Method Test Prep is a new online ACT and SAT tutorial that has now been made available to Notre Dame Academy students.

According to the organization’s mission statement, it is a combination of “audio lessons, test-taking tricks and strategies, hundreds of practice questions with explanations and more” to help raise students’ test scores nationwide.

“Method Test Prep helps students get to know the test [both ACT and SAT] and their ability to take it,” said NDA counselor Jill Gerl. “By practicing, students develop the test-taking skills that will help them do better.”

The faculty and staff at NDA are really pushing for juniors who are preparing for the ACT or SAT to utilize this new, available resource.

“The juniors take the PSAT in October, and a lot of what we teach at NDA prepares students for the ACT test questions, rather than the SAT,” said Dr. John Ravizza, principal.

Method Test Prep allows students to prepare for both tests, with individual questions or full practice tests. NDA students who are preparing to take a major standardized test for the first time, or are attempting to raise their score, can use the program to practice and get a feel for the test.

For those about to take these tests, it’s never too soon.

“Juniors can start preparing now by doing the ACT question of the day (found at actstudent.org) and begin to add in questions from Method Test Prep. Then, about a month before the test is to be taken, develop a schedule for some focused prep using the online and paper resources,” recommended Gerl.

Student Services also provides a paper test, which allows students to practice such strategies as “underlining information, crossing out wrong answers, and working out math problems in the test booklet,” according to Gerl.

The paper test can easily be incorporated into students’ study regimen and gives students another option if they find the online resources difficult to use for their learning style.

Teachers can also utilize Method Test Prep by selecting questions to assign to students, and several departments, such as the English department, are using the practice tests to assess where students need to improve their grammar skills and test-taking abilities.

NDA is “attempting to provide students with as many viable practice options as possible,” said Ravizza.

“Our goal is just to get students more familiar with both standardized tests,” said the principal, “so that when they take them, they hopefully feel prepared.”