This blog is my attempt to document our busy but BLESSED lives raising and educating our children for His glory. A child of God, wife to one, and mom to 6 fabulous kids. We are in our 17th year of homeschooling using a Classical ~ Literature based approach.

Come along for the good, the bad & the ugly.



Showing posts with label standardized testing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label standardized testing. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Securing Merit scholarship aid with ACT Test Prep from the ACT Mom ~ a TOS review

Disclaimer: I received a Complimentary copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.  
 Hey there friend! Schools back in session for quite a few kids and things are starting to get back to “normal”. In the high school world with that normalcy comes standardized testing requirements. More and more colleges are accepting the ACT and not just the SAT. In our family we have the girls do both tests and see which one is their stronger test, so far the ACT has been the clear winner. Montana has entered her high school years and I want her to be prepared for her first test this summer so I was thrilled to review the ACT Mom Online Class from ACT Mom
The ACT Mom
In years past, my older girls have used a different online test prep course and I was all set to use the same one with Montana because we have had great results with my girls all scoring high. However, this year the pricing for that course was really high…higher than I was willing to pay at that time. I prayed about it for several weeks and was going to just bite the bullet and sign Montana up. Then we were offered the chance to review the ACT Mom Online Class and it has been an answered prayer! 

ACT Mom Online was created by Kati and Keith Johnson back in 2015 when their oldest was beginning his studying process. Their children had scored high on their tests and then they started sharing their knowledge of cracking the ACT with others in small group lessons. Then came Covid, and the world as we knew it shut down for months. The Johnson’s then developed their online course right from the kitchen table and have been helping students across the country study for the ACT. 
The ACT Mom
The Johnson’s have figured out how to break the code of the test down and to master it, thus leading all three of their children to substantial merit scholarship money.
ACT Mom Online is an online course that includes 13 hours of instruction. You and your student can set the pace of your study, we have found that working in 20-25 minute study sessions works best for our children. Once you register for the course you can navigate through the course site platform. The ACT is broken down into 4 tests, ACT Reading, English, Science, and Math. With the ACT Mom Online Class you get dedicated study and practice in each of the disciplines. 

Our class came with access to the online videos as well as a binder with practice tests, a wet erase marker, and some lined notebook paper for taking notes. The practice tests are inside sheet protectors so you can easily wipe off any markings you make. 


Everything that you need to practice learning and testing is provided with the online class. Mrs. Johnson really breaks the whole process down step-by-step so you can make the best answer choice. Plus, if you didn’t quite understand a concept, just watch the video portion again. Immediate feedback is provided when you take a quiz. If you didn’t do as well as you would have liked, just retake it as many times as needed to be successful.
Montana has been plugging away with this course for the last six weeks. She has mainly focused on the English section and a little bit of the reading section. She is a voracious reader like her older sister Madison (who scored a 35 on the reading section the three times she took the ACT), so I don’t think she will have too much trouble in that area. Our plan is to continue digging into the English section until the end of September and then to dive into the Math section for extra review. Math is not Montana’s strongest subject, but I know she can master this portion as well. 

Our goal is to have Montana to sit for her first ACT in the summer of 2022. This will help her get the nerves out and help us see her baseline score and where she needs extra help.

Montana says “The ACT Mom Online Class is easy to follow and the quizzes in between lesson videos help me remember and apply what I have learned. I am determined to match my sister Madison’s composite score or even pass it.” 
She also only wants to take the ACT two times to get her highest scores possible. With the preparation she is getting from the ACT Mom Online Class I think this is an achievable goal for her. 

Overall, I am super pleased and thankful to have been on this review! I wish this program was around for Mikayla when she was preparing as I think this would have helped her score higher. We are not newcomers to standardized testing preparation and having access to this dedicated, focused prep has been great! 
My three older girls who have all graduated from our homeschool have gone onto University with $1000’s of dollars in merit scholarship money. Marie had partial merit scholarship (which is nothing to hang your head about), simply because I didn’t know the game. Madison, my current University Junior, has a full ride to her out of state University through AFROTC scholarship in part to her academic merit and ACT scores while, Mikayla, my current University Freshman, also has substantial merit scholarship in addition to her gymnastics scholarship that helps us afford her private tuition. 

Bottom line guys, these ACT scores matter! The higher you score the more free money the schools will give you. That’s the name of the game with these tests. The higher you score the more merit scholarship money will be offered. This is huge when paying for college, especially since a four year education could end up costing over $120,000. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have $120,000. (times 6) laying around to send my kids to University.  
Sure, I could have paid the price for our other test prep course, but I am so glad to have had the opportunity to use the ACT Mom Online Class. Montana’s confidence in preparing for the test is increasing with every week. I have no doubt that she will do amazing when test time comes thanks to her preparation with the ACT Mom! 
When other homeschooling moms ask me what test prep we use, ACT Mom will be the only one I suggest going forward! But don’t just take my word for it, be sure to click the banner below and read what 17 of my CrewMates think of this test prep class.  
Test Prep with The ACT Mom 
Company ~ ACT Mom 
 Format ~ online video based course 
 Price ~ $250 (+ $8.25 Shipping) Online Access for one year 
 Ages ~ high schoolers
The ACT Mom

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Friday, May 3, 2019

Study.com: CLEP Exam Prep and DSST Exam Prep ~ a TOS review

Happy Friday friends! 


It’s been a busy week here at A Stable Beginning as we wind down our school year and prepare for two graduations, University and High School. Did you know there are many ways to cut down on college costs now while your children are in high school through CLEP and DSST programs.

CLEP & DSST Exam Prep {Study.com Reviews}

For this review we received a 3-month subscription to Study.com to check out their CLEP {College Level Examination Program) and DSST {Dantes Subject Standardized Tests} prep materials. I will say I was hesitant at the start of this review because I just was not sure. You see, my soon to be 2nd homeschool graduate was knee deep in applying for a highly selective service academy and they do not accept CLEP tests. My next oldest student just did not have to time to add anything into her busy schedule, so I thought.


Yep, when I got access to our Study.com account I realized that they had over 30 different CLEP and DSST courses available to study subjects such as business, math, composition and literature, foreign language, history and social science, as well as standardized testing prep. There literally is something for everyone on Study.com!


 Since this program is so user friendly getting started is quite simple. Just set up an account and decide which student plan you want to pay for. Choices are Basic Edition, Premium Edition, and College Accelerator and prices range from $39.99 to $199.99 a month. You can save 10% if you pay annually.



Once your account is set up simply chose from over the 4100 video courses and get started learning. Typically a course is comprised of videos and quizzes. The videos are similar to videos you would find on YouTube as far as format goes. Sometimes courses even have supplemental materials like flashcards or worksheets that need to be studied as well. CLEP Courses generally have about 15-20 hours worth of lesson material so you can expect to cover a course with dedicated 1.5 hours of weekly study in about 3 months.


After I did some examining of the site I discovered that Study.com has a SAT Prep: Practice & Study Guide course that I knew would be just perfect for Mikayla, my 10th grader. We are in the process of her studying for her very first SAT exam in July. {As a side note, TODAY is the last day to register for the June 1st SAT.} We take our standardized testing studying really serious here at A Stable Beginning. Why? Because raising your score by a few points means more scholarship money. And if you have done the time studying why not reward yourself with a few thousand dollars more in Merit scholarship money.


Mikayla is progressing through this online studying quite nicely. She studies 1 hour a day, 5 days a week, taking off on our Wednesday coop day and Sunday. The SAT course has 36 chapters and she has been working through a chapter a day, with the exception of the chapters on the SAT writing. We are not focusing on that section because June will be her first testing and I just want a baseline of where she is act in the Math and English/Reading portions. Also, the schools that she is looking at do not require the writing portion of the test.



I have to say that I really enjoy the Study.com offerings! It has fit our needs for her studying for the SAT and we are praying for great scores. I will say that some nights Mikayla was up pretty late, i.e. after 10PM, to get her hour in because I am a stickler for making sure study time gets done each day. But, she is progressing through the course nicely.
  CLEP & DSST Exam Prep {Study.com Reviews}
I definitely recommend you check out Study.com if you have a high schooler looking to test out of courses in preparation for University or for standardized testing. Study.com has met our needs and I am so glad that we were chosen to be apart of this review! But don’t just take my word for it! Check out what 25 of my CrewMate friends have been doing with Study.com by clicking the banner below.

                                   CLEP & DSST Exam Prep {Study.com Reviews}

 Company ~ Study.com 
Product ~ 3 month subscription to the CLEP and DSST prep materials 
 Format ~ online learning 
 Price ~ Basic Edition, Premium Edition, and College Accelerator and prices range from $39.99 to $199.99 a month 
 Ages ~ high schoolers and up

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Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Wordless Wednesday ~ Wrapping up Standardized Testing



© 2008 - 2018 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.