sponsored test prep programs will be expanded to include options for students planning to take the ACT, another standardized exam used for college admissions in the United States. “As someone who took the ACT…I think that MCPS should provide equal amounts of support and focus [for both exams],” she said.
Beyond tutoring, MCPS has taken efforts to increase testing accessibility by participating in SAT School Day. Each year, high schools across the county administer an in-school PSAT exam for 10th graders and an in-school SAT exam for 11th graders at no cost to students.
Additional information on SAT Preparation Options can be found on the MCPS website. Questions regarding free SAT prep tutoring through FEV Tutor can be addressed to mcps@fevtutor.com or 855-763-2607.
Written by Chloe Goldberg of Richard Montgomery High School
Photo Courtesy of Flickr