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Godot · 05-27-2005, 02:18 AM

Xiggi,

I appreciate your opinions on score improvements. Tutoring, or teaching, for that matter, in the purest form is simply enabling the student to help or teach himself. My students do the work; I simply push or guide them along. So, yes, of course, in principle, any student would be able to improve his or her score dramatically. Unfortunately, as is often the case, there is a difference between what is true in theory and what is true in practice. Practically, many students do not improve significantly (where I define "significant" as more than 100 to 200 points of improvement) on their own, and can benefit from expert, professional help, if not to achieve a bigger improvement than they can manage on their own, then to achieve that same improvement in a much shorter amount of time. The number I quoted, what you termed as "an illusory plateau," is not very scientific, but it's my best guess based on what I've heard from students I have worked with and other accounts.

Think of professional help in many other areas. One can, in theory, for example, teach himself how to play the piano. Would he progress much faster and become more polished by working frequently with a world-class pianist? Probably. Or consider professional sports coaches. They abound for a reason. Even Tiger Woods uses a coach. As far as self-diagnosis: while it's true that many students can detect to a certain extent their own error patterns on the SAT, an expert can probably describe them more accurately and precisely and diagnose them more effectively. Would you try to diagnose your own illness, or would a doctor be far more effective at doing it?

To become excellent in almost any area of life, and to do so efficiently, requires seeking out experts, people who have already done and excel at what you hope to become proficient in. Professional SAT tutors are no different from people who offer their expertise and experience in other areas (for which they charge exorbitant fees). I understand that services like tutoring can be expensive for many families, but if it's something you can afford, and, again, if it's *expert* help, I don't think it really hurts. To reiterate, there are many incompetent tutors out there, so if you have no real options in your area, self-study may be the best bet for you.

I think you would agree with me that most, if not all, of the students on CC are bright and motivated. I think you'll also agree that we see a post almost every day from a student or two seeking help or advice with the exam (or at least one section) because he or she is "stuck." Many of these students, no doubt, have taken exams and analyzed them on their own. Some may have even followed the "Xiggi method," or something very similar. Yet, there are still students who can reach a "plateau." Outside professional help is not necessarily base or deleterious. It's a business, like any other, but it's also a business that achieves results (again, I'm only considering the reputable, competent people). The SAT average would be far higher if every student were able to improve significantly on his or her own.

BTW, I would love to hear from any students who *have* improved by more than 300 points combined (or more than 200 points on the old SAT scale) from a previous official SAT (or PSAT) to a subsequent official SAT *purely* through self-study. Any of you??

05-27-2005, 02:18 AM	#65
Godot Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Buffalo, NY Threads: 18 Posts: 531	About score improvements... Xiggi, I appreciate your opinions on score improvements. Tutoring, or teaching, for that matter, in the purest form is simply enabling the student to help or teach himself. My students do the work; I simply push or guide them along. So, yes, of course, in principle, any student would be able to improve his or her score dramatically. Unfortunately, as is often the case, there is a difference between what is true in theory and what is true in practice. Practically, many students do not improve significantly (where I define "significant" as more than 100 to 200 points of improvement) on their own, and can benefit from expert, professional help, if not to achieve a bigger improvement than they can manage on their own, then to achieve that same improvement in a much shorter amount of time. The number I quoted, what you termed as "an illusory plateau," is not very scientific, but it's my best guess based on what I've heard from students I have worked with and other accounts. Think of professional help in many other areas. One can, in theory, for example, teach himself how to play the piano. Would he progress much faster and become more polished by working frequently with a world-class pianist? Probably. Or consider professional sports coaches. They abound for a reason. Even Tiger Woods uses a coach. As far as self-diagnosis: while it's true that many students can detect to a certain extent their own error patterns on the SAT, an expert can probably describe them more accurately and precisely and diagnose them more effectively. Would you try to diagnose your own illness, or would a doctor be far more effective at doing it? To become excellent in almost any area of life, and to do so efficiently, requires seeking out experts, people who have already done and excel at what you hope to become proficient in. Professional SAT tutors are no different from people who offer their expertise and experience in other areas (for which they charge exorbitant fees). I understand that services like tutoring can be expensive for many families, but if it's something you can afford, and, again, if it's expert help, I don't think it really hurts. To reiterate, there are many incompetent tutors out there, so if you have no real options in your area, self-study may be the best bet for you. I think you would agree with me that most, if not all, of the students on CC are bright and motivated. I think you'll also agree that we see a post almost every day from a student or two seeking help or advice with the exam (or at least one section) because he or she is "stuck." Many of these students, no doubt, have taken exams and analyzed them on their own. Some may have even followed the "Xiggi method," or something very similar. Yet, there are still students who can reach a "plateau." Outside professional help is not necessarily base or deleterious. It's a business, like any other, but it's also a business that achieves results (again, I'm only considering the reputable, competent people). The SAT average would be far higher if every student were able to improve significantly on his or her own. BTW, I would love to hear from any students who have improved by more than 300 points combined (or more than 200 points on the old SAT scale) from a previous official SAT (or PSAT) to a subsequent official SAT purely through self-study. Any of you??