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Summary
Testing & Education Reference Center is offered by the school district to high school students. It is an online bank offered through the library and available to students at home. It contains test preparation questions to help students achieve their academic and career goals. Through its homepage, students can easily select from tabs and drop down menus between High School Tools, College Prep Tools, Career Tools, Grad School Tools, and International Tools. Selecting High School Tools will provide students with available links to select for Test Prep such as Academic Skills Questions Banks, AP exams, California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), and the GED. The College Prep Tools include test preparation for the ACT, CLEP, and SAT, among others. The Career Tools includes information for learning how to build a resume and preparing for certification exams for popular careers such as firefighting, law enforcement, teaching, air traffic control, accounting, and nursing. The Graduate School Tools allow students to prepare for the GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT and MAT, and provides them with information about how to find the right school for them. Students are also able to search for scholarships. The International Tools provides students with online practice tests and ebooks for the TOEFL, TOEIC, and U.S. Citizenship.
Evaluation
This online bank of test preparation is an excellent tool to help students practice high-stakes tests and find areas of weakness to help them improve. For example, the Academic Skills Question Bank offers passage-based reading questions and mixed topics such as analysis of inferences, author’s purpose, and conclusions. Other topics include literary elements, main ideas and specific details, and vocabulary. While these questions are not specifically linked to any state’s particular standards, the content matter is consistent with grade-level curriculum. Furthermore, the questions are presented in a way that will familiarize students with how the real tests will look. The pages of directions before the test provide much information about the test itself and how to take it; many students might not want to read all that information and would rather just jump right into answering the questions. During the test, students can exit at any time and resume later. Other helpful resources are also available and provide information about test-taking strategies, word of the day, and how to beat test stress. Once tests are completed, students are able to see their areas of achievement and where they need improvement. This is an expensive website; the local high school pays $1650 for access to it. However, with so many test-help tools providing resources to students at varying educational levels, Testing & Education Reference Center is a valuable database.
Why I Included it
This database is excellent! When testing season begins in the Spring, my students have often asked me if I knew of any practice tests they could take. I did not, but I do now. The immediate feedback is invaluable. I think test prep with this database should be part of study skills classes and students should be introduced to it as soon as possible.
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