Varsity Tutors can assist you in finding the economics tutor that you or your student needs in order to make the most out of their valuable study time. Economics tutors are helpful in that they can provide a distraction-free, one-on-one environment in which you or your student can learn. Perhaps you've already spent time searching for "economics tutors near me." If so, you probably already know the value that working with an economics tutor can bring to you or your student's learning. So instead of spending your time searching for an "economics tutor near me," contact us today to get set up with an economics tutor who can help you or your student pursue their academic or career goals.
What is Economics?
Economics as an academic field is concerned with the study of markets, scarcity of goods and resources, and the response to incentives. It is typically associated with the study of money and the flow of goods, though these are not the only issues that it contains. Economics is typically divided along the lines of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. Microeconomics looks at individual agents or markets and other basic elements of the economy. Macroeconomics looks at the movements of the economy as a whole, looking at things such as saving, investing, consumption, and production. Economic analysis can typically be found in areas such as business, finance, health care, and government.
University Level Economics
For many students, studying economics at the university level is one of the first steps in searching for a job in finance, banking, or public policy. Economics at the college level becomes a much more nuanced and complicated subject. If you have found yourself searching for "economics tutors near me," then you will understand how complicated some of this material can get. Finding a highly skilled economics tutor allows you the chance to stop wasting time with "economics tutoring near me" searches and lets you hit the books. Your economics tutor can help you break down many of the core subjects, learning content, and necessary skills no matter what your familiarity level is.
For a typical economics degree, expect courses on some of the following subjects:
Typical Economics Degree Course List
- Economic Development
- Economic Institutions
- Economic Theory
- Government and Industry
- International Economics
- Labor Economics
- Money and Banking
- Public Finance
- Regional Economics
- Statistics
One of the many great aspects of economics tutoring is the chance to linger on content. As you are working closely with an expert in the field, you get the chance to control the pace of your learning. This means that if you need to spend a little more time covering public finance, you and your tutor can take time going over the issue until you feel more comfortable with it. Similarly, if you feel like you have labor economics down cold, you and your tutor can move on to another area where you are feeling less confident. With economics tutoring, you are no longer beholden to the speed of a classroom. You get to learn the material you need as it suits you.
High School Economics
Economics education can begin quite early in many high schools. Being introduced to foundational principles can be challenging to many students who have little previous experience with many of the core fundamentals. As this introductory period can be critical in the advancement of your student's content knowledge, it may be of worth working with an economics tutor who can help introduce the topics and reinforce the material that they have been learning in the classroom.
Some of the topics that might be covered in high school economics classes include:
Council for Economic Education K-12 Economics Topics
- Scarcity
- Decision-Making (cost-benefit analysis)
- Allocation of goods and services
- Incentives
- Trade
- Specialization of geographic location by resource, culture, etc.
- Markets and prices
- Role of prices
- Competition and market structure
- Institutions
- Money and inflation
- Interest rates
- Income
- Entrepreneurship
- Economic growth
- Role of government and market failure
- Government failure
- Economic fluctuations
- Unemployment and inflation
- Fiscal and monetary policy
With economics tutoring, your child gets the chance to ask questions of a skilled professional. If they don't fully understand concepts like scarcity or fiscal and monetary policy, then they can simply ask their tutor. Economics tutors can work to answer questions no matter how basic or how complicated. They can take the time to explain challenging concepts in ways that actually make sense to your student.
Economics Testing
Your private economics instructor can help you prepare for various standardized exams you may take as part of your academic path. You can expect a review of all content that may be on the exam and more. Standardized exams are different from regular classroom quizzes and tests. There are specific rules and guidelines for each type of test, such as time limits, what you may and may not bring with you on test day, and whether you should make a guess when you're not sure of the answer on a question.
Time management is an aspect that's important to master. Finishing all of the problems on your test is key to reaching for your best possible score. Rather than waiting until you arrive at the testing center, you and your tutor can work on your testing pace through timed practice tests. Your private instructor can help you figure out why you might not be keeping up with the necessary pace, and suggest strategies based on your strengths to help you increase the speed at which you answer questions.
Some standardized exams you may take include:
- AP Economics – AP exams give students an opportunity to take a college-level class while still in high school to earn credits that can allow them to skip introductory economics classes. There's an AP class for micro- and macroeconomics. Subjects assessed include basic economic concepts, national income and price determination, perfect and imperfect competition models, and much more.
- CLEP Microeconomics – CLEP exams enable students to earn credits for knowledge and understanding they've gained through previous classes, life or work experience, and other means. Subjects tested include the production possibilities curve, market equilibrium, income and substitution effects, and more.
- CLEP Macroeconomics – The macro test gauges students' understanding of inflation measurement and adjustment, unemployment, aggregate supply and demand, and the quantity theory of money, among others.
Because of the in-depth familiarity of the progress and learning style of you or your student, economics tutors can also assist in the establishment of learning targets. They can help with developing a study plan as well, allowing students to incrementally work towards pursuing those goals. Economics tutoring also gives you the chance to receive detailed feedback from your tutor. With that feedback, you or your student can make the adjustments they need to feel more confident in the skills and abilities that the content requires.
Every few years, the United States government issues a test meant to measure basic economic knowledge of the country's twelfth-graders. The test is called the National Assessment of Economic Progress, or NAEP. It looks at topics such as basic economics and markets, cost and benefit analysis of economic interaction and interdependence, and issues relating to how to deal with limited resources. Students are graded as below basic, basic, proficient, or advanced. A breakdown of two recent testing sessions shows the results as follows:
Grade 12 NAEP Economics Assessment Results
Year | Below Basic Knowledge | Basic Knowledge | Proficient | Advanced |
2012 | 18% | 40% | 39% | 3% |
2006 | 21% | 37% | 39% | 3% |
While the results above would indicate that some progress has been made, that progress has been at the lower end of the spectrum, with students moving from the below basic category and into basic, moving the category up by a few percentage points. What's noticeable is that there is no difference in the upper two categories, as they seemed to stay the same despite the gap in the years. If you are looking for your student to have a firm grasp on basic economic principles so that they can enter college programs feeling more confident and prepared, it could be a good idea to locate an economics tutor.
Why Choose Tutoring?
Perhaps you've been searching "economics tutoring near me" in your quest for qualified help in economics. What Varsity Tutors can do is set you up with a tutor who has the needs of you or your student in mind as they are teaching. This allows for thorough lessons and dedicated attention to the unique learning needs of you or your student. With the help of your qualified economics tutor, you can finally stop the endless search for an "economics tutor near me" and get down to the business of learning.
Working with an economics tutor gives you the chance to work closely alongside someone who knows the content deeply. More importantly, they can come to know your individual learning style, meaning that they can adapt lessons and deliver material in ways that make the most sense to you. For instance, if you or your student is more of a visual learner, a tutor can provide more visual materials as a part of their lesson in order to illuminate key subjects and core principles. Skilled economics tutors can also guide you toward supplementary materials that can further deepen your knowledge and allow you to practice key skills between lessons.
Another one of the great perks of working closely with an economics tutor is the flexibility. It's very likely that you or your student are already struggling to fit everything into the day. What's great about tutoring is that you can work with tutors to set up a schedule that is best for you. If late afternoons are best for you or your student, a tutor can work with you to settle on a time that works for everyone. Furthermore, tutors can also help you make better use of the study time that you have by providing you or your student with study skills that can allow for more efficient and effective work.
If you or your student is in need of focused attention on the subject of economics, then working with an economics tutor could help to sharpen the skills and learn the content required. Contact Varsity Tutors today to speak with a trusted academic advisor who can answer your questions and help you get started with a tutor.