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Test-prep teachers must excel at sharing knowledge

By Sarah Anne Wright
Seattle Times staff reporter

	TIM MATSUI Nicole Nyman, a second-year student at the University of Washington Law School, teaches an LSAT-prep class for Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions.
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Just as aspiring actors must try out for parts, aspiring test-preparation teachers have to audition for their roles.

That's because effective teaching depends on showmanship as well as scholarship, say Kaplan Inc. and The Princeton Review, two international, for-profit companies that teach standardized-test-preparation courses.

They hold regular auditions — but only for those who've scored at or above the 90th or 95th percentile on such tests as the SAT; Graduate Record Examination or GRE; and the Medical College Admission Test, or MCAT. (Which minimum score is required depends on the test.)

The companies say they are pretty choosy. Princeton Review, for example, says it hires fewer than 10 percent of applicants.

Tico Sandoval, area director for Kaplan, says he wants to see enthusiasm — something that Kaplan's five training sessions for new instructors can't teach. "We succeed by our classes being taught well."

Test-prep teachers The job: Teach strategies to people preparing to take a standardized test, such as the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) and ACT (formerly known as the American College Testing program). Pay: Starts at about $15 an hour and goes up to about $50 an hour, according to local companies. Outlook: Strong, as the student clientele faces more competition for admission to colleges, graduate schools and professional programs, and more states mandate assessment tests for students. Info: Kaplan Inc., www.kaplan.com; The Princeton Review, www.princetonreview.com; Sandweiss Test Prep, testprep.8m.com; The Steven Klein Co., www.stevenklein.com

Kaplan and Princeton Review are the biggest test-prep companies in the U.S., employing thousands. Both are headquartered in New York City but have teaching centers throughout the country, including in Seattle. There are also independents offering similar courses.

Classes in demand

Business is strong, thanks to a steady stream of high-achieving students gunning for top scores to gain entrance into elite colleges and graduate programs.

"It seems to have gotten more competitive over the last 10 years or so," says Ken Gullette, ACT spokesman in Iowa City, Iowa. "It has sparked quite an industry."

There are also more kinds of tests. Kaplan coaches students for some 35 tests, from English-language proficiency tests to professional licensing exams.

"Most people aren't disciplined enough" to prepare on their own, says Sandy Hayes, a former lawyer and now an LSAT-prep teacher at The Steven Klein Co. in Seattle, which specializes in the Law School Admissions Test. Hayes says many take test-prep courses for the same reason dieters join weight-loss centers: Sometimes people are more committed to results when they pay money.

The art of taking tests

Quelling students' anxiety is one of the big challenges for teachers. They try to put the tests in perspective:

	TIM MATSUI Law-school hopefuls, left to right, Carol Brainard, Ashley Church, Maureen Oreilly and Chang Noh take a quiz in an LSAT preparation class.

"It's not a test of how smart you are, how successful you will be when you get out of school, or how good of a human being you are," says Steve Sandweiss, who founded Seattle-based Sandweiss Test Prep in 1998.

"It's primarily a test of your test-taking skills."

Studies differ or are inconclusive as to whether test-prep courses improve scores. Regardless, people pay for help, learning strategies and tips for performing better and more efficiently on the tests.

Teachers can show "danger zones," or difficult questions in a standardized test that eat up precious minutes.

For a large majority of test-prep teachers, it's a part-time job, not a career.

Many are graduate students and Ph.D. candidates. Sandweiss, for example, is a doctoral candidate in political science at the University of Washington who also teaches at Tacoma Community College.

Kaplan's Sandoval estimates that roughly one-third of his teaching staff are grad students with enough time available to give prep classes, which typically are on weekday evenings and usually run from four to 12 weeks.

Along with grad students, test-prepping can be a good fit as a second job for schoolteachers, nurses (there's a nursing test) and, less obviously, members of La Leche League.

The advocacy group that supports breast-feeding has been the source of a number of good job candidates, says Jeff Rubenstein, a Princeton Review vice president.

"It's a group that attracts really great, outspoken people," Rubenstein said.

Pay at the larger companies ranges from about $15 to around $50 an hour, depending on tenure, evaluations and experience level, say officials at Kaplan and Princeton Review.

Prep teachers also may take one-on-one tutoring assignments, either through a company or privately.

Teacher gains, too

Some say teaching helps them develop professionally. Tristan Osborn is one; he's an M.D./Ph.D. candidate at the University of Washington who wants to teach in a medical school.

For four years, Osborn taught the MCAT at Kaplan, where he was recognized as one of its best teachers in the region.

He says he learned to engage students instead of simply lecturing. "If the students aren't engaged, there's a good chance they probably aren't learning."

But the goal of a test-prep teacher — to help students perform well on a test — is different from that of a would-be professor committed to the advancement of learning.

One downside to the job, test-prep teachers say, is that sometimes others don't exactly have a great impression of their industry, what with its expensive classes (more than $1,000 in many cases) and people's general dislike of standardized tests.

Still, working with students can be refreshing. Hayes, the former lawyer, says teaching the LSAT is a fun change of pace from her former legal career: "You do get jaded as you practice law."

"The students, they are still ready to change the world, and it's great to be in that environment."

Sarah Anne Wright: 206-464-2752 or swright@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company