<p>Its true that test prep can be close to free (home prep) and there are also some free or subsidized courses.</p>
<p>My S was lucky to get a class in 8th grade for test prep for a high school magnet program. The test was somewhat like the PSAT but with much harder math. The test prep class was offered for free at his middle school to the black and hispanic kids who were identified as having a shot at getting in “America’s best high school” (rankings!). The test-prep program was paid for by successful graduates of the high school who wanted to help disadvantaged kids have a better shot at getting into the school. None of the kids in the test prep program were admitted to the school. This was not surprising since there is only 1% black/hispanic students in that magnet high school and it has an acceptance rate similar to Harvard’s (but there is no consideration of diversity for admittance).
Despite the results for getting into the school, I still think the course was excellent prep and may (now I think about it) actually account for S’s high PSAT score. It was almost 3 years before the Junior PSAT but it probably helped anyway. test prep early and well seems to be a good mantra…</p>