USATestprep Blog

Attention users in Georgia and Indiana: time is running out to register for the USATestprep Fall User Meetings. Remember that these half-day seminars give you in-depth training on USATestprep and are offered on the following dates in the following locations:

11/3:  Roswell, GA – The Metropolitan Club (9am-1pm) SOLD OUT!

11/18:  Indianapolis, IN – Marriott Indianapolis Downtown (9am-1pm) SOLD OUT!

The cost is just $60 and payment can be made by credit card through the link included in your email. You even get an awesome and stylish USATestprep t-shirt.

We hope to see you there!

Our primary focus is to provide teachers with the tools needed to effectively instruct their students and manage their classes.  With this goal and recent teacher requests in mind, we are pleased to announce the launch of a number of powerful new tools.  These have been added to your account at no added expense.

MESSAGE SYSTEM

Teachers can now send messages to their students.  Both students and teachers have a new “Messages” tab upon login.  Teachers can send reminders, assignments, and words of encouragement to an individual student or an entire class.

ASSIGNMENT SYSTEM UPGRADE

You can now allow students multiple attempts on an assignment or set a minimum required score.  In addition, student and class data is now at your fingertips to better pinpoint effective assignments.

PROJECTOR MODE QUESTIONS UPGRADE

You can now load previously-created benchmarks into projector mode.  This allows you to build custom question sets for use with multiple classes and to present these sets to the entire class using a computer and projector.

EFFECTIVENESS STUDY

We are pleased to announce the results of a year-long, multi-state effectiveness study performed by an independent educational research firm.  This study evaluated the USATestprep product in math and reading for over 1,100 students in forty classrooms.  The results show that students who use USATestprep experience one half to one year more growth than students who did not use our product.

So let us know what you think of these new features. Thank you for suggesting them, and, as always, let us know what you think.

USATestprep is happy to announce the addition of new resources. We now offer materials for 8^th Grade Science in Missouri, and all questions, vocabulary, worksheets, and activities are aligned with the Show-Me Standards.

There’s more to come, too. Check back for more updates and new products!

Attention users in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Indiana: time is running out to register for the USATestprep Fall User Meetings. Remember that these half-day seminars give you in-depth training on USATestprep and are offered on the following dates in the following locations:

10/27:  Tupelo, MS -Bancorp South Arena (9am-1pm) SOLD OUT

10/28:  Cullman, AL – Holiday Inn Express (9am-1pm)

11/3:  Roswell, GA – The Metropolitan Club (9am-1pm)

11/4:  Columbia, SC – Columbia Conference Center (9am-1pm) Hurry: Just FIVE spots left!

11/10:  Raleigh, NC – Prestonwood Country Club (10am-2:30pm)

11/18:  Indianapolis, IN – Marriott Indianapolis Downtown (9am-1pm)

The cost is just $60 and payment can be made by credit card through the link included in your email. You even get an awesome and stylish USATestprep t-shirt.

We hope to see you there!

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) beat out over 70 schools from around the country to win over a half-million dollars in scholarship money for its high school seniors. The Broad Prize for Urban Education goes annually to the large, urban school district that has shown the most substantial academic gains. The CMS is responsible for over 130,000 students, more than half of whom are African-American, Asian, Hispanic, or American Indian.

The selection jury for the Broad Prize- which consists of seven members, including four past U.S. Secretary of Education- recognized CMS for a number of reasons:

• Narrowed Ethnic Achievement Gaps
• Narrowed Ethnic Achievement Gaps Faster
• Boosted Percentage of Low-Income Students Performing at High Levels
• Demonstrated College Readiness Levels

To read more about this honor, check out the story from The Christian Science Monitor or the press release from the Broad Prize website.

Congratulations, CMS!

We have updated our Question/Vocab/Video/Tip of the Day feature. You will be able to select past “OTD”s up to two weeks. (We have reset the system, so you will be limited in past searches for the next 14 days.)

There are also now statistics after a question or vocabulary term is answered, allowing students to see how they’re doing compared to other users.

We hope you like these new features!

At USATestprep we are constantly working to update and provide new materials. We are happy to announce the addition of the following review products:

• California US History STAR
• California World History STAR
• Florida US History EOC Assessment
• Louisiana English III EOC
• New Mexico SBA Science

And we aren’t done yet. Check back for more updates and new products!

Attention users in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Indiana: by now you should have received information in your in box regarding our 2011 User Meetings. As a reminder, you can receive in-depth training on USATestprep on the following dates in the following locations:

10/27:  Tupelo, MS -Bancorp South Arena (9am-1pm)

10/28:  Cullman, AL – Holiday Inn Express (9am-1pm)

11/3:  Roswell, GA – The Metropolitan Club (9am-1pm)

11/4:  Columbia, SC – Columbia Conference Center (9am-1pm)

11/10:  Raleigh, NC – Prestonwood Country Club (10am-2:30pm)

11/18:  Indianapolis, IN – Marriott Indianapolis Downtown (9am-1pm)

The cost is just $60 and payment can be made by credit card through the link included in your email. And you even get an awesome USATestprep t-shirt!

We hope to see you there!

As teachers and students head back to school, we just wanted to remind everyone that the login procedures for USATestprep are the same as last year. If you used the site at all in the 2010-2011 school year, remember you just need your School ID, your own Username, and your own Password. If you have forgotten these, you can always consult a teacher or school administrator about this information, or you can use the “Forgot Password” option on the login page.