Mike Barrett

Mike Barrett is a test-prep expert who has been tutoring people for standardized tests ever since he was in high school. His approach to tests like the SAT, PSAT, ACT, GRE, LSAT, ISEE, and SSAT is unique in that it is based on his strategic analysis of the role of testing in education and in admissions, rather than on a superficial appraisal of the supposed subject-matter of an individual test. In other words, while most test-prep courses will teach students to memorize vocabulary words for the SAT, for example, Barrett explains to students how top-scoring SAT-takers minimize the importance of vocabulary by exploiting certain weaknesses inherent in the process of standardization itself.

Barrett employs a variety of formats to work with students: He tutors over the phone and in person, he lectures to large groups, he holds small seminars, he sells online video courses, and he offers free training materials through his blog and through YouTube.

Tens of thousands of students have used Mike Barrett's ideas to improve their performance on standardized tests. Because of the sheer volume and variety of feedback he has received from these tutoring students, Barrett has been able to refine his approach to testing, and tutoring, in a way that sets his methods apart from those of other test-prep resources.