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the problem, cited.

locus exists because of five findings. Here they are, with their sources, and with an honest note about how much weight each one can carry.

  1. 01university-affiliated study

    The SAT has a real, measurable money gap.

    300+ point average gap

    A Harvard-affiliated study found an average gap exceeding 300 points between the highest- and lowest-income families, and roughly a third of top-income students score 1,300+ versus under 5% of middle-income students.

  2. 02industry source

    That gap is priced, literally.

    ~$70 per hour, average

    Private SAT tutoring averages about $70/hour (range $45–100, with elite specialists commanding $200–400+/hour), and a full prep engagement (20–30 hours) runs $1,600 to over $10,000.

  3. 03industry source

    The score can matter well past admissions.

    Consulting and finance firms (Bain, McKinsey, and Goldman Sachs among them) are known to ask candidates for SAT scores during recruiting, years after high school.

  4. 04industry source

    The market already proves demand for prep, just not for smarter review.

    12.5% CAGR, test prep

    Test preparation is the fastest-growing segment of the private tutoring industry, at roughly 12.5% CAGR, inside a tutoring market heading toward $160B+ by the mid-2030s. Growth is largely more hours and more tools, not necessarily more targeted review.

  5. 05peer-reviewed

    Reviewing mistakes deliberately beats grinding more problems.

    Peer-reviewed research on error-based learning (Metcalfe, 2017, Annual Review of Psychology) shows people who actively analyze and correct their mistakes retain more and perform better later than people who just do more repetitions. That is the academic backing for “perfect practice.”

what locus does with that

practice doesn’t make perfect. perfect practice makes perfect.

The last finding is the one the product is built on. locus does not add practice; it makes the practice already done count for more, by turning every mistake into a mapped, explained, revisited data point instead of a forgotten wrong answer. That is the part $70 an hour actually buys, and it is the part that does not need to cost anything.

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sources

  1. Harvard Gazette: “Wide gap in SAT/ACT test scores between wealthy, lower-income kids,” 2023
  2. Private Prep: Average SAT Test Prep Cost
  3. Tutors.com: Average SAT Tutor Cost
  4. Recruiter.com: “Your SAT Scores Can Haunt Your Job Search”
  5. The Business Research Company: Exam Preparation and Tutoring Global Market Report 2025
  6. Metcalfe, J. (2017). “Learning from Errors.” Annual Review of Psychology

Figures are transcribed from the sources above and are not recalculated, re-based or extrapolated. Ranges are reproduced as ranges.