There are many testing centers, such as Kaplan and Sylvan Learning Center, that help teenagers hone in on their skills necessary for the tests. These courses can be taken with other students or a one-on-one basis, although the latter is usually more expensive. These testing centers typically only hire individuals with a certain ACT or SAT score to ensure that your child is getting tips and tricks from someone who has already mastered the test.
Tutoring can be done as a one-on-one basis with a private contractor that you hire for your child. Typically, this is someone you hire individually without going through a third party such as a tutoring center or school. Those who tutor may be teachers who work on the side, retired teachers or students who are earning graduate level degrees. Ask your tutor for references before you begin to work with him to ensure that he has been successful in the past.
Students can now take prep classes online at ACT's and SAT's official websites, taking official practice questions and mimicking the test atmosphere with a test simulator. As these prep classes are from the official websites of the tests, they allow the student to focus on questions that are similar to the ones they may find on the actual exam.
There are some high schools that have SAT and ACT prep classes for students after school or on the weekends. This may be done for individual schools only or may be comprised of several schools that have come together to allow students from that school, or the community, to take a class. Speak to your child's principal or teachers to discuss options for SAT and ACT prep classes at your child's school or in the community.