The Real Truth Behind SAT & ACT Test Prep Guarantees

"Higher Score Guaranteed or Your Money Back" is what one famously large test prep center advertises. Another offers that a student's "composite score will increase by 300 points ore more" when you use their particular resource.

Hogwash. Total hogwash.

First of all, as some would claim, test prep companies rig the tests.

Here is how they do it: On the first day of a course at a prep center, you are given a diagnostic. Instead of a realistic test, test prep centers create diagnostic tests more difficult than the actual SAT. So when you get your score on the diagnostic test, you will score very low. And when you take the real SAT, presumably after the course, the test would be much easier and you would thus score higher.

Sneaky, right?

Fortunately, not all companies engage in this practice. In fact, CROSSWALK uses tests directly from the Official SAT Study Guide for all assessments. This allows for a consistent measurement to track performance.

The second reason this test prep center guarantees are bogus is that none of those test centers can predict what kind of mental mindset a student will have on test day. A student's mental mindset and attitude is the most important determinant of student performance.

Where your head is on test day is what really will drive your score. If you are rested, focused and prepared, you will score well. On the other hand, if you are stressed, frazzled or negative, your score will suffer.

For this reason, CROSSWALK will never make a guarantee of a higher score. We simply cannot control a student's mindset on test day. Let's say a student goes out to a party the night before the test and gets no sleep. Or the student gets in a fight with a boyfriend or girlfriend before test day. These situations would greatly impact a student's performance and are beyond CROSSWALK's control.

What we will guarantee is that if a student practices and follows the strategies outlined in our Boot Camps or with our private tutors, the student will be more confident, comfortable and knowledgeable about how to achieve a higher score. And if that student puts in the work to master a personalized game plan, which would include making sure his or her mindset is primed for performance, a score will go up.

It's no secret and there is nothing sneaky about it: if you put in the time, results will happen. Guaranteed.

Learn top SAT strategies for a stress-free testing experience by reading 2400 SCORES: 24 Life Lessons to Demystify the SAT® and Boost Your Score by Brooke Higgins available at Amazon.

Contact CROSSWALK to learn more about ACT/SAT Boot Camps, private tutoring and more ways to learn.