General Academic has completed an unprecedented AI-driven audit of its educational team, utilizing a proprietary artificial intelligence tool known as "Tutor Buddy" to transcribe, score, and analyze nearly 1,000 tutoring sessions. Tutor Buddy's research-backed methodology evaluates our educators across eight essential criteria—ranging from Preparation and Clarity to Pacing and Rapport—assigning [...]
For more than 23 years, General Academic has guided tens of thousands of Houston families through high-stakes exams like the ISEE, SAT, and ACT. We have consistently observed that test anxiety is rarely a permanent personality trait. More often, it is a temporary, physiological response triggered by highly specific, yet [...]
Ask a student their least favorite subject, and you’ll often hear, “I hate math.” Ask them why, and they’ll say, “because I suck at math.” Really, their reasoning makes sense: how many of the things that you’re bad at are among your favorite activities? As it turns out, a distaste [...]
During the 2025-2026 fall testing cycle, around 400 Houston-area students prepared for their ISEE and SSAT private school admissions tests with General Academic. On average, our students improved ISEE scores by 2.11 stanines or 31.5 percentile rankings. While every child’s situation is unique and results cannot be guaranteed, we are delighted [...]
General Academic has partnered with Piqosity.com to offer digital flash cards for 1200 vocabulary words. We've spent more than a decade curating this list to help students prepare for the ISEE Upper, Middle, and Lower Levels: For the ISEE Upper Level, the 1200 ISEE vocabulary words are divided into [...]
One of the age-old questions of test prep is when to begin the process of studying. Different sources tend to have wildly different recommendations, especially for important tests taken by many students, like the ACT and SAT. There’s a tendency toward doomsaying–an idea that if students haven’t been preparing [...]
Houston's Graduating Seniors Outperform The 2025-2026 National Merit Scholarship Competition is another good year for Houston-area high school seniors. There were 583 seniors who scored in the top 1% on the PSAT to earn the celebrated “Semifinalist” designation and will go on to compete for the National Merit Scholarship. [...]
What Does a Private Tutor Do? Private tutors benefit all students across the academic spectrum, whether they are a straight-A student or struggle to earn Cs or Bs. Regardless of standing, private tutors help students get ahead, remediate weaknesses, and maintain academic strengths: Getting ahead [...]
Every child is unique, and families want to make sure they choose the best right school for their child. As such Houston is home to more than 350 private schools enrolling more than 66,000 students. Additionally, more than 15,000 public school students attending Houston ISD also get to choose [...]
Houston's Graduating Seniors Get Smarter The 2024-2025 National Merit Scholarship Competition is looking to be a good year for Houston-area high school seniors. There are 582 seniors who scored in the top 1% on the PSAT to earn the celebrated “Semifinalist” designation and will go on to compete for [...]