Barrett is the co-author of the top-selling indie SAT and ACT books on Amazon.
Mike Barrett is a test-prep expert who has been tutoring people for standardized tests ever since he was in high school. His approach to tests like the SAT, PSAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, and LSAT is unique in that it is based on his strategic analysis of the role of testing in education and in admissions, rather than on a superficial appraisal of the supposed "subject-matter" of an individual test. In other words, while most test-prep courses will teach students to memorize a list of vocabulary words for the GRE, for example, Barrett explains to students how top-scoring GRE-takers minimize the importance of vocabulary by exploiting certain weaknesses inherent in the process of standardization itself.
Barrett employs a variety of formats to work with students: He tutors over the phone and in person, he lectures to large groups, he holds small seminars, he sells online video courses, he publishes books, and he offers training materials through his blog and through YouTube.
Tens of thousands of students have used Mike Barrett's ideas to improve their performance on standardized tests. Because of the sheer volume and variety of feedback he has received from these tutoring students, Barrett has been able to refine his approach to testing—and tutoring—in a way that sets his methods apart from those of other test-prep resources.