Teachers choose online or hard copy

Our software was initially built with the intention that people would use it completely online, but after working with teachers these past few years, we have learned that flexibility is key.  While teachers want their students to have online access, the ability to print hard copy materials from our site offers three advantages.  First, it helps schools that have limited computers.  Second, it allows teachers to simulate test conditions like those on the CAHSEE and SAT.    Third, teachers can give hard copy in-class tests and assignments using material from our site.  To accomodate this need for hard copy materials, we have developed the test generator. 

Our test generator contains a database of questions that are organized by topic and cover all topics and content standards for math, CAHSEE, and the SAT.  Teachers can create hard copy tests or assignments that contain as many questions as they want on any topic they want.  The math questions have the ability to permute (similar to our online program) allowing multiple versions of the hard copy test/assignment to be printed out with a corresponding answer key. 

Some schools have used our program simply for the ability to quickly create daily quizzes and homework that are aligned with the curriculum.  If you teach at a school and are interested in a demo of this valuable feature, please send an email to info@xlprep.com, and someone will get back to you asap.

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Our Latest Press Release

XLPrep.com Increases Students’ Scores for Math and Algebra I California Standardized Tests

Los Angeles, CA, November 9, 2009 – XLPrep.com, a leading provider of online test preparation services, recently released the results of a study that proves its effectiveness in increasing math scores for California standardized tests (CST).

The study followed 9th graders at a high school in Los Angeles and measured results for the Algebra I CST. Students used the XLPrep.com program, which was designed according to California content standards, as homework assignments aligned with the in-class curriculum.

As the study reveals, students who used the XLPrep.com program and completed at least 90 questions scored an average of 59 CST points higher than students who did not use the program. This increase was found to be statistically significant and is noteworthy because a jump from the Below Basic to Basic performance level on the CST is 46 points, while a jump from the Basic to Proficient performance level is 49 points. In addition to the substantial 59-point improvement, it was also found that in 2008, when XLPrep.com was not used, most students in this teacher’s class were at the Basic performance level or below; in 2009, when the program was used, most students were at the Basic performance level or above.   According to the teacher using the innovative program, he employed no other substantial changes to his teaching approach in 2009 vs. 2008 other than using XLPrep.com, and the progress in class performance could be attributed to XLPrep.com.

“This study shows extremely encouraging results for XLPrep.com and for high school students not only in California but around the country,” said Sharon Masek, CEO of XLPrep.com. “Our innovative, online math programs can give high school students the support they need to learn with greater efficiency, achieve higher test scores, and succeed more in mathematics,” she added.

XLPrep.com programs contain lessons, quizzes, and tests for all content standards in Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and Probability and Statistics. The program provides practice questions for and shows student scores by individual content standards. The company’s software adapts to each student by giving more practice questions where the student is challenged and fewer questions on concepts the student has mastered.

Published results of the math CST preparation study can be found at http://www.xlprep.com/Math_CST_Program_Effectiveness.pdf [I’ve changed the url here; if we make it simpler, it will be easier to follow and better for SEO. Can you do this on the site?] To learn more about XLPrep.com, please visit http://www.xlprep.com or contact the company at info@xlprep.com. [Perhaps we can use a global email address or another PR contact?]

About XLPrep.com

XLPrep.com harnesses the interactive capabilities of the Internet to deliver highly efficient and targeted studying tools. The company’s innovative programs are effective because they instantaneously adapt to question responses, thus allowing each student to work at his or her own pace and skill level and to prepare for exams more efficiently and thoroughly.  XLPrep.com’s effectiveness also stems from its ability to complement and reinforce math, reading comprehension, and writing concepts taught in the classroom. Dramatic results have been observed when using XLPrep.com for in-class and homework assignments. The company is led and staffed by executives and educators in math, science, English, political science, engineering and business administration from MIT, UCLA, Princeton, Yale, and the California Institute of Technology. The content writers have 99th percentile scores on the SAT, GRE, and GMAT and possess several years of tutoring experience. To learn more about XLPrep.com, please visit http://www.xlprep.com.

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Our Software is Different and Effective

Whenever I go to schools and demo our software for them, the question that always comes up is “how are we diffferent?”   There are a few key differences, but the most important is how our software adapts to each user.  It responds to user input and tailors the questions delivered to each student based on his or her ability.  It allows students to work at their own pace and learn thoroughly and efficiently.  In an upcoming post, we will describe how this works step-by-step.   Another important difference from most education companies out there is that we have data to show that our programs are effective.  We conduct studies at public high schools in Los Angeles and have found a statistically signifcant increase in PSAT and California Standardized Test scores through use of our software.  These studies can be read and downloaded at our website, www.xlprep.com.  Our program also offers teachers advanced capabilities for tracking and monitoring student progress and the ability to produce hard copy materials focused on specific topics of their choice within minutes.  We call this last feature for producing hard copy materials the “test generator”.  An upcoming post will describe the test generator in detail as well.

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Welcome to our Blog

Welcome! We are so glad to have you read our blog.  XLPrep.com provides interactive and adaptive web-based learning tools for the CAHSEE, SAT, GMAT, and math for grades 8 through 12.  We will be posting information on our test prep and math programs and other education-related information we believe will be useful to our users.  Please feel free to post your comments and give us your feedback at any time.  We truly value your input and need to hear from our users to make our products the very best.

Our next posting will describe studies we have conducted on our programs that prove they are effective.  Stay tuned!

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