Preparation Resources

Today's post will be very short and is mainly a call out to the blogging community to share resources for test preparation. If you know of any great blogs out there or great websites that are devoted to test prep then please share those sites by leaving a comment with a url. This will benefit everyone and will undoubtedly help the students preparing for these tests. Since the number one goal of this blog is to make sure that students everywhere will have access to the very best test preparation materials working together will really help make this a reality. OK I said it was going to be short so I will shut up now, but please don't leave the blog without leaving a comment with something useful for the community. Thanks!

Tips for Standardized Test Prep

Since this blog is devoted exclusively to standardized test prep I would like to make sure that the basics for standardized test prep are covered in detail. This will be a multi-part series that focuses on tips that will help students preparing for exams maximize their preparation time. Let's go over a couple tips:

1. Study for the test by solving practice problems. So many times students mistakenly study textbooks or spend time reviewing irrelevant material. I use the word irrelevant because even if you are reviewing the concepts tested on your test you are doing yourself a disservice by not spending that time on practice problems. Simply put, solving practice problems is the ONLY way to study, period.

2. Spend your time acquiring to most accurate practice problems possible. The very best source for practice problems are the old exams from that particular test. If you are able to get your hands on old tests or released test questions then you will be way ahead of your peers.

These are the first, but arguably the most important tips to help any student prepare for a standardized exam. Stay tuned for more information and additional test prep tips.

CAHSEE Prep

The time is drawing near when many high school students in the state of California will take the California High School Exit Exam(CAHSEE). For those who are unfamiliar with the CASHEE it is a test administered beginning in the 10th grade year to all students attending public high schools across the state. Every student must pass the exam before they receive a high school diploma. The exam tests state academic content standards from grades 6 through 10. It has two parts, a mathematics section and an English-language Arts section. Students muss pass both of these sections individually to pass the exam. Students muss achieve at least 55% on the mathematics section to pass and 60% on the English-language arts section. Once a student passes one section of the exam they no longer have to take that section and can re-take the exam up to 5 times in both their junior and senior years. For students who are unable to pass the exam prior to completing their 12th grade year, they have the option of re-taking the exam an additional 5 times in the year immediately following 12th grade.
There are a variety of options available for students who want to prepare for the CAHSEE. One of the best options is an online CAHSEE prep class offered at AceYourExitExam.com This class offers students the option of studying at their own pace by offering on-demand video lessons. These lessons cover each standard tested on the CAHSEE and there are lots of practice problems available for each student to prepare with. It's a great way for students who are visual learners and may be intimidated in the classroom setting. Since every one of the practice problems given comes with a video solution it is perfect for students who need lots of review. Students can proceed one-by-one through the each sub-topic covered on the exam and they can gauge their readiness using one of the sub-topic practice tests offered. Overall this is one the most organized way that a student can prepare to do well on the California High School Exit Exam.

Welcome to the Test Prep Blog!

Welcome to the test prep blog! The goal of this blog will be to review resources for several popular standardized tests and provide feedback and information on the best way to prepare for each exam. This blog will try to cover as many standardized tests as possible including:

SAT,
GRE,
LSAT,
GMAT,
CAHSEE,
GRE,
ACT,
MCAT,

just to name a few. We will try to contact several popular test prep companies to obtain material to use in our analysis of each of these exam types. We will begin with a series of posts on one exam and then open dialog up to our readers to help provide feedback and recommendations based on individual experience. This blog is meant to provide unbiased and independent information to help people preparing for these exams make the best test preparation decisions possible. While we will do our best to provide accurate information with everything presented here there is the possibility that over time the information may become outdated. This is due to the fact that many of the companies that make these exams like ETS, The College Board, etc, frequently change the structure and question styles presented on these exams. If you are using this resource try to make sure that you verify information particularly on posts that are over 2 years old. Thanks for stopping by and we look forward to providing you with the very best information possible.