Top student confused about vertex form/completing the square

Had a great kid today getting only one wrong on a whole practice PSAT math but when we checked in on his quadratics understanding (he had not learned quadratics with me) it was the usual complete confusion about what completing the square is actually for and why you don’t need it for either the vertex or the vertex form. He had as usual no idea that -b/2a is IN THE QUADRATIC FORMULA!