Bob Donaldson/Post-GazetteHoon Kim teaches a class on reading strategies during an SAT prep session at his Pittsburgh Prep tutoring company in East Liberty. 
Bob Donaldson/Post-GazetteHoon Kim teaches an SAT prep class at Pittsburgh Prep, his tutoring company based in East Liberty. 
Bob Donaldson/Post-Gazette"We don't want to lose any of the effective education you would get in a traditional classroom — interaction with a teacher, live instruction," Mr. Kim said. 
Related Media: 
Study says Pennsylvania ranks below federal standards on school testing As a junior at Central Catholic High School in 2012, Nic Jedema of Highland Park saw a deep economic divide when it came to prepping for college entrance exams.
Mr. Jedema, now 19, sought to study premed at an Ivy League college, attracted by generous need-based financial aid. A member of the varsity crew team and the National Honor Society, he had high grades but an SAT score of 1960 out of a possible 2400 — lower than he thought he needed to get in.
But Mr. Jedema and his family couldn't afford to pay for outside help from the immense test-prep industry that has grown up around the SAT. A typical tutoring package can run more than $100 an hour, so his mother started looking for another way.
She found Neighbors in Need, a local crisis fund established in 2011 by financial adviser Tom Dickson of Shadyside. The nonprofit provided scholarships for in-person courses with Pittsburgh Prep, a private tutoring company. Each scholarship was worth $1,595.
One summer later, Mr. Jedema's score rose from 1960 to 2370. Accepted on early decision to study at Cornell, he's now a rising junior, double-majoring in biology and philosophy, and still focused on his high school goal of becoming a doctor.
In three years, Neighbors in Need provided scholarships to 16 local students, but Mr. Dickson wants to level the playing field on a much larger scale.
"Young kids will email me and say, 'I have hopes and dreams, but I don't have any way to realize them. I really want to go to college,' " he said.
In early 2015, Neighbors in Need and Pittsburgh Prep launched an interactive SAT prep course, free to any student with an Internet connection.
Taught by veteran SAT instructor Hoon Kim, founder of Pittsburgh Prep, the first version was offered in January to 142 students from seven states. The average score increase from their PSAT to their SAT exam was 183 points.
The second cycle began in March, with 54 students. Eighty percent of the students who participated in the first two cycles came from families earning $40,000 to $60,000 a year.
The third cycle of the online course will begin in August and is accepting registrations at signup.freesatprep.org. Mr. Dickson hopes that enrollment, now at 435, will reach 1,000.
Currently supported by the crisis fund and the Bloomfield-Garfield Corp., the program will not turn any students away. Mr. Kim hopes that in the future, if students can afford to, they will contribute to cover the cost.
"I'm trying to help the have-nots," Mr. Dickson said. "I want to try and democratize it."
So does the maker of the test. The College Board announced in March that it would partner with a popular free online academic supplement, Khan Academy. In June, Khan began providing full-length exams, quizzes and targeted practice recommendations, along with its classic explanatory videos — also for free.
At the College Board-Khan partnership, future plans include providing access at Boys & Girls Clubs of America locations and a mobile app to reach as many students as possible.
But Mr. Dickson and Mr. Kim, who had talked about partnering for years after Mr. Kim tutored two of Mr. Dickson's daughters, seek to provide a tailored experience within the rapidly growing arena of online options.
"Do I think the recorded content has a place?" Mr. Dickson said. "Yeah, we absolutely admire all that. Ours is just a different model. We will use the power of technology to do the power of personalization."
The third cycle will include weekly live sessions, during which video of Mr. Kim's teaching will be streamed along with PowerPoint slides. Students will be able to interact via the chat function.
"We don't want to lose any of the effective education you would get in a traditional classroom — interaction with a teacher, live instruction," Mr. Kim said.
The partners intend to stick to the original intent: to overcome disparities between those who can afford test prep and those who can't.
"To truly overcome this gap, there needs to be more," said Mr. Jedema, who, three years later, has returned to the program to work on outreach and mentorship. "That 'more' is what we're trying to provide."
Elizabeth Miles: emiles@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1724.
Sign up for free newsletters and get more of the Post-Gazette delivered to your inbox Get expanded access – register for free. Commenting policy | How to report abuse Commenting policy | How to report abuseSource: Partnership provides free online SAT course for students in Pittsburgh and beyond
No comments:
Post a Comment