Sylvan Learning Centers??

[Renai]

Has anyone ever used Sylvan for their children in reading and/or math? We are considering this for our just-turned 9yo dd/3rd grade and looking for opinion/comments/likes/dislikes/options.

TIA!

 

Renai

[G5052]

I don't have personal experience with them, but have tutored children who came through them at various times (I tutor math here and there for extra $).

 

It's very pricey, but don't think that you get what you pay for. From what I was told by the parents who used them, the tutors they had were not very engaged and were constantly trying to get them to sign up for more and more tutoring versus having an end point in mind. You might get a good tutor, but be prepared for quite a sales pitch and pressure to sign on for the long term. I personally would never do that. I offer the first session at 1/2 price, and then give them a discount if they pay for five sessions up front (pay for four, get one free). I never require more committment than that.

 

Ask around your area. It may indeed be a good choice where you are, but an independent tutor might be better for the money you want to spend.

[Kris]

Has anyone ever used Sylvan for their children in reading and/or math? We are considering this for our just-turned 9yo dd/3rd grade and looking for opinion/comments/likes/dislikes/options.

TIA!

 

Renai

 

I had my son evaluated at Sylvan after we had been homeschooling for about eight months. I didn't know what to think -- Calvert said he was testing two years below grade level and other places said he was testing two years *above* grade level. I was concerned about his writing, but didn't know if I was expecting college level work from a seventh grader. Whether my expectations were unreasonable or not, I didn't seem to be able to explain it in a way that he understood, and we were making no progress in that respect at all.

 

According to their tests, he needed help with math and writing, but I couldn't afford both. His math skills had been improving while he was home (he basically did no math the last two years he was at school), so I didn't feel out of my element there, and they helped me with that "quietly" when I had questions. (BTW -- the lady at Sylvan strongly recommended we *not* use Saxon after Calvert math and pre-algebra, and I wish I had listened to her.)

 

He did end up going there for awhile to work on his writing and it made all the difference in the world. It was *very* expensive, but they worked with us -- basically paycheck to paycheck. They had a loan program, but we weren't pressured at all to do that. There was a lot of scrimping, but they got him "up to speed" in a few months whereas I felt I had made no progress at all.

 

There might have been other more affordable options, but I didn't know of any. Actually, I was pretty surprised there was even a Sylvan facility in this small town. There isn't anymore, though. I dropped by a few months ago to say "Hi!" and the business was closed.

[Renai]

I had my son evaluated at Sylvan after we had been homeschooling for about eight months.

According to their tests, he needed help with math and writing, but I couldn't afford both.

 

Can you tell me more about the evaluation? How in-depth was it? Did it give you information you could not / would not have figured out on your own?

[Kris]

Can you tell me more about the evaluation? How in-depth was it? Did it give you information you could not / would not have figured out on your own?

 

Well, it's been a few years, but I'll try! I can't believe, with all the stuff I have around here, I can't find the package they gave me! I guess I got frisky and threw it away -- hope they don't rescind my Pack Rat membership! :lol:

 

To me, the evaluation was worth its weight in gold because I was so confused about where he was and what my expectations should be. I learned I was expecting too much in some areas, and not enough in others.

 

I *was* surprised when they told me that he was behind in math, because we had been making such good progress. But it was good to know so I didn't let my guard down. As I recall -- and I could be wrong here -- they listed his deficient areas -- percents, fractions, that kind of thing. And they turned out to be things we hadn't spent a lot of time on yet, which was another reason I didn't have him go there for the math.

 

The writing evaluation was the same way, listing the skills and what he needed to work on.

 

I didn't pay much attention to the reading evaluation because it wasn't a problem area. But this was a relief, too, since he had been, allegedly, above grade level all along in school. It was good to get confirmation of that.

 

So yes, I think it was pretty in depth and I think I *might* have been able to figure it out on my own, but I'm just not sure. If he was behind, I didn't want him falling even further behind while I was trying to do that, KWIM? So it was a good decision for us, even though financially is was quite a hardship for a few months (and over the holidays and during the winter, no less, which is always a bad time for us anyway because of the freight and the weather).

 

I can honestly say I didn't regret the decision at the time, and I still don't. We really considered it more of an investment. But I should add that the ladies at that place were really amazing. I want to be balanced, and I'm trying to think of something I wasn't happy about, but I really can't think of anything! So now they'll probably pull my Grouch Card, too. :lol:

[sweetbaby]

My oldest went through Sylvan for a period in 5th grade. We paid big $ for things we discovered that we could do ourselves. He had been doing practically workbook type work. The director discouraged us from discontinuing our services but we did anyway and he did excellent with Mommy and Daddy tutoring. He was in ps at the time and made honor roll soon afterward.

[Renai]

I met with the director yesterday, and the co-owner's sister homeschools all her children- not that that means anything :). She made mention of using the CAT test. Is that the California Achievement? If so, I know that test can be done at home. Are the results the same comprehensive results Sylvan has?

[Mandamom]

I think they are way too expensive for what they give you.

 

If you have a school for learning disabilities in the area, see if they have a tutoring program or a list of approved tutors. If you have concerns about possible learning disabilities you would need testing beyond what they would give you anyway. Your local school or board of education might have a list of tutors available, too.

 

I used a variety of placement tests to help determine what gaps my own children have had. Although each placement test will tell you where to start with that particular publisher, if you use several you will probably get a good idea as to what topics you need to cover. One place I like the placement test and is free is http://mindsprinting.com .

 

I just think there are better buys out there than Sylvan but they have been very helpful for a lot of people.

[Renai]

I think they are way too expensive for what they give you.

 

If you have a school for learning disabilities in the area, see if they have a tutoring program or a list of approved tutors. If you have concerns about possible learning disabilities you would need testing beyond what they would give you anyway. Your local school or board of education might have a list of tutors available, too.

 

I used a variety of placement tests to help determine what gaps my own children have had. Although each placement test will tell you where to start with that particular publisher, if you use several you will probably get a good idea as to what topics you need to cover. One place I like the placement test and is free is http://mindsprinting.com .

 

I just think there are better buys out there than Sylvan but they have been very helpful for a lot of people.

 

The testing thing has been the thing I've been thinking about most. I decided to go ahead and pick up the paperwork from the district to get her tested.

 

Wow! What a great website. Thanks for sharing it.

[Renai]

Yes, and yes it can be done at home. The scores I got back break down math and LA by the different skill areas so I can see that computation is high but problem solving is low, that kind of thing. That will cost you about 25$.

 

I did find a site where I could get it for $50. Thanks for the information.

[Kris]

The testing thing has been the thing I've been thinking about most. I decided to go ahead and pick up the paperwork from the district to get her tested.

 

Wow! What a great website. Thanks for sharing it.

 

That does look like a great website! I haven't registered yet -- can anyone who has tell me if there's a "catch?" Is everything really "free?"

[Mandamom]

That does look like a great website! I haven't registered yet -- can anyone who has tell me if there's a "catch?" Is everything really "free?"

>>>>

 

As near as I can tell everything is free. I've used it periodically for several months and haven't had to pay anything. I also have never received spam from it either but I make no guarantees or promises that you won't :).

 

The website owners make money through advertisements.

 

The math program teaches one concept at a time and there is not review of past concepts or anything like that. for that reason I only recommend this program to figure out where gaps might be and also for some review and not as a complete homeschooling program. My kids like me to print off pages and they work through a few and then we re-take the placement test. I like the placement test a lot.

[Kris]

>>>>

 

As near as I can tell everything is free. I've used it periodically for several months and haven't had to pay anything. I also have never received spam from it either but I make no guarantees or promises that you won't :).

 

The website owners make money through advertisements.

 

 

Thanks for the response! And I won't hold you to the "no spam" guarantee. :lol: I'm always a little leary of "free" things -- and you don't find out what the catch is until after you've registered and they've got your info. Thanks for letting me know how the place works. :001_smile:

[Guest ALICIA21]

Has anyone ever used Sylvan for their children in reading and/or math? We are considering this for our just-turned 9yo dd/3rd grade and looking for opinion/comments/likes/dislikes/options.

TIA!

 

Renai

 

 

 

My little one (11) had a reading disability, and Sylvan's reading program more then helped.

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

Ok this is really bad.....and I can't remember if this was Sylvan or one of the other ones (Huntington?)....

 

But they had some kind of thing going where you got a free evaluation. I always thought that no matter how well your kid was doing, they were going to find areas they were "behind" in. So I took my dd in there because I knew she would blow their test out of the water just to see what they would tell me. They came back and said she "did very well" with the test, but there were some areas she could use some "extra challenge" in. When I found out how much they charge for tutoring I about fell over. For that price, I could have hired a math major to come every weekday and tutor my kid for an hour and ordered pizza while the kid was here.

[Renai]

My little one (11) had a reading disability, and Sylvan's reading program more then helped.

 

What type of disability did she have, and in what way did Sylvan help? Was the disability already diagnosed, or did Sylvan assessments/methods help root it out?

 

Thanks for your comments.

[Renai]

Just to update:

 

Our school district uses the DIBELS test to find out where children are in regards to reading in the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. I found this out when I picked up the (very thick packet of) special ed evaluation paperwork from them. A perusal of the state site showed all the evaluation materials (including progress monitoring stuff) is available free online. It's all available in English and Spanish.

 

So, I did the evaluations with her in both languages- Spanish on her grade level, and English for where she is (1st). This info may come helpful if I go with the special ed evaluation, as they ask for the info. I

 

I've created a plan to work on her weak areas, which included using MindSprinting- thanks for the link!- continuing her phonics instruction with MFW, and my own program for Spanish. The Spanish includes some ideas in this thread- reading the same story everyday to help with fluency, and some other stuff. I'll see if there is any improvement in about 8 more weeks.