Student Results Q4 2024

Below are the results from the remainder of 2024. The first table is for students who finished April 2024 through July 2024; the second table is for those who finished August 2024 through December 2024.

Grade	School	Exam	Starting Score	Ending Score	Improvement	Season
Junior (F)	Kelly High School	SAT	1040	1220	+180	Winter, Spring
Junior (F)	Stratford High School	SAT	1050	1320	+270	Winter
Junior (F)	Stratford High School	SAT	1240	1410	+170	Winter, Spring
Junior (M)	Klein High School	ACT	1280	1550	+270	Winter
Junior (M)	Strake Jesuit	SAT	1080	1300	+220	Winter, Spring
Junior (M)	Memorial High School	SAT	1210	1410	+200	Winter, Spring
Junior (M)	St. Thomas High School	ACT	1210	1400	+190	Spring
Junior (M)	Clements High School	SAT	1350	1480	+130	Spring

Grade	School	Exam	Starting Score	Ending Score	Improvement	Season
Senior (F)	Lamar High School	SAT	1140	1360	+220	Summer
Senior (F)	Elkins High School	SAT	1100	1240	+140	Summer
Senior (F)	Kelly High School	SAT	1200	1430	+230	Summer
Senior (M)	Kelly High School	SAT	1200	1370	+170	Summer, Fall
Senior (M)	Kelly High School	SAT	1460	1490	+30	Summer (short verbal program)
Junior (F)	The Netherlands & Singapore	ACT	1310	1550	+240	Summer, Fall
Senior (M)	St. Thomas High School	SAT	1200	1290	+90	Fall
Junior (F)	St. Agnes Academy	ACT	1130	1280	+150	Summer
Junior (F)	St. Agnes Academy	ACT	1280	1480	+200	Summer, Fall

Results Summary: Another year of excellent results, with average score improvements well above industry average. The average score improvement of those with me for one season was +190 points (a bit better than my historical average of +170). The average improvement of those with me for two or more seasons was +200 points (a touch lower than my historical average of +210).

I'm very happy with how this year turned out.

 Reflection:  This was the year of transition for the SAT from paper to digital. While many tutoring companies are seeing their SAT students perform worse than in the past, I have not. Thus, while others have begun encouraging their students to take the ACT over the SAT, I still believe that the kids should prepare for the exam that best suits them and their skill sets. The two exams are more different now than they ever have been, especially in the sort of reasoning demanded of students on the verbal side. One huge benefit my students have is that we are not afraid to prepare for the exam that best suits them. My general perspective that elevating students' reasoning abilities is the best mode of test preparation continues to bear fruit and make my students happy.

Thinking back over the year, one thing sticks out to me: I learn a lot from the test that students usually take part-way through the course (i.e. the August exam that my summer students take, and the March exam my winter students take). I was able to really help a few kids change their test fortunes this past year by addressing some underlying, invisible psychological and test-approach issues that only crop up on a real test.