Finding a Tutor

Have you had trouble finding a tutor for your child?  I have been through an exhaustive search for tutors and would like to pass on some tips.

My goal was to find a tutor to help my son get a high score on the CST/STAR Test so that he could secure a spot in the honors classes when he moves to middle school.  I have used workbooks to help him, but my time is limited and I did not feel we were progressing at a sufficient rate. It is very competitive in my area and students must score Advanced on the state test to get into the honors class, or else be put into the much more unruly and slow paced regular classes.

To find a tutor, I started by asking friends for recommendations. A few had tutors that came to their houses and some went to tutoring centers.

I visited the tutoring centers, but the cost of $50-70 per hour for one on one lessons put me off.  Despite there being centers that seemed more interested in my money than my son's future, there were some centers that had very good programs that included pre-lesson assessments and fully credentialed teachers who would have a lesson plan to show you for EVERY lesson.  If I had the money, I would have chosen those centers. As a high school teacher, I know a lot about the basics of education in California and a teacher that is able to build up a child's fundamentals while breaking down the questions on the test.  Unfortunately, they did not fit my budget.

My second option was through my network of friends, but it seemed that their good tutors were not unknown to the community.  They were all too busy now and by the time they had free time, the test season would be over.

I wanted to look at my nearby university job boards, but I have an inherent distrust of the patience of college students and their ability to break down complex materials to the level a child can understand.

Finally, I hit the internet.  It is no picnic looking for a tutor through the search engine.  I tried Tutor Doctor, Care.com, WyzAnt, and many others that popped up on Google.  I do recommend this method if you can't afford the tutoring centers.  The services basically act as the middle man to introducing you to tutors.  Besides telling you what the tutors are able to teach, there is a lot of background information and reviews from other people.  The prices for most tutors were reasonable and they come to your house.  To find a good tutor, follow these steps:
review their credentials,
read their introduction,
check the subjects they specialize in,
look at other customer's comments,
e-mail them to find out their availability, experience, and teaching methods,
also ask them how they follow-up, re-teach, and review materials,
set up a trial lesson (for half price, if possible)
if you like them, buy 3 lessons at a time,
get a progress review after the 3 lessons,
if your child is working hard with them (they don't HAVE to like the tutor) and the tutor is still working hard, continue the lessons,
if they are not working hard or your child is getting complacent, find a new tutor.

As to my story, after a few inquisitive e-mails and then meetings, I found a tutor who is the perfect match for  my son.  It took more leg-work than I thought it would, but I am very happy.

I hope you have as much good luck in your search!