ACT/SAT test preparation and coaching programs have positive effects on general academic achievement (high school), based on six studies averaging a +9 improvement index¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · quant-synthesis r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2016 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Across six studies of 65,603 students, ACT/SAT test preparation and coaching programs produced a rating of positive effects on general academic achievement (high school), with improvement indexes ranging from -3 to +19 and a domain average of +9 percentile points. → ACT/SAT Test Preparation and Coaching Programs 2016

Evidence¶

ACT/SAT Test Preparation and Coaching Programs 2016¶

ACT/SAT Test Preparation and Coaching Programs. (2016). What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report, U.S. Department of Education. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/664

q3 · i? · review · r3

Systematic review by the What Works Clearinghouse using WWC Procedures and Standards Handbook version 3.0. Six studies (three RCTs without reservations, three studies with reservations) with 65,603 students yielded the "positive effects" rating; Table 1 reports an average improvement index of +9 percentile points (range -3 to +19). No pooled standardized effect size is printed, so no effect size is stated.

"ACT/SAT Test Preparation and Coaching Programs were found to have positive effects on general academic achievement (high school) for high school students, with a medium to large extent of evidence."

ACT/SAT Test Preparation and Coaching Programs 2016 (2)¶

ACT/SAT Test Preparation and Coaching Programs. (2016). What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report, U.S. Department of Education. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/InterventionReport/664

q3 · i? · quant-synthesis · r2

The review's effectiveness summary states that "three studies showed statistically significant positive effects, and three studies showed indeterminate effects" within the domain, so the positive rating rests on findings that do not uniformly replicate across studies.

"Thus, for the general academic achievement (high school) domain, three studies showed statistically significant positive effects, and three studies showed indeterminate effects."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Two computerized SAT coaching programs showed no statistically significant effect on SAT scores (McClain, 1999) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Commercial SAT preparation courses showed no statistically significant effect on SAT scores in a national propensity-score-matched sample (Domingue & Briggs, 2009) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• A school SAT preparation course improved SAT scores at one Texas school (Filizola, 2008; domain average effect size 0.28), driven by the mathematics subtest — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Embedding test-taking strategies and ACT practice items in algebra improved practice ACT mathematics scores (McMann, 1994; effect size 0.34) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• A 6-week computerized Latin and Greek root-word program improved SAT verbal scores (Holmes & Keffer, 1995; effect size 0.49) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Self-reported test preparation showed no significant difference in ACT composite scores in a national sample (Scholes & Lain, 1997, Experiment 2) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• CTE course-taking generally has little or no effect on academic achievement, but math-enhanced CTE lessons significantly improved standardized math performance — related