"Tyranny of the Test" - Jeremy Miller - Harper's Magazine

One Year as a Kaplan Coach in the Public Schools

Byline: Jeremy Miller; 2008-09-01; Harper's; 

Report: Harper's Magazine

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". . .I am here because the High School for Health Careers and Sciences, one of several small schools in what was once a single large high school in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, has purchased Kaplan’s SAT Advantage program, an abbreviated version of the SAT prep course offered by the testing company at any of its 150 centers nationwide. (“Higher test scores guaranteed or your money back.”) As one of Kaplan’s roving “coaches,” I will spend the day helping math and English teachers kick off the test-taking course by modeling the “Kaplan method” for their classes. Depending on the number of students it serves, a Kaplan program like this can cost a school well into the tens of thousands of dollars. For my efforts each day, which cannot exceed six hours of instruction, I will receive a fee of $295. At this rate, a full school year’s pay would exceed a starting teacher’s salary by more than $10,000. . ."

Description:Jeremy Miller tells about his time in George Washington High School as an SAT prep coach.

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