And there is always someone. Whether that sideline conversation is taking place in Scarsdale or Winnetka or Mill Valley, there is inevitably, in an office park not too far away, a test-prep magician, a teen whisperer, a tutor with a reputation for raising scores on the SAT or the ACT by eye-popping margins. His rates are astronomical, of course, and his schedule is always full. But if you can get in, and if you can afford him, he’s the guy you want.
