FAQs About High School Tutoring

What do parents need to know about high school tutoring? Your teen is tackling more complex subject matter in school—and they may need extra help. If this is your child's first experience with tutoring, take a look at the top questions parents have about this valuable educational service.

Where Can You Find A Tutor?

There are a few answers to this question. If you don't already have a tutor lined up and aren't sure where to start, talk to:

• Your child's school. The high school may have a list of peer tutors or teachers who tutor after regular class hours. Most peer tutoring programs are free. But you will have to pay for after-hours teacher tutoring sessions.
• Your child's friends' parents. Does your child have a friend (or a few) who have used tutoring services? Ask the other parents in your neighborhood for recommendations. 
• A local college. Some colleges may have lists or ways to connect parents to tutors. These tutors are undergraduate or graduate students who are looking for a way to make some extra money while helping younger children learn or develop better study skills.

Along with these options, you can also choose a private tutoring service. This type of service matches high school students with educators who work in specific subject areas (such as a foreign language or calculus). 

What Should You Look for In A Tutor?

Now that you know where to find a tutor, the next step is choosing the right education pro for the job. Unlike elementary or middle school tutoring, high school tutoring may involve more than just general content knowledge. Your teen's high school tutor should:

• Have extensive subject-specific knowledge. This knowledge should extend beyond the content grouping itself (such as math or English) and into subcategories. These subcategories could include calculus, geometry, AP U.S. history, or another similar area.
• Understand test-taking strategies. Your teen doesn't only need to master the subject matter. They also need to know how to take a test. Make sure your child's tutor is well-versed in test-taking strategies for both class and standardized types of exams. 
• Understand adolescent development. Teen education is more than just providing facts and figures. The tutor should understand how adolescents learn, educational barriers, social development, and emotional development.

To get a better understanding of what the tutor knows, their approach to education, and how they interact with teens, talk to the professional yourself. Prep for the interview with your child's world-be tutor and create a list of questions. These can include general concerns and issues that are specific to your teen and their educational needs.

To learn more about high school tutoring, reach out to local service providers.