S5E6: What Parents Should Know About Academic Tutoring & Test Prep: Fit, Timing, & Real Progress

In this episode of The Admittedly Podcast, Thomas Caleel sits down with Kathy Yellen, Senior Program Consultant at Advantage Testing, to pull back the curtain on what most families misunderstand about tutoring and test prep. With 16 years at Advantage Testing and a background spanning early childhood education, classroom teaching, and performance, Kathy explains what her role actually looks like: listening to families, building a roadmap, and "matchmaking" students with the right tutors so the relationship works, not just the schedule. Together, Thomas and Kathy unpack the real concerns parents bring to the table when they're navigating SAT/ACT prep or academic tutoring for the first time, including confusion, misinformation, and the fear that "we're behind."  Key Topics: What Advantage Testing "program consulting" actually is, and why the student-tutor match matters as much as expertise How families should approach test prep and academic tutoring when they don't know where to start Why there is no "only way" to prep and how to tune out conflicting opinions and social media noise What tutoring is (and is not): scaffolding, mentorship, and confidence-building, not replacement or shortcutting When to consider tutoring, including support, remediation, and enrichment, and why timing depends on the student Why practice test scores often fluctuate and how to evaluate progress using trendlines, not single data points How to handle mid-process stress and what to do if the match isn't working (and why course correction should happen early) Guest: Kathy Yellen: Senior Program Consultant at Advantage Testing with 16 years of experience supporting families through academic tutoring and test preparation. Kathy holds a BA in English from Tufts University and an MST in Early Childhood Education from Fordham University, and has worked as a teacher, tutor, actor, and singer before joining Advantage Testing. Learn more about Admittedly's partnership with Advantage Testing: admittedly.co/programs Follow Admittedly: Instagram and TikTok: @admittedlyco Follow Advantage Testing: Instagram: @advantagetesting