Mastering the ACT with Study Island

Study Island ACT, is a web-based review program that provides both students and schools with a flexible, affordable and effective option for ACT exam preparation.

Most colleges and universities today require an ACT (American College Testing) or SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) score as an eligibility factor. With more and more students applying to colleges, however, a higher ACT score could mean the difference between being accepted or not. The problem is, not every student has access to – or can afford – traditional review programs on the market today.

Not so, with Study Island ACT. Study Island ACT's web-based platform makes the program accessible anytime, anywhere an Internet connection is available, and unlike typical online practice and test-prep programs, it teaches both the content and strategies to achieve the best possible results on the ACT exam. It also allows students to build a study regimen that is completely flexible to their particular needs, and at a fraction of the cost.

Ensure Your Students Have The Best College Options

• In the highly competitive college admissions process, a higher ACT score can be a significant differentiating factor. Study Island ACT will help ensure that your students perform at their best on the exam by reinforcing key exam content and providing proven, effective test taking strategies. With cutting-edge interactive lessons in math, science, critical reading, and writing, Study Island ACT offers the same high-quality learning experience as a one-on-one tutor at a fraction of the cost.

What do you get?

• Expert ACT Knowledge - Students learn key ACT test taking strategies & content
• Interactive Lessons - In-depth, interactive lessons with animation & audio
• Flexible Practice - Teachers can assign areas of practice or students can work at their own pace
• Multiple Quiz Modes – Test mode, game mode, or printable worksheets
• Completely Web-Based - Access anywhere with an Internet connection, 24/7
• Personalized Feedback - Real-time progress reports show students strengths and areas that need more practice
• Free Tech Support - Weekday tech support by phone, email, or online chat
• Full-Length Practice Tests - Reinforce students skills & develop their confidence
• BONUS EXTRAS - Printable math vocabulary cards, an in-depth guide to writing ACT essays, and multiple essay writing prompts

How can Study Island be used to prepare for the ACT?

• Since the ACT tends to fall outside of a traditional curriculum, Study Island allows students to set their own learning pace inside or outside the classroom.

How does Study Island help students prepare for the ACT?

• Content- The Study Island ACT content was created by our partner Tutor Associates, experts in knowing how to develop ACT-like questions, which allows students to practice for both the Quantitative and Verbal sections of the ACT, including the optional writing section.
• Strategy- Using animated strategy lessons, “cheat sheets”, and other techniques, Study Island ACT helps students learn how to take the ACT test.
• Practice-The three full-length diagnostic tests allow students to experience taking the ACT, including the optional writing section, before the big day.
• Reports- Both the students and teachers have access to numerous reports that will allow them to monitor progress.

How do I use the ACT program?

ACT Diagnostic Tests:

1. It is recommended that the students take a diagnostic test first, to help gauge which topics might need more work than others.
2. Like an actual ACT test, each practice test includes four sections and one writing section.
3. A manual scoring guide is available at the bottom of the page to help convert Study Island scores to the ACT scaled scores.
4. Students, Parents, Teachers and Administrators can access a student’s ACT diagnostic results in an easily accessible report.

ACT Quantitative:

1. From the ACT Main Page, click on ACT Quantitative; students can open a voiced-over animated strategy lesson. The focus of these tutorial lessons is to help students understand how to take the ACT test as well as to provide content. These animated strategy lessons contain interactive tools that allow students to work within the module.
2. Students are free to work on any section they choose, allowing them to focus on areas of concern. A caution symbol identifies areas of concern while the blue ribbon identifies the topics that have been passed.
3. Students are able to work on topics in either Test Mode, Game Mode, or with Printable Work Sheets. Administrators can adjust game settings.
4. Students, Parents, Teachers and Administrators can access a student’s ACT Quantitative progress in an easily accessible report. The student has the option to compare his or her performance against the school or other Study Island users.

ACT Verbal:

1. From the ACT Main Page, click on ACT Verbal; students can open a voiced-over animated strategy lesson. The focus of these tutorial lessons is to help students understand how to take the ACT test as well as to provide content. These animated strategy lessons contain interactive tools that allow students to work within the module.
2. Students are free to work on any section they choose, allowing them to focus on areas of concern. A caution symbol identifies areas of concern while the blue ribbon identifies the topics that have been passed.
3. Students are able to work on topics in either Test Mode, Game Mode, or with Printable Work Sheets. Administrators can adjust game settings.
4. Students, Parents, Teachers and Administrators can access a student’s ACT Verbal progress in an easily accessible report. The student has the option to compare his or her performance against the school or other Study Island users.
5. The ACT Verbal section on Study Island also includes a Guide to Writing ACT Essays, which includes information on how to structure an ACT essay. Students and teachers can also find information on how the ACT essays are scored. There are also a number of Practice Prompts to help the student better prepare for the writing section of the ACT.

Start your students down the right path to a successful college admissions process!

Learn more at www.studyisland.com/ACT. ACT@studyisland.com 800.419.3191

ACT hints at scale of Common Core challenge

Posted on The Prichard Blog: 07 Dec 2010

When we start assessing students against the Common Core Standards, what kind of results will we see? ACT, Inc., has just offered a set of blunt estimates. Using results from the states where all students participate in the ACT (including Kentucky), the report projects that in first literacy testing of 11th graders:

• 38 percent will meet the new standards in reading.
• 51 percent will meet the new standards in writing.
• 53 percent will meet the new standards for language.

Since the Common Core calls for added focus on informational text and on literacy skills that work for specific fields of study, the report also offered estimated results for 11th grade results in those subjects, estimating that:

• 24 percent will meet the standards for literacy in science
• 41 percent will meet the standards for literacy in social studies.
• 38 percent will meet the standards for informational text.
• 37 percent will meet the standards for literature.

Mathematics is exactly as grim, with 11th grade projections that:

• 34 percent will meet the mathematics standards for number and quantity.*
• 42 percent will meet the mathematics standards for functions.
• 37 percent will meet the mathematics standards for statistics and probability.

The rationale for the Common Core has always been that American schools need to aim higher and American students need to achieve at higher levels. This preliminary study provides a first glimpse of how much work we have ahead.

* The ACT mathematics categories come with short explanations of what's in each subdomain. Number and quantity includes the real number system, quantities, the complex number system, and vector and matrix quantities. Functions includes interpreting functions; linear, quadratic, and exponential models; and trigonometric functions. Statistics and Probability includes interpreting categorical and quantitative data; making inferences and justifying conclusions; conditional probability and the rules of probability; and using probability to make decisions.