Tuition centres with many branches must be good
Businesses, like tuition centres, open multiple branches for a number of reasons. The most evident one is to increase profits. That’s alright and makes perfect sense. However, it doesn’t contribute to helping your child achieving better academic results. It’s also worth to note that branches perform differently as they have different staff. Remember that a good centre may have many branches but one with many branches doesn’t automatically make it a good centre.
Tuition centres that show students with high exam results must be good
You need to look for more information than the exam results being shown. What is the ratio that makes up those results? Some centres may selectively post appealing results and only disclose a small number of students. In this case, it is not statistically significant. Even though it’s a good sign that a centre produces a number of high scores, it doesn’t tell the actual performance without the total number of students or the ratio. So remember to clarify with the centre about its track record when you’re in doubt. In fact, you should worry about the improvements rather than the results.
The more popular a tuition centre is, the better it is
You hear about a tuition centre through various media channels such as physical locations, public advertisements, online platforms, etc. Those channels should be seen as “marketing dollars”. The higher the amount a centre pays for its marketing activities, the more you see its name. You could gain insights in some cases such as authentic customer reviews. However, beware of their relevance in terms of date, location, branch and tutor. Luckily many tuition centres provide trial class or free consultation. You can take this advantage to get to know the tutor who would directly teach your child. If that’s not available, try to have a chat or phone call with the tutor and discuss about your child’s problematic areas to assert his or her interest in helping your child.
Tuition centre providing "guaranteed results" must be good
Many parents find themselves victims of this marketing tactic. The “guaranteed results” is a vast promise. There are simply too many factors that affect a student’s grade: connection with the tutor, the child’s attitude, health condition during exams and so on. This scheme often says if your child doesn’t improve his or her grade by one or two, you will get a full refund. It does not say you child will improve. So what it guarantees here is your money, not your child’s result. Moreover, the full refund is tied to a stack of terms and conditions. No one wants to waste money. But the last thing parents like you want is to get a refund when seeing your child’s results worsen.
In conclusion, remember that the number of branches, selective showcase, popularity and “guaranteed results” promise are insufficient to indicate the quality of a tuition centre. Avoid those mistakes and have a look at factors that help you choose a good tuition centre in Singapore.