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Shmoop Gets in on the ACT

• By Scott Aronowitz
• 02/02/11

Shmoop is at it again. The irreverent study aid and test prep Web site announced at the FETC 2011 conference that it has taken its ACT preparation course online.

For $23 and a sense of adventure, students can take advantage of the unconventional Shmoop approach, which covers language arts, math, and science, but also relies on the knowledge of how much TV said students have watched over the years during all those hours they should've been hitting the books. Explained a spokesperson, who declined to be named for fear her parents would demand she reimburse them for her college tuition, "ACT Scientific Reasoning becomes a little less painful when deconstructed like a CSI crime scene. Learning punctuation and rhythm becomes a little less soulless when students get in the groove of a So You Think You Can Dance? tango."

Fear not, though, for the good people at Shmoop (and even some of the evil ones) understand the point of sitting for this exam is to do well and get into college, so the online course also offers: 38 review topics covering math, scientific reasoning, reading, writing, and English, with required facts and concepts and in-depth analysis; 1,000 practice problems across all five subject areas; and three full-length practice exams.

"The feedback has been extremely positive." said Vera Da Vinci, AP/IB program manager for the School District of Philadelphia. "Both teachers and students find the resources in Shmoop test prep helpful and enjoyable to use." The district began offering Shmoop online test prep in 2010 to all of its teachers and students to prepare for PSAT, SAT, and Advanced Placement (AP) exams.

Information on group rates for schools and districts on all Shmoop test prep courses is available here.