How to Choose an HSC Economics Tutor: 10 Questions to Ask First

Most families choose a tutor on three things: a recommendation, the tutor's ATAR, and the price. All three matter, but none of them tells you whether a tutor will actually raise an Economics mark.

These ten questions do. They work on any tutor or tutoring company. We run Crown Economics, so at the end we've answered them ourselves, but they're just as useful if you end up somewhere else.

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About the tutor

1. What did you get in HSC Economics, and when?

Ask about the subject, not just the ATAR. A 99 ATAR earned mostly through Maths and Physics tells you the person is clever. A high mark in Economics itself tells you they know what the markers reward in this subject.

When matters too. The current syllabus has been examined since 2011 and is being replaced, with the new one first examined in 2028. A tutor who sat Economics recently knows the current exam format and recent questions well. A tutor who sat it long ago may be excellent, but ask how they keep up.

2. Do you teach only Economics, or many subjects?

Generalists can be good tutors. But Economics has specific demands that generalists often handle less well: contemporary data that changes every year, a long list of diagrams, and extended responses marked against criteria that reward analysis and judgement. A tutor who teaches Economics all the time knows which dot points the examiners keep criticising students on.

3. Do you have a current Working With Children Check?

In NSW, tutoring students under 18 is child-related work, and tutors need a Working With Children Check. Any reputable tutor will give you their number without hesitation, and you can verify it online with the Office of the Children's Guardian.

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About the teaching

4. Can I see an essay you've marked?

This is the single most revealing thing you can ask for. A marked essay shows you whether the tutor comments on the argument or just the spelling, whether they refer to the marking criteria, and whether the feedback tells a student what to do differently next time. "Good point, expand" in the margin isn't feedback.

5. How often will you mark my work, and how fast does it come back?

For Economics, written answers make up 80 of the 100 exam marks. The fastest way to improve them is writing, getting feedback and rewriting, many times. Weekly marking is a good standard. Turnaround matters as much as frequency: feedback that comes back in two days is useful, while feedback after two weeks arrives when you've already forgotten why you wrote what you did.

6. Do you mark against the NESA criteria?

Every HSC paper comes with published marking guidelines, and the criteria describe each mark band in terms of what the response does: explains, analyses, evaluates. A tutor who marks against those criteria can tell you which band you're in and what's holding you back. A tutor who gives a mark out of 20 based on general impression can't. Our directive verbs guide shows how the criteria use the verbs.

7. When were your notes last updated?

Ask for an example. Economics is the one subject where part of the content expires during the year. In 2026, the cash rate has moved four times and inflation has swung between 3.5% and 4.6%. Notes that still describe the 2024 or 2025 economy will leave a student quoting stale numbers, which markers notice.

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About the practical side

8. How big are the groups?

If the tutoring is in a group, ask for the maximum class size, not the average. Above a certain size you stop being able to ask the question you're actually stuck on, and the teacher stops being able to see where each student is losing marks.

9. What happens if I miss a class, and can I contact you between sessions?

Year 12 is busy and students miss classes. Recordings mean a missed week isn't lost. Being able to message the tutor with a quick question between sessions is often worth more than another hour of class.

10. Can I try a class first, and what are the cancellation terms?

A trial class is the best way to judge any tutor. Then read the terms before you pay: how you're billed, how much notice you need to give to stop, and whether anything is charged before your place is confirmed. Some providers require long notice periods or payment for sessions in advance.

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Red flags

Guaranteed results. No honest tutor can guarantee a Band 6, because the student sits the exam, not the tutor.

Results with no explanation. Claims like "most of our students get Band 6" mean little unless the provider says who was counted, over what period, and how the marks were collected. Ask.

Prices you can only get by phoning. It usually means the price depends on how much they think you'll pay.

No marking. If a tutor teaches content but rarely marks your writing, you're paying for the half of tutoring you could mostly get from a textbook.

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How we answer these

Since we've asked you to put these to every tutor, here are our own answers.

Question	Crown Economics
Results in HSC Economics	Tim: 97 in HSC Economics, 99.00 ATAR. James: 8th in the state in Economics, 99.50 ATAR
Only Economics?	Yes. HSC Economics is the only subject we teach
Marking frequency and speed	Weekly essay marking for every student, back within 48 hours (24 hours for one-to-one students)
Marking against NESA criteria	Yes, against the real HSC criteria
Notes	A full notes booklet each term, rewritten against the current economy
Group size	Capped at 6
Missed classes	Every class recorded and uploaded to the student portal within 24 hours
Contact between sessions	Yes, a direct line to your tutor
Trial and billing	You can sit in on a class before committing. Billed per term, and nothing is charged until your spot is confirmed

All our tutoring runs online. If you'd like to put the rest of these questions to us directly, book a trial class, or read our comparison of tutoring options first.