ACT Prep Online

Nadia Strong

         Few people enjoy taking tests; but there is evidence that practice, practice, and more practice is one of the best strategies for preparing for the SAT or ACT. Rather than relying solely on heavy prep books, one can lighten their load by migrating their preparations to the web.

 

There are many options for SAT and ACT prep like Khan Academy, The Princeton Review, and Kaplan. However, ACT Online Prep is the most engaging and useful method for preparing for nationwide standardized tests. “I believe I’ve gained an edge up on other test takers since I’ve started to use the ACT prep application. I can practice while I’m on the bus or train without even feeling like I’m learning,” says Lajada Douglas, a current junior who began preparing as a freshman. ACT Online Prep is also affiliated with the agency that creates its test, so it has a behind-the-scenes view. The eye-catching  layout, plus the ability to easily track yourself throughout the process, made using this program more of a game than a chore. ACT Online Prep is likely to engage even the most reluctant of students.

There are students who aren’t familiar with this service, but would benefit from it. Serenity Toney, a sophomore from the Academic Center says, “Based off of what you’ve just told me, I will install this app and give it a try. I am looking to improve my score before I have to submit them to schools.” The dashboard gives students an appealing at-a-glance sense of how they’re doing, assesses their strengths and weaknesses, and suggests what they should tackle next with progress bars that will fill up as they improve. The cost of the service is only $39.95 and with this price comes personalized learning paths, practice tests with real ACT test questions, comprehensive content review, and anywhere, anytime access with the Internet. There is also a discussion area to connect with other students, play games in a game center, and practice with the 450 e-flashcards to drill vocabulary, science, and math concepts. The games are fairly simple, each of them a variation of matching a correct answer among a series of possible answers and they are a nice change from the text-based drills.
Another unique aspect of ACT Online Prep is the ability to choose your learning plan: Students select either a structured plan, which goes through all the material covered on the test in order, or an adaptive plan, which suggests lessons based on student performance in practice quizzes and their confidence level in the material. A college confidential user said, “My daughter used the online prep a LOT these past few months. She raised her math score 3 points and her English score 5 points. She liked the portability of it and the repetition.” It is safe to say that ACT Online Prep is the way to go if you are a student looking to prepare to take the ACT for the first time or improve your score.