To prepare students for the upcoming PSAT, SAT and AP exams, the counselors announced on Sept 23 a new online study resource covering 35+ APs and standardized testing prep and students will have access to this resource to study for May AP exams and the November SAT.
“I’m excited our district has rolled out Shmoop and made it available to students and staff,” counselor Chrystal Barnett said. “I’m a strong believer in test prep, and studies have shown that students who spend time studying before a test score higher than they would have without prep.”
MISD already hosts AP review sessions with instructors from all over the country coming to guide students. Now with the Shmoop online test prep service, students are in a position to achieve even higher scores.
“I am hopeful our scores will be even higher as students and staff take advantage of this new resource,” Barnett said. “Shmoop’s AP Test Prep Guides are packed with everything students need to prepare for test day: comprehensive topic review, hundreds of drills, full-length practice exams and more.”
Barnett said Shmoop will only help reinforce the already-solid foundation the AP teachers provide.
“Our AP teachers are some of the best and they work tirelessly to prepare students for the AP test,” she said. “Shmoop cannot replace the valuable lessons taught in the classroom, in tutorials and in study group sessions, [but it] is a tool that will offer additional opportunities to learn or review.”
MHS leads the district by a wide margin in AP test passing rates, and this new resource may help to continue to improve these scores as a whole.
“MHS will continue to lead as long as our students remain focused, driven and committed to doing their very best,” Barnett said.
Some more rigorous AP courses such as AP Chemistry and level four language classes like AP German and French lack readily available study resources because fewer students take these exams. This new platform may provide a good basis for review and support district teachers.
“Shmoop offers study materials in over 50 subjects, (and) many districts that have used (it) to supplement instruction for an AP subject have had positive results,” Barnett said. “MHS already has a strong AP program, but if Shmoop can bring even more excitement to the table while studying or instructing-that’s a win-win for everyone.”
Shmoop enables students to practice with tests in College Board’s style, preparing them for test day.
“It was beneficial for me because I was able to look at the previous tests and take them to get a better understanding of how they would be structured,” junior Jordan Uplinger said. “Looking at those tests helped [me] not just assume, but also prepare [for] what would or could happen while taking the test.”
Students have reported high satisfaction with the new resource and are actively using it to prepare for their exams. The service enables them to score high on the PSAT, and be more confident for the upcoming SAT.
“It was a good experience,” Jordan said. “I [was able] get the best possible score on a test, [which] is very important leading up to the SAT”
With AP exams on the horizon, students are looking towards Shmoop to review early on.
“I plan on dedicating about 1-2 hours per week on studying for the AP exams so I am able to get the best possible score on [them],” Jordan said. “Doing this will help me get the credit I need so I wouldn’t have to take as many hours [in college] as I would’ve if I [did not] study in advance. “
