Compass Education Group

What Compass is

Compass Education Group, which brands itself as Compass Prep, is a test preparation company for high school students and their families. It sells private one-on-one tutoring, small live group classes and proctored practice tests for the SAT, ACT, PSAT and AP exams, plus tutoring for the ISEE and SSAT, academics and study skills, and college writing. The home page calls Compass "the premier one-on-one test preparation company" and uses the line "We Raise Scores One Student at a Time." A second side of the business is work with schools: Compass presents to families about college admission testing, runs webinars for counselors and offers a free Resource Center and a free Compass Guide to College Admissions.

Private tutoring and the class catalog

The tutoring menu covers ACT, SAT, PSAT, an SAT/ACT Essentials track, AP exams, academics and study skills, college writing prep, and the ISEE and SSAT. The class catalog is broader than the SAT alone. Its filters list a Bootcamp (10 hours), an Essentials Class (12 hours), a Prep Class (20 hours) and a National Merit Focused class (20 hours), along with an AP Review Course, a Common App Essay Lab and a Lab PLUS version, and a 4-Week Math Bridge, and the menu adds free SAT and ACT workshops. Group students can add one-on-one lessons on top, and the SAT page lists discounted private tutoring rates as one of the course benefits.

How the online SAT class works

The SAT class page is the most detailed part of the site. Courses and bootcamps give 10 to 20 hours of live, interactive group instruction, with classes capped at 15 students. Each 2.5-hour session splits evenly into 75 minutes of Math and 75 minutes of Reading and Writing, with a short break at the midpoint; students cannot sign up for one subject alone. Compass teaches on Zoom, recommends a desktop or laptop, and requires cameras and microphones to be on, because the classes are built as small interactive meetings rather than webinars. The FAQ says instructors are chosen from "the top 1% of veteran educators holding degrees from highly selective universities" and pass subject-mastery evaluations and a training program before they teach.

Between sessions students get roughly 1 to 2 hours of homework, and weekly instructor-led study halls give extra help. Physical Compass course books are mailed to the student's home before the first class. A baseline practice test is recommended before the course starts so instructors begin with diagnostic data for every student. Students attend the section they registered for; every session is recorded and uploaded to the student portal within 24 hours, and recordings, practice tests and homework stay available for 6 months after the course ends. Rolling schedules run across weekend mornings and weekday evenings, with section times set for Eastern, Central and Pacific time, and full sections have priority waitlists.

Live online classes are open to students nationwide. In-person SAT classes are offered in Larkspur, in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in New York, and the class filter also lists in-person sections in Beverly Hills, Chicago and Glenview.

Practice tests, analytics and the portal

Every SAT course includes 3 full-length digital adaptive practice exams in Compass's own Online Testing Center, which the company says mirrors the structure, pacing and rigor of the official SAT. Score reports break results down by section percentile, pacing, question type and trap answers, and include what Compass calls a Similar Scorers Chart. Analytics for each exam reach the parent portal within three business days. The testing center supports 50% and 100% extended-time accommodations for students with approved accommodations, and online students can move a practice test to an in-person proctored room for a fee of $50 in California or $100 in New York. A free 13-step guided tour of the testing interface, covering the timer, highlighter, notes, answer eliminator and flagging tools, needs no account but does not run on mobile phones.

The student and parent portal holds instructor notes, class recordings and lesson recaps, tracks homework, grading and feedback, and gives instant access to the digital curriculum. Parents get post-session lesson summaries and around-the-clock dashboard access.

Prices and policies

The SAT page prints its entry prices: online classes from $1,045 and bootcamps from $625. The refund policy is stated in the FAQ: full course refunds up to 48 hours before the first live session, provided any mailed course books are returned in original condition. Switching between SAT and ACT sections is possible, though Compass advises against it, and a materials adjustment fee covers the new books and diagnostics. Compass does not register students for the SAT; families do that through the College Board.

On financial aid, the FAQ says Compass supports "hundreds of financial aid-eligible students annually" through partnerships with local high schools, non-profits and community-based organizations, and directs families to their school's college counselor.

Reputation and results

The SAT page shows a rating of 4.8/5 from 5,423 families. On results, the FAQ says "motivated students typically see an SAT score increase of 100 to 200+ points when fully engaging, completing assignments, and utilizing diagnostic tests to track milestones," and adds that growth depends on the starting score, attendance and homework. One parent, Jenny A., writes that her daughter "improved her score by 190 points" after tutoring with Compass.

The home page leans on school counselors. Canh Oxelson of Horace Mann School writes that Compass presentations to 10th grade families "help our families feel confident, relieved, and well-informed." Gloria Diaz Ventura of Flintridge Preparatory School writes: "I've been working with Compass for over 10 years. From the start, Compass has demonstrated a healthy, developmentally appropriate approach to test preparation." Sharon Cuseo, Upper School Dean at Harvard-Westlake School, says "What we value most about Compass is their integrity." More than one counselor describes inviting Compass back every year to speak to parents.

Who it suits

Compass fits a family that wants structured, teacher-led SAT or ACT preparation with real accountability: a fixed schedule, small classes, homework that someone tracks and a parent portal that shows it. Students who learn best one-on-one can go straight to private tutoring, and students who need extended time get it built into the practice tests. Families near one of the in-person locations can choose a classroom, and everyone else can take the same course on Zoom. Schools and counselors get free presentations, webinars and guides.

The caveats are practical. Classes require camera-on participation at set times, so a student who wants to study entirely on their own schedule will find the format demanding, though the recordings soften missed sessions. The prices are those of a premium live course, and the refund window closes 48 hours before the first class. For a student who wants depth of diagnostics and a teacher who knows their weak spots, Compass is a strong, well-documented option.