New York Test Prep Boutique Is Hiring—If You Can Meet Its Requirements

Approximately one in every fifty applicants makes the cut.

NEW YORK, NY — As demand for high-quality standardized test preparation continues to grow, New York-based firm The Best Test Prep is reinforcing its selective hiring approach, accepting only a small fraction of instructor applicants.

Founded by Eric Gutman, the company reports that approximately one out of every fifty applicants meets its requirements, reflecting a strong emphasis on instructional quality and consistent student outcomes.

Gutman did not initially plan to become a test prep instructor. A physicist by training, he previously worked as a quantitative analyst at a trading firm before beginning his teaching career at Kaplan Test Prep, one of the largest test-preparation companies in the world.

Kaplan used a metric called “Teacher Excellence,” or “TE,” defined as the percentage of students who rate an instructor as “excellent” on a scale of excellent, good, fair, or poor. At the time, Gutman’s initial ratings fell below the company average.

“My first class had only eight students,” Gutman recalls. “After every class, students complete surveys, and since four of eight rated me as excellent, my TE stood at 50%, compared to a company average of 75%. I tried to explain that the sample size was small, but I was still sent back for additional instructor training,” he says.

From Remedial Training to Top Performance

Gutman took on the additional training and saw rapid improvement in his performance. Within a short period, his Teacher Excellence rating rose to among the highest in Chicago. He later returned to New York, a major test-preparation market, where competition for admission to selective academic programs remains strong.

“When my TE went over 90%, I was inducted into the Kaplan Academy,” Gutman explains. “This group represents the top few percent of instructors globally. Maintaining that level requires consistent student satisfaction, since even one ‘good’ rating must be offset by multiple ‘excellent’ ones.”

As his ratings continued to improve, Gutman became one of the highest student-rated GRE and SAT instructors in the New York–Washington, D.C. region.

Teaching Skill vs. Test Performance

Through his experience, Gutman emphasizes that strong test performance does not automatically translate into effective teaching.

“Performing well relies on intuition and speed, while teaching requires breaking concepts into structured, repeatable steps,” he says. “Without that structure, meaningful improvement rarely happens.”

A Selective Hiring Philosophy

After working with students who had previously received inconsistent instruction, Gutman established The Best Test Prep with a focus on maintaining high instructional standards.

The company employs only experienced, full-time instructors with a consistent record of positive student feedback.

“We do not hire part-time tutors or inexperienced instructors,” Gutman states. “Even experience alone is not enough—we require clear evidence that an instructor has consistently delivered strong results for students.”

According to the company, its selective hiring process ensures greater consistency than larger organizations with broader staffing models.

About The Best Test Prep

The Best Test Prep is a New York City-based test preparation firm founded in 2014. The company provides instruction for standardized exams, including the SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, ISEE, SSAT, and SHSAT. Its programs are designed using structured methodologies developed through years of experience working with students, with a focus on practical strategies and measurable results.

Contact

The Best Test Prep
 2248 Broadway, New York, NY 10024
 (844) 672-PREP
 Info@TheBestTestPrep.com