Meet the Tutor (and Founder): Matthew Pietrafetta

Matthew Pietrafetta founded Academic Approach in 2001 and currently serves as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer. He earned his M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in English Language and Literature at Columbia University in New York City.

After years of teaching in Columbia’s Core Curriculum and tutoring New York City high school students for college entrance exams, Matthew founded Academic Approach to model a different kind of test preparation—one based less on shortcuts and strategies and more on deep skills development.

As CEO, Matthew oversees Academic Approach’s instructional services, curriculum, and technology development, ensuring that instructors are highly trained and well supported so students receive the highest-quality instruction possible. Despite his leadership role, Matthew has never stopped tutoring students himself.

Why do you still prioritize tutoring students yourself?

Tutoring is a pleasure—it’s a vocation, not an obligation.

It’s an identity I’m lucky—and honored—to have.

I tutor regularly, working flexibly around my Academic Approach students’ schedules, and I’m also an on-demand tutor at home for my own children. That means everything from a 7-year-old building math fluency to a 16-year-old studying American Studies to a 21-year-old writing college essays and creative flash fiction for publication.

Teaching is integrated into my life. I’ve been tutoring for more than half my life, beginning as a graduate student at Columbia. Being asked to help someone learn is a privilege. I take the responsibility seriously, but I’m driven by the joy of helping young people develop skills, strategies, and self-confidence.

You’ve worked with students from all over the world. What is one trait all students share?

We trademarked the phrase “Tests are standardized. Students are not.”

There is no single learning trait shared by all students—learning styles, needs, and attitudes vary endlessly. I don’t believe much in labels or rigid categories.

What matters is meeting each student where they are and personalizing the learning experience. AI cannot yet do this. A warm, encouraging mentor who listens carefully and responds thoughtfully can.

That said, I’ve observed one universal theme: all students want to feel competent.

They enjoy the growing sense of control and mastery that comes with learning. Effective tutoring raises scores and skills, but it also fulfills a deeper developmental need—to feel empowered.

What change in standardized testing surprised you but now appreciate?

Honestly, none of them faze me.

I’ve worked in testing for over 30 years, and I’ve always focused on teaching logic, rhetoric, grammar, and mathematical reasoning. Changes in format, question type, or structure don’t alter that foundation. A strong core curriculum and college-readiness skills remain constant, no matter how tests evolve.

What is one skill every great tutor should have?

The ability to ask the right questions.

Tutoring isn’t a lecture—it’s a dialogue. Through thoughtful questions, a tutor discovers what a student knows, what they don’t know, where uncertainty comes from, and how best to address it. The right questions lead to personalized understanding, not generic instruction.

What must happen in a student’s first tutoring session?

The student must experience mastery.

Take a frequent, high-impact error from the diagnostic test and build a focused lesson around it. By the end of the session, the student should correct that error and clearly see how doing so would improve their score.

That first experience of mastery is powerful. It motivates students, builds confidence, and becomes a reference point for future learning. From there, buy-in and commitment naturally follow.

What goals did you set in 2001—and what are you still chasing?

I had two goals:

1. To develop the best curriculum for standardized tests—one that genuinely improves both scores and college-ready skills.
2. To partner with schools in order to reach students across a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds.

Those goals still define Academic Approach today. We have a dedicated Department of Education that researches, develops, and validates instructional strategies, alongside a School Programs division that works with teachers, administrators, and students nationwide—impacting tens of thousands of learners.

I’m still chasing these goals because the work is never finished. Education is always evolving.

Is there feedback from a student or parent that has stayed with you?

I keep a photo in my Lincoln Park office of a student opening her Georgetown acceptance letter at her mailbox—back when college decisions arrived by mail.

The photo captures pure joy, but what matters most is the story behind it. That student demonstrated persistence, intellectual curiosity, and discipline throughout her learning process. Her success wasn’t just about the outcome—it was about how she got there.

That picture reminds me that strong outcomes follow from the right approach to learning, and it’s a privilege to support students who embody that mindset.

Has tutoring your own child changed your perspective?

I’ve always joked that if children learned best from their parents, I wouldn’t have a job.

Adolescents need mentors and coaches beyond their parents. Ironically, that means the tutor needs tutors for his own children. My high-school-aged child works with Academic Approach tutors I trust deeply. I read their session notes and appreciate the insight and care they provide.

It’s a personal reminder of the responsibility—and the joy—that comes with mentoring young people during such an important season of their lives.