College test prep classes are expensive, a Baldwin-Whitehall senior is here to help
Attending a public high school, Baldwin senior Grace Toman noticed some students were not able to afford standardized test prep classes.
She began offering free classes to Baldwin students early this past September in advance of October’s SAT and Preliminary SAT testing dates.
According to an online search, the cost of prep courses and classes for the three-hour test, which consists of reading, writing and language, and math and helps determine college admission, ranges from hundreds to thousands of dollars.
The 17-year-old Baldwin resident was inspired to take action after participating in the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s LAUNCH program.
The program — its name stands for Learn, Aspire, Understand, Navigate, Connect, Highlight — gives 10th and 11th grade girls a voice of leadership in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) industry.
“I made a project focused on student equity and providing expensive resources and experiences to students who may not be able to afford them otherwise,” Toman said.
Baldwin High School principal Shaun Tomaszewski helped her with scheduling and printing practice exams.
“He wanted to make an SAT prep program at Baldwin in years past, but the COVID-19 pandemic largely limited his ability to do this,” she said. “I emailed him over the summer, inquiring about starting a SAT prep class at the high school.
“He met with me online to work through details.”
Students took a paper-and-pencil exam for two days, then reviewed the material and received individual help.
The sessions lasted from one to three hours, depending on the needs of the students.
“Sometimes someone would need three hours to take the entire practice exam, but there were also times when some students came down for an hour of individual tutoring,” Toman said. “I have devoted a lot of time to this program, and have been at every single session with help from a handful of other students.
“I have to not only run the sessions themselves, but also make sure all materials are prepared leading up to review dates.”
About 20 students took SAT practice tests.
Toman tutored 10 more through review sessions.
“I plan to have an even bigger program for students taking the March SAT, since it is offered at our school, and many more students are encouraged to take the test on this date compared to October,” she said.
Toman tries to make the program flexible.
“I don’t require students to sign up for after-school sessions,” she said. “Although this makes it somewhat difficult to plan, it takes down a barrier for students who are busy with other activities.
“They can come for however long they need without making a specific commitment.”
Toman, who has taken the SAT three times and plans to study biochemistry at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh or Duquesne University, would love to offer the program to other school districts.
“It is helpful due to the large cost of these types of programs,” she said. “In the future, once the program is more precisely planned, it would be beneficial to either hold a class like this open to students from other schools, or provide plans to other schools, where students can run this program in their own high school.”
Tomaszewski said the program has been well-received.
“As effective as online opportunities can be, most kids still want to engage in preparatory work in person,” he said. “If we’ve learned anything over the past couple of years, it’s that virtual learning opportunities can supplement, but never fully supplant, the relationships people build when they’re face-to-face.”
Baldwin senior Sam Petrovich, 18, who lives in Baldwin, helped Toman administer the test.
“Even without having directly
taken it, I was able to improve my scores on the most recent SAT because we had discussed so many strategies and problemsolving methods,” he said.
Baldwin senior Evelyn Wright, 17, of Baldwin, said acting as a teacher, the information sunk in.
Tomaszewski said Toman will be tough to follow, but expects the program to continue after she graduates: “We have a robust tutoring infrastructure through our National Honor Society chapter. I’m optimistic we will be able to leverage these kids to carry the torch.”
Baldwin NHS sponsor Chris Reilsono said the program will continue: “This is an initiative NHS will definitely continue to grow and provide to best meet the needs of our students.”