Test Prep Insight is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more
Testive SAT Review
Our detailed review of the Testive Digital SAT classes and tutoring
Most parents of college-bound high schoolers will agree that it can be a challenge to get their student to focus on prepping for an exam that is months out. For many students, a classic lecture hall style prep class or reading a dense prep book just won’t cut it. Enter Testive, who offers a unique, personalized approach to prepping students built around personalized sessions with a dedicated SAT tutor and customized practice material.
As this is a lengthier and more detailed review, above find a clickable table of contents for easy navigation.
How The Testive SAT Tutoring Program Works?
Testive is a test prep company that offers a totally fresh take on preparing for the SAT. Founded by a couple of MIT grads, the idea is fairly simple. Combine AI-driven software that analyzes student performance and adapts their practice work with the classic and all-important personal touch of a human.
In other words, the course combines weekly, personalized tutoring with intelligent and focused practice.
The Testive prep package is built primarily around weekly calls (or classes) with a dedicated SAT tutor. When you sign up with Testive, they will match you with a tutor who will be with you throughout your entire prep process. From your first prep session until post-exam, your coach will be your steady, guiding hand.
And unlike traditional tutors who focus just on teaching content, Testive’s coaches focus on a more comprehensive approach to learning. Your coach helps you towards your larger college aspirations, designs custom homework for you, and is even there to give you a pep talk or listen to you vent when you need it. The idea is that your coach is your personal guide from beginning to end.
An example of a Testive SAT study schedule
This coaching component is then combined with targeted practice work. Between coaching sessions, students commit to and are assigned bite-sized practice question sets to work on.
These practice question sessions are tailored to the student in part through their coach’s recommendation and in part by some very smart, adaptive technology that Testive employs. These practice sets are short, but frequent to keep students motivated.
Testive is also fairly unique among test prep companies in how they price and structure their course, as described in more detail below.
Course Options and Pricing
Testive offers two different prep packages from which to choose. The first is their SAT prep class, which includes 16 hours of live online instruction and costs around $700.
Alternatively, if you need or want the personalized attention described above, their private tutoring costs a few hundred dollars per hour. Therefore, assuming you need around 20 hours of tutoring, you’re looking at spending north of $4,000.
As such, the Testive package is not a bargain prep offering like Magoosh SAT prep.
Course options and pricing current as of date of publication.
Our Review of the Testive SAT Prep Course
Taking a different approach than most other SAT prep courses (like proven prep providers Kaplan and Princeton Review), I was a little skeptical of Testive’s prep package upon reading about it, particularly at its higher end price point.
However, this also got me pretty excited to check it out, as most test prep companies are afraid to break the mold. And now, having audited the Testive classes and tutoring sessions, I think the instruction is pretty good, but also falls short in certain areas.
The course starts with a strategy consolation, which the company then takes and analyzes to match you with a compatible partner.
An example of Testive’s SAT practice question solution screen
After being assigned a dedicated tutor, you take an assessment to determine your strengths and weaknesses.
Your performance on this test is analyzed by Testive’s software and your tutor to help set a baseline of your knowledge and skills. From there, the baseline is used to establish realistic SAT (and college) goals, and to generate your initial practice work.
Once your tutor has seen the results of your diagnostic exam and had time to process the data, you have your first session. You and your tutor discuss your performance on the practice test, your strengths and weaknesses, your college aspirations and a number of other topics.
This helps your coach get a feel for you as a learner and what you are realistically capable of. It also gives you a good a chance to bond with your tutor, who you’ll most likely be meeting with numerous times over the next 2-4 months.
It was clear from the first coaching session that having a dedicated tutor was going to offer huge advantages. All Testive tutors have scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT, and have been vetted for other traits like communication and motivational skills.
The assigned coach I saw in action was pretty good. She was highly intelligent, clearly knew the SAT like the back of her hand, and was extremely positive and bubbly. Sometimes this type of optimistic and can-do motivational attitude can be just as important as the hard skills, and fortunately, she offered all of the above.
Following your first tutoring session, the rest of the sessions follow a similar format. Between tutoring sessions, you work on numerous practice assignments throughout the week. More on these below, but as your work on them, your coach tracks your progress.
So once you jump on your weekly call, your tutor is all caught up and there’s no need to fill them in how you did or where you struggled. They already know.
So the first part of every call is dedicated to reviewing your performance from the past week, discussing problem areas and where you can improve, and reviewing content where you need it. Then, near the end of the call, you and your tutor discuss plans for the next week.
Together you design a schedule that works for you, and your tutor fills it in with tailored practice work (assisted by Testive’s adaptive software).
A sample Testive SAT practice question
I really like how the tutor flexes the weekly assignments around your schedule. The Testive tutors genuinely seem to care about making sure you are productive and successful, and they realize you won’t be if they just drop a bunch of work on you and say “get it done.”
As for the practice sessions between each tutoring call, the Testive practice work is, I would say, decent. The questions are fairly close to real SAT problems in terms of the style, content and format. They’re definitely not a dead ringer (like PrepScholar), but they do the job.
In total, Testive offers thousands of practice questions for you to access and work on. Unfortunately, other SAT prep providers provide much more practice work.
A look at a Testive SAT practice test
The idea though is that if you consistently do brief assignments over a prolonged period, the material will really sink in and become second nature. Not to mention, it can be hard to keep a 17-year old’s focus.
If you think you are going to do it with 3-hour practice sessions and 7 days per week of training, you’re crazy. That is why Testive keeps all of their assignments to just 20 to 30 minutes. They are quick and over before you even get going.
As you work through your practice questions, you are prompted to review missed problems. You can also review problems you get right, but you have to review problems you get wrong. And this is a very good thing, because this is where the learning comes in. Answering a question is just part of the exercise – you also have to review to learn.
When you miss a question, you start by reviewing a text explanation. This generally just tells you why the correct answer choice is correct and the others are wrong. It gives you the reasoning behind the question and answer. But then Testive also gives you a video solution.
This video lesson walks you through step-by-step how you should have answered the problem. This is a fantastic resource for figuring out how you should have attacked a question and where you went wrong, though I would just note that the quality of the video breakdowns is pretty lacking.
As a follow up to the video solution, Testive then has you categorize your miss and reflect on it through notes. You have to come up with a reason for why you missed the problem (generally from a number of preset reasons like “silly mistake”) and then jot some quick notes down on why you missed it.
This self-reflection is gold. Believe me, it is not fun when you are doing it, but it really helps with the learning process. I have not seen another test prep company that incorporates this type of self-evaluation into their review process. It absolutely helps with comprehension and retention.
A typical Testive SAT score report based on practice test performance
And that is generally how the process goes until you are ready to sit for the exam. You have your tutoring call where you review last week’s work, plan for the coming week and cover anything that needs to be addressed.
Then you hammer practice problems for roughly 20-30 minutes a few times in between sessions, and sync back up with your tutor.
However, I would just say that I was disappointed that there is no true core curriculum with this course. The meetings with your coach and consistent practice work are helpful, but there’s no central guiding instruction (i.e. video lessons, prep books).
Other courses are built around hours of video lessons and learning modules, and you just don’t get that with Testive. It results in you feeling like something is just sort of missing with their prep program.
All in all, for students who need a steady hand to guide them across the SAT finish line, or are looking for a solid point boost, Testive is a decent option in my opinion.
Digital Platform & User Experience
Being an entirely online prep course, Testive has spent significant resources generating a first-rate online platform.
Their digital platform is your home base for scheduling calls with your tutor, following your weekly assignments, working on practice problems and much more. As such, Testive has ensured users are offered a pleasant experience.
The portal is very easy to use. You are clearly directed from the navigation bar at the top of your screen to your practice work, review features and analytics.
Online Content Access Period
Your access to Testive’s study materials is directly tied to how many tutoring sessions you purchase.
Is There a Money Back Guarantee?
No, the company used to offer a higher score guarantee, but recently removed it. It is unclear why Testive decided to stop offering this promise. If you are looking for a score guarantee as part of your SAT prep, you’ll have to look elsewhere.
Verdict: Testive SAT Prep Review
Testive offers a unique SAT prep experience that may not work for all students, but should be effective for those that need a guiding hand. Rather than using a traditional method of instruction, such as learning modules, video lessons, or assigned reading from a textbook, Testive’s course revolves around group classes or 1-on-1 sessions with a dedicated SAT tutor.
Your SAT coach guides you through content review, improves on your weak spots, and assigns homework tailored to your individual needs. These tutoring sessions are interspersed with practice assignments which are given based on the analysis of Testive’s adaptive software.
That said, the Testive packages lack a true core curriculum and feel less developed than other SAT prep courses. Given the high price point of their tutoring packages, and the limited amount of study materials, I would recommend going with a different SAT prep course.
Testive charges around $700 for their group classes and $250 per hours for their private tutoring.
How does Testive SAT prep work?
Testive employs the unique approach of guided tutoring combined with practice material. You meet with your tutor for instruction and work on personalized homework assignments between meetings.
Is Testive SAT prep worth it?
No, given the high price point of their tutoring courses, I believe you can find better value elsewhere in the SAT prep space (check out Kaplan or Princeton Review).
