About Bell Curves
Built for the students most test prep leaves behind.
Bell Curves was founded in New York City in 2003. The test prep market was built for students already scoring well. We built something for the students who are capable, motivated, and stuck with scores that don't reflect what they can do.
Our story.
“"We didn't start with a brand and look for an audience. We started with the students and built everything around what actually worked for them."”
Bell Curves was founded in 2003 with a simple but enduring belief: students perform best when they are taught how to think, not just what to memorize.
From its earliest days, Bell Curves focused on helping students navigate high-stakes testing with clarity, confidence, and strategy. What began as founder-led instruction grew through years of hands-on classroom work, grounded entirely in direct student experience, not theory.
Founding & Development — 2003 to 2009
Bell Curves was founded in New York City, building original curriculum and teacher-training systems from direct classroom work rather than licensed content. Early materials covered the GMAT, SAT, GRE, and SHSAT. The Knowledge-Recognition-Execution framework took shape during these years, drawn from what was actually happening in the room with students, not a theory applied afterward.
Growth & Expansion — 2009 to 2019
The KRE model was formalized, and the curriculum expanded to the ACT, LSAT, MCAT, ISEE, SSAT, Regents, and AP, alongside continued growth in consumer and institutional programs. Bell Curves reached thousands of classrooms and hundreds of schools, expanding from New York into Washington DC, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Dan O'Malley Schwartz led operations through this period of scale.
Institutional Focus, COVID & Virtual Delivery — 2019 to 2022
Bell Curves deepened its focus on institutional partnerships during these years. When COVID-19 closed its offices, instruction moved fully online. As restrictions eased, that shift carried forward differently: rather than returning students to a BC office, Bell Curves increasingly delivered instruction directly inside partner schools.
Institutional Scale & Evolution — 2022 to Today
Institutional relationships have continued to deepen, from individual schools to full networks, nonprofits, and community-based organizations, backed by growing infrastructure built specifically for institutional programs. In-school delivery and program customization have expanded to match. Bell Curves has also grown its digital footprint, including SHSATguide.com, a free public SHSAT resource, the BC Program Builder for institutional partners, and Score Signal, a licensed score-diagnostic tool available to students. The founders, Akil Bello, Hashim Bello, and Siddiq Bello, remain closely engaged, and Dan O'Malley Schwartz, who has led Bell Curves in various capacities over the years, stays connected and continues to support it. The roots haven't moved, even as the organization has.
Tests and Beyond — Future
Bell Curves is building the AI Test Prep Toolkit, launching first with an SHSAT module built for the exam's computer-adaptive format, with SAT and GRE versions to follow. The subjects keep widening too: College Readiness, AI Future Lab, and Storytelling extend the work past standardized testing, with entrepreneurship and other enrichment areas on the horizon.
The KRE Strategy™
Every Bell Curves program is built on one proprietary instructional framework. The KRE Strategy™ shapes how students prepare, how instructors teach, and how programs adapt in real time to exactly what the test is measuring.
Knowledge
Do they know the material?
Content mastery across every tested concept. Most prep programs stop here, leaving students vulnerable to the other two failure modes.
Recognition
Can they identify the question type?
Knowing the content isn’t enough if a student can’t recognize what the test is actually measuring. Recognition is the bridge between knowledge and performance.
Execution
Can they perform under pressure?
Test day is different. Execution is the ability to apply knowledge and recognition reliably, in a timed, high-stakes environment.
Built from the classroom up.
Bell Curves is not a platform with a test prep module bolted on. It is an instructional organization that built its curriculum from 20+ years of direct student work.
That focus has guided the work for over two decades and continues to shape where it goes next, even as the landscape of education keeps changing.
Proven instructional framework
The Knowledge-Recognition-Execution (KRE™) model is grounded in 20+ years of direct teaching, not corporate curriculum design or licensed content from a third party.
Original curriculum, not licensed content
Bell Curves developed its own materials through years of hands-on instruction. Every program is proprietary and purpose-built, no recycled prep books.
Flexible delivery for every context
Schools, community organizations, and individual learners. Bell Curves adapts its model to meet students where they are, in-person, virtual, or hybrid.
Thinking over memorization
The goal isn't to prep students for one test. It's to change how they approach problems, a skill that transfers beyond the exam room and into college and beyond.
Better thinking leads to better outcomes.
That belief has guided this work since 2003.
Our team
Taught by people who know these tests.
Dr. Marlene
Lead Instructor
Originally from Germany, Marlene started tutoring younger students while still in high school and continued through a PhD in U.S. History and Foreign Policy from the Free University of Berlin. She prepares students for the SAT, SHSAT, and ISEE, as well as AP History and ELA courses. Students consistently value her approachable manner, patience, and humor.
Justin D.
Instructor
A Computer Science student at NYU and proud Bronx Science alumnus, Justin brings 5+ years of tutoring experience and a genuine passion for the moment a student truly clicks with the material. His warm, approachable teaching style turns complex content into approachable problems. His commitment to real understanding shapes everything about how he teaches.
Deborah M.
Tutor
I am a student at Columbia University, pursuing a degree in Astrophysics. In my first year in college, I served in my hall council, joined the Physics Scholars Program, won many awards in competitive dance, and started a tutoring service that is currently thriving. I have no plans of slowing down because a few years from now, I will become the first African American woman on the moon and own a space research center.
Anastasia P.
Lead Instructor
Anastasia is a physicist and educator with more than twenty years of experience teaching mathematics, physics, and standardized test preparation. She holds an MS in Experimental and Theoretical Nuclear Physics, a BA in Creative Writing, and a GradDipEd in Physics and Mathematics. She enjoys helping students develop confidence and critical thinking skills, as well as a genuine understanding of challenging concepts. Her teaching style is supportive, engaging, and tailored to each student's individual learning needs.
Coach K
Senior Instructor
Born and raised in Newark, NJ, Kenneth has been teaching test preparation and tutoring for over twenty years with students of many backgrounds from grades 2 through 12 throughout the greater NYC metropolitan area. His natural affinity for working with young people makes teaching a genuine calling. His students have always felt it.
Jacquie B.
Instructor
Hey there! I'm originally from the sunny shores of San Juan, Puerto Rico, but about three years ago, I traded the beaches for the bustling streets of New York City to complete my Master's degree. Since my college days, I've been teaching all sorts of subjects, math, Spanish, English, and Acting! Now in NYC, I've been busy teaching SAT prep classes at various schools and working with students one-on-one across Brooklyn and Manhattan, tackling everything from SAT to SHSAT, SSAT, ISEE, ACT, and Spanish lessons.
K. Eskins
Instructor
K is a graduate student and adjunct professor in Philosophy. Instilling a deep love for learning in students is K's mission and this extends beyond content-level work to more general strategies about how students can best harness their capacities to generate new knowledge. With a decade of work in education across grade levels and subjects, K has developed an arsenal of skills in the art of pedagogy that can adapt to any new subject. K specializes in SAT, ACT, SHSAT, SSAT, Regents prep, English composition and essay writing, and math through AB calculus.
Leela E.
Instructor
Hi, I'm Leela! I am currently completing my Bachelor of Arts at NYU with a major in mathematics and a minor in physics. I have been tutoring math since 2021, covering subjects from algebra to calculus. I am extremely passionate about math and I love being able to share that interest through teaching. Previously, I worked as a behavioral technician, developing skills needed to teach students from varying educational backgrounds, particularly in language comprehension. I also have an extensive background in competing in and coaching martial arts (Brazilian jiu-jitsu and wrestling). Currently I work as a course grader and as a theoretical physics research assistant at NYU.
Akil Bello
Expert Tutor
Akil co-founded Bell Curves in 2003, when instruction was entirely founder-led, and taught students directly for years across the SAT, SHSAT, and other standardized tests. He was among the originators of the Knowledge-Recognition-Execution (KRE) method that still anchors how Bell Curves teaches today. After selling the company, he went on to lead equity and access work at The Princeton Review, then spent several years at FairTest working to reduce the overuse of standardized testing. He is currently Director of College Advising and FAFSA Completion Implementation at SUNY, leading partnerships with New York City public schools to expand college access. He remains closely engaged with Bell Curves, still working directly with students as an Expert Tutor.
Flora H.
Instructor
Flora has a passion for working with students to unlock their full potential. A former New York City high school teacher with over 10 years of experience, she spent most of her career teaching biology at Stuyvesant High School, where she also started a volunteer-run tutoring program — recruiting and training her students to tutor at a nearby middle school in subjects including the math and ELA sections of the Specialized High School Admissions Test, helping increase the middle school's admissions to the Specialized High Schools. She specializes in test prep for the SAT and SHSAT, and also provides instruction in biology, environmental science (including AP), middle school math and science, and chemistry. She enjoys sharing her curiosity and love of learning with all of her students.
Hashim Bello
Expert Tutor
Hashim co-founded Bell Curves in 2003, when instruction was entirely founder-led, and taught students directly for years across the SAT, SHSAT, and other standardized tests. He was among the originators of the Knowledge-Recognition-Execution (KRE) method that still anchors how Bell Curves teaches today. He holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Virginia and has since built a career spanning the New York State Workers' Compensation Board and Morgan Stanley, and currently serves as a Vice President at Goldman Sachs. He remains closely engaged with Bell Curves, still working directly with students as an Expert Tutor.
Jess I.
Instructor
Jess is an expert at spreading knowledge and a love of learning. Her experience ranges from early childhood education through college, spanning virtually all academic subjects and exams, including Regents and AP tests, IB Exams, Upper & Lower Level ISEE, the SHSAT, the SAT, and the HSE (formerly GED). Her approach is holistic, student-centered, and adaptable to the needs of the individual, even within a classroom environment. She has been working professionally in the education sphere for nearly 15 years. Outside of the classroom, Jess spends her time engaging in her deep passions for music, nature, and community-building.
Max B.
Instructor
Max is an experienced test prep instructor and academic mentor with a proven record of helping students succeed. He has taught for the SAT, SSAT, and ISEE exams, raising average SAT practice scores by 18 percentile points. Max is a 2024 United States Presidential Scholar and a 2025 recipient of the Critical Language Scholarship, pursuing Economics and East Asian Languages at Columbia University, where he maintains a 4.0 GPA. Beyond tutoring, he has led consulting and editorial teams, honing skills in communication and mentorship. Fluent in English and Russian, with improving proficiency in Mandarin, Max combines subject expertise, patience, and engaging methods to help students build confidence and achieve lasting results on their SAT and SHSAT exams.
Elijah M.
Instructor
Elijah is a teacher and tutor with experience across a wide range of subjects. He spent a year as a high school Computer Science teacher at The Wheeler School in Rhode Island, and since then has worked with students in Robotics from Pre-K to eighth grade. He specializes in tutoring the SAT, and enjoys cultivating student's excitement in challenging subjects, especially STEM.
Curious who built the programs your instructors teach?
Meet the operations team and Board of Advisors behind Bell Curves’ curriculum and strategy on our Leadership page.
What people ask before they enroll.
Ready to get started?
Whether you're a family looking for SAT prep or a school building a program — the next step is the same: a conversation about your students.
- Phone
- (917) 773-3573
- Location
- New York City, NY