The Value of One-to-One Tutoring
by Calli Christenson, Director of College Counseling
It’s no surprise that a high-stakes, standardized testing environment can be the perfect formula for bringing out the worst in a student’s performance. Each student brings their unique content knowledge, response to stress, test-taking approach, and time management skills into an exam. In order for a student to improve their score, all of these areas must be addressed in an individual manner. This is precisely why the one-size-fits-all test prep courses and curriculum - although technically sound - often fail to have significant impact on students. In contrast, one-on-one tutoring provides excellent opportunities for engaged learning and focuses heavily on a student’s needs, which yields the best score results.
We’ve made it our mission at CLC College Prep to offer a personal, student-centered approach specifically tailored to each student’s individual strengths and weaknesses. Working with students one-on-one allows our expert tutors the time necessary to develop a personal relationship and understand a student’s unique skill set. This is one reason why we choose to not offer “crash courses”, and also why our students are working from various texts at numerous levels, at any given time. Never will we push every student through the same content. We believe the key to our students’ success is the intentional curriculum design that each student receives, and the longevity of a relationship they form with their tutor over a period of time.
Furthermore, this personal instruction gives our tutors the opportunity to learn their student’s individual approach and cognitive processes. In a standardized test environment with multiple choice questions, identifying the wrong answer can be just as important as finding the correct one. We work diligently with a student to adjust their approach and strengthen their critical reasoning skills. We engage each student at their level and tailor our instruction to their learning style. The concrete application of abstract test-taking strategies is often complicated by individualized subtleties and a student’s individual cognitive responses to various question types and methodologies. The one-on-one time and individual guided practice allows our tutors to calibrate the application of these strategies.
Finally, self-confidence plays a critical role in student performance. Our work as tutors involves just as much coaching as it does teaching. We believe that there is more to test prep than understanding and conveying the material. Our tutors are elite in their discipline, but also understand high school students and the value of the relationship. Our team focuses on developing a strong rapport while providing specific, detailed feedback and encouragement that directly fosters self-confidence.
Our student-centered approach, which is tailored to each student’s unique needs and goals is clearly something we are proud of. We understand that test prep is an investment of time and finances, and it is our mission to make the most of our client's resources as we help them to score their best.