How to Compare Tutors Before Choosing One for Your Child
Two tutors, similar fees, both sound competent. Most families pick the cheaper one, or the one who sounded most confident. Both are poor signals. Here is what to compare instead.
Compare on the problem, not the CV
Write down, in one sentence, what is wrong. *"Failing HSC Physics, specifically anything with vectors."* Then compare each tutor against that sentence alone.
A tutor with five years' experience across all subjects is a worse match for that sentence than a second-year engineering student who sat the same paper two years ago. Experience in general is not experience in your problem.
The five things worth comparing
1. Department, not just institution. "Dhaka University" tells you little. "Dhaka University, Physics, third year" tells you a great deal. Which type of tutor suits which problem.
2. Distance. The nearer tutor wins ties, every time. They arrive on time, they last longer, and they can move a session when your child has an exam.
3. Their answer to "which chapters do students struggle with?" The best discriminator on this list. A tutor who has really taught the subject answers instantly and specifically. One who has not talks about practice and hard work. Ask both candidates the same question and the gap is usually obvious.
4. Their plan for the first two weeks. "I will find out what he does not know, then work backwards" beats "I will start from chapter one" by a distance.
5. Reporting. Ask each: *how will I know if this is working?* A tutor who volunteers a weekly update is a tutor who will still be there in a year.
What not to compare on
Price alone. The difference between two tutors is rarely worth more than a thousand taka a month. The difference between the right and wrong tutor is a grade.
Confidence. The most fluent person on the phone is not the best teacher. Some excellent tutors are quiet.
Years of experience, in isolation. Ten years of teaching Class 5 does not qualify someone for HSC Higher Maths.
Willingness to start tomorrow. Availability is not quality, though urgency makes it feel that way.
Run a trial with both if you can
Where two candidates are genuinely close, pay for one session each. Two thousand taka spent now is cheap against three wasted months.
Afterwards ask your child two questions, and take the answers seriously: *did you understand?* and *did you feel comfortable saying when you did not?* The second matters more. A child who is embarrassed to admit confusion learns nothing, however good the tutor.
Then decide quickly
Good tutors get taken. Once you have run the comparison, decide within a few days — and use the trial week to confirm rather than trying to be certain before anyone has taught anything.
Browse and compare verified tutors side by side — each profile shows university, department, subjects, areas covered and their own rate. Or post your tuition and we will send you matched candidates within 24 hours.