Methodize, Method Learning's online teaching platform, is an excellent tool for students to use on their own or as part of their school's curriculum. Methodize offers self-paced courses on ACT/SAT preparation, Academic Success/SEL, Algebra, Financial Literacy, and more. This article will focus on Methodize's test prep course, and will describe tools built into the program that can help students to prepare for the ACT and/or SAT by zeroing in on the specific concepts that they need to improve their scores.
Students and teachers who are working with our self-paced online program often ask us "what is the best way to get started using Methodize?" For most students, especially those who have several months or more before they take the ACT or SAT, the best way is to start at the beginning of the program and work through it sequentially; Methodize makes that easy: students only have to click the big green button to begin.
The big green button will say different things in different contexts (Start Lesson, Mark as Read, View Lesson Quizzes, Start Quiz), but if students keep clicking the big green button it will move them sequentially through the program, like turning the pages of a book.
As helpful as the big green button approach can be, students who have already taken an official ACT, PSAT or SAT and who have limited time to prepare for their next test can jump directly to specific lessons and quizzes that will help them to either strengthen the areas of weakness or buttress the areas of strength from their official test. Students can get started with targeted test prep themselves, or school counselors/teachers/administrators can help the students — whatever makes the most sense to them. Students will need to have the following:
- their official score report(s)
- Methodize's Concept Alignment documents
As you probably know, the ACT's composite score is derived from four sections (English,Math,Reading,Science) and the SAT's score comes from the sum of the Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing sections. What you may not know is that those section scores are further subdivided into subsections:
| ACT | SAT | |||
| English | Production of Writing; Knowledge of Language; Conventions of Standard English | EBRW | Command of Evidence; Words in Context; Expression of Ideas; Standard English Conventions | |
| Math | Preparing for Higher Math; Integrating Essential Skills; Modeling | Math | Heart of Algebra; Problem Solving & Data Analysis; Passport to Advanced Math | |
| Reading | Key Ideas & Details; Craft & Structure; Integration of Knowledge & Ideas; Understanding Complex Texts | |||
| Science | Interpretation of Data; Scientific Investigation; Evaluation of Models; Inferences & Experiments | |||
For targeted test prep, the first step is to decide whether to try to further improve the areas that the student scored HIGHEST, or to build up the areas that the student scored LOWEST, either approach can work, but improving weak areas will likely see the biggest increases on the next test.
