Chariot Learning Selected Top 15 for SAT & ACT Test Prep
A fundamental premise of test prep is that improvement over time, no matter how incremental, inevitably adds up to significant and sometimes phenomenal progress. Operating a small business committed to test prep feels the same way. You start by focusing on helping one student at a time and, if you and your students reach those goals often enough consistently enough, big things happen–like being placed on a list of the Top 15 SMEs for Test Prep (SAT, ACT, AP) in USA!! Full transparency: I have no idea who Editorialge is or how a small but mighty practice like Chariot Learning landed on a list with so many impressive multi-state heavyweights, but I can hardly fault their criteria or conclusions: Identifying the standout independent test prep providers required a rigorous filtering process to ensure both educational integrity and measurable score improvements. We evaluated dozens of American companies against a strict set…
Getting Ready For The Enhanced ACT
Starting in September 2025, all national administrations of the ACT will be the new Enhanced form. We’ve been covering the rollout of the most significant change to a beloved exam ever, starting with first looks then exploring both the content rebalancing and the new English prompts. For the full story, though, you’ll want more than a few articles… Enjoy the video of my Game Plan For The Enhanced ACT webinar or listen to the audio. Here are the key takeaways: The ACT is changing: The Enhanced ACT, debuting nationally in September 2025, includes shorter sections, more time per question, and an optional science section. Fewer questions, same score scale: Most sections have fewer items but maintain the 1–36 scale. The composite score will now average only English, Math, and Reading (EMR). Field test items are embedded: Instead of a separate experimental section, some questions within each section won’t count toward scores. Science is…
The Meta of Testing
While Zuckerberg is doing his best to make sure that the public conflates the word “meta” with his sprawling social media empire, the modern sounding term has ancient origins. The prefix META- comes from the Greek word meta meaning beyond or higher in words such as metaverse (a shared, persistent, live, interactive digital universe) and metacognition (higher-order awareness or analysis of one’s own thinking or learning processes). When we talk about “the meta,” though, we’re talking about the metagame: the game above the game itself. You know what this is. Every player of every game or sport recognizes that there are strategies, knowledge, and approaches players use to gain an advantage beyond the basic game mechanics–if you’re smart or lucky, you’ve mastered the meta and thus gained a terrific advantage. I recently revisited a podcast I recorded on the topic of The Meta of Test Prep. Every test–from the most…
Roots2Words Quiz: December 2024
Mastery of practical English vocabulary doesn’t just make understanding and communication easier–it also supports better grades and test scores. How strong is your vocabulary? Try your luck with this test of the most essential words shared by Roots2Words in November 2024: 1. Wise and practical; acting with care and consideration for the future: (A) indifferent (B) anomalous (C) prudent (D) palatable (E) tedious 2. To find out, to discover, to determine or make certain: (A) amend (B) ascertain (C) concoct (D) tantalize (E) egress 3. The quality of stubbornly sticking to an opinion or course of action: (A) cordiality (B) brevity (C) obstinacy (D) synesthesia (E) benediction 4. Showing contempt through scorn or ridicule: (A) derisive (B) eponymous (C) desultory (D) leviathan (E) moribund 5. To provide support, encouragement, or justification: (A) surfeit (B) conflate (C) asperse (D) buttress (E) disenfranchise Check your answers on the Roots2Words website. If you…
Outstanding Resources for Test Prep and Admissions
At Chariot Learning, we have all kinds of effective ways to help students earn impressive test scores while learning critical academic and executive skills. With summer coming, you’re probably looking for help with testing as well as the larger higher education admissions process. Following are some of the essential resources we recommend for our prep students and all test takers, but feel free to contact us if you don’t see what you are looking for: GETTING STARTED Whether you are working with Chariot Learning or not, you’ll be able to better understand any and every aspect of test prep and admissions with these trusted sources: Chariot Learning Frequently Asked Questions Tests and the Rest college admissions podcast College Road parent newsletter Upstate College Conversations Facebook group Chariot Learning Motivational Instagram COLLEGE ADMISSIONS AND TESTING FOR THE HS CLASSES OF 2022 AND 2023 Understand the current admissions landscape better with this…
The Value of Test Preparation
Effective test preparation delivers so many benefits beyond the obvious improvement in test scores. This post is authored and published by the National Test Prep Association and shared here with permission.