Ashley attended Waynflete School, and earned her bachelors from UMass-Amherst in Social Thought and Political Economy.
She graduated Summa Cum Laude and is a Phi Beta Kappa.
Stephen attended Orono High School, and earned his bachelors from UMaine-Farmington in education.
Steve currently teaches at the East End Community School in Portland.
About Us
Download our job application (PDF)
About the owners of Best SAT Tutorial Service
Who we are
Ashley Pendergast and Steve Best are co-owner operators of Best SAT. We are both professional educators; Steve is a licensed teacher in Maine, and Ashley has been preparing students for standardized tests since 2000. Steve began tutoring for the SAT in 2003.
We are adept at preparing students for the SSAT, PSAT, SAT, ACT, Praxis and GRE. We use the most student-friendly materials in our programs, and follow the scaffolding approach in our teaching. We both believe that skills are built sequentially, and that a solid grasp of the basics is necessary for long term success.
We care about the future of our students and our community. We proudly donate scholarship tutorial packages each year to local students in the Greater Portland area.
What others have said...
"(my son) improved 80 points in math, 20 points in reading, and 100 points in writing."
"I got a 670 on my critical reading, 730 on my writing, and a 630 on my math. I was pumped!... thank you for your help."
"I just got my scores for the ACT yesterday. My composit score was 28...(it) was exciting to be above my goal score of 27. I can't believe (I got a) 29 in science..."
"I heard from the financial aid office and they said that I was getting a merit scholarship because of my higher scores, so thank you!"
"I just got my ACT scores... I got a 29! I'm really happy about it.... thank you so much! Especially with the math... I couldn't have done nearly as well without your help."
"I got a 28!! I'm really happy about it.... Couldn't have done it without you!!!!!"
"Thanks for everything. (My daughter's) score on her last test was...a huge improvement!"
"Thank you for your work with (our son.) He brought his math score up by 60 points. He was very happy and so are we."
"Great news: (my daughter's) latest SAT scores went up significantly! Math went from a 530 to 590; English went from 630 to 690. So, your program really helped, and we're really grateful."
"I got my SAT scores and (they) went up 90 points! Thank you!"
"Your work with my nephew, helped him to raise his
score by 240 points! The 240 points pushed him to the
2100 mark! My entire family is singing your praises.
He also enjoyed his time with you, learned great test
taking skills, and increased his writing and test
taking confidence. All of which resulted in the 240
point score jump and self esteem boost which in turn
prompted him to take more of a risk in his application
process. He applied to two schools he had been
interested in but felt fearful of rejection. Thank
you, Thank you , Thank you... We will let you know
where he ends up."
"Thank you sooo much for everything that you
have done for me in the last month. I will be sure to
send you my scores when I get them. I felt very
confident when I took the test."
"My scores went from an 1810 to a 1970 on this past October SAT... my goal was 650s in each category... I can't thank Ashley enough for helping me reach my goal. Thank you so much!"
"(Here's) an update on (my son's) most recent SAT score results: 780 in math up from 720, 610 in reading up from a 550, 650 in writing up from a 590... he is happy with that. Thank you for all your help."
"I got my scores today! I got a 710 on the writing (YAY!) I'm so happy... Thanks so much for all your help!"
"(My son) went up 140 points and decided to apply to MIT. We know this improvement was because of your tutoring. We are so happy and wanted to say thank you."
"(My daughter) got her scores today. She went from 1470 in May to 1720 in December. When she saw them the first words out of her mouth were "I'm going to college!". Thanks again. You're the Best."
“We were pleased that (our daughter) accomplished what she set out to in terms of reading and we greatly appreciate your help in that area. She pulled her (ACT) reading score up to a 27!”
“…(Our daughter experienced) great improvement in her math, exceeding your promises. Thanks so much for your help and encouragement…”
“I just got my new SAT scores from the October test and I did 80 points better in the Critical Reading! Thank you so much for your help; it really paid off.”
“Obviously, the time you spent with (our daughter) was very beneficial. Her (SAT) score improved 160 points.”
“This was a very positive experience for our daughter. Our sincere thanks to you.”
“Our daughter found the tutoring extremely helpful, and she enjoyed working with her tutor. I much appreciated Ashley’s professional attitude and expertise, as well as the rapport she was able to establish with our daughter.”
“...I would recommend Best SAT Tutorial Service….I really believe my son has gotten a lot out of (his SAT tutoring) by working with Stephen….It really worked out nice that you came here to our home...”
“It was GREAT to be able to arrange tutoring sessions around (my) schedule!! My tutor did a great job!!”
“An overall excellent course. They were great with scheduling and the learning doesn’t stop.”
Call Best SAT Tutorial Service today
at (207) 553-2049 or (207) 730-3665