State: Utah
Product: Shmoop ACT® Test Prep

Shmoop Provides ACT Test Prep to Every 11th-Grade Student Across Utah

Way back in the day, Shmoop began working with a small number of students and teachers (visionaries, if you will) interested in supplementing classroom instruction with high-quality, high-humor content. However, when we realized there was a growing need for online education materials, we upped our game and started providing even more core curriculum, literature guides, learning guides, and test prep for every exam and every acronym you can think of: ACT, SAT, PSAT, OMG, AP, GED (only one of those is made-up). And now, we're helping entire states set up students for success in college and career.

A prime example of our reach is our statewide contract with Utah, which started in 2014 when the state board of education turned to us for comprehensive ACT prep. And prepare they have. 

Every high school student, teacher, and administrator in Utah has free, unlimited, and secure access to Shmoop's ACT® Test Prep—no strings attached. The prep includes diagnostic exams, full-length practice exams, fresh and informative topic reviews for all question types, and hundreds of topic-specific drills. Beyond that, teachers and administrators can track student progress and see skill mastery breakdowns for individual students, full classrooms, and even entire schools and districts.

Since 2014, approximately 160,000 students in the state have taken the ACT. That's because Utah is one of just seven states in the U.S. that requires all 11th-grade students to take the test as a post-secondary readiness accountability measure.

"Shmoop has been a game changer in our state when it comes to preparing our students for the ACT," says Howard Stephenson, Utah State Senator. "They like learning and studying when the material matches their enthusiasm, and Shmoop is able to provide content that goes beyond the standard fare. As a legislator, it's been encouraging to see a company not only engage students, but also help with teacher training to improve education outcomes."

Because Utah has established the ACT as a key measure of success for college and career readiness, ensuring access to high-quality test prep for all students was crucial to the state's overall success. State education leaders realized that the skills students need to do well on the ACT align extremely well with the concepts they are teaching inside the classroom, such as data interpretation and scientific reasoning, reading comprehension, and mathematical analysis. So, rather than siloing ACT practice into the usual after-school class or homeroom, teachers incorporate ACT skills within the context of their core class instruction throughout the entire school year. 

Mind. Blown.

"The ACT is a nationally recognized assessment that allows students to demonstrate 21st century skills, including critical thinking and problem-solving, that can help predict long-term success in college and career, " says Rebecca Peterson, Education Specialist, College and Career Readiness, for the Utah State Board of Education. "As a state focused on increasing ACT scores, we've been strategic in leveraging Shmoop's suite of digital resources to help students gain the competencies they need for the ACT within their core classes. The best way teachers can prepare students for the ACT is by implementing high-quality instruction in the Utah Core Standards every day."

Collaboration, goal-setting, and vision are the keys to success in driving forward college and career readiness in the state of Utah. Using Shmoop's comprehensive materials, every teacher plays a direct role in ensuring their students succeed on the ACT. Teachers can look up the concepts they are studying by content area to connect core class learning to ACT test prep. For example, in order to succeed in biology class, students need to be able to read and interpret different sets of graphs and data. This skill is also assessed on the science portion of the ACT. Teachers across subject areas are using Shmoop ACT prep to reinforce classroom learning.

Acing the ACT Starts in the Classroom

While every classroom and learning environment is unique, the storyline developing across Utah features common threads. The first is the use of Shmoop's ACT diagnostic to monitor growth as students progress through the materials, while the second features teachers from across disciplines finding ways to incorporate the materials into their everyday classes.

For example, Josh Carver is an 11th grade English teacher at Vanguard Academy, located in West Valley City. To prepare his students for the ACT, Josh devotes every other Friday to focus on this specific instruction. He starts the year with the diagnostic to develop a baseline that will help measure his students' growth over time. That same tool is also being used by students to set goals that meet the requirements for college admissions. And to date, it's working: more than half of the students are scoring at or above the state requirement on their mid-year diagnostic. 

"The best part of the online test prep for my class is the multitude of drills available for each of the concepts covered on the English and Reading portion of the ACT," says Carver. "Shmoop provides a variety of drills that dive into different ways to approach each concept, allowing me to begin each lesson with classroom discussion and move into more individual assessments as the students progress. This has been key in helping to identify broader misunderstandings and teach the specific concepts my students will be tested on."

Another example of how Utah is using our ACT prep is through Gear Up, a grant-funded program aimed at increasing postsecondary enrollment for low-income, first-generation, minority students. The Gear Up program in Logan City School District leverages Shmoop's ACT diagnostic to identify areas of growth for their students and the test prep materials to help students acquire the skills they need to improve their scores.

By providing every high school student, teacher, and administrator in Utah with unlimited access to Shmoop's ACT test prep, we hope to support the state in helping more students access and attain a postsecondary education.

At Shmoop, we think of the ACT as providing a snapshot of a student's K-12 academic career and we want to help all students succeed. Whether students are using our materials on their own or within the context of a core academic class, Shmoop's ACT Test Prep offers a comprehensive topic review, hundreds of drills, and multiple full-length practice exams to help students become deeply familiar with the assessment and prepare in fun and meaningful ways.

Today, the Utah school system serves 613,279 students and has a little over 200 high schools spanning the 41 school districts across the state. It is estimated that rural schools educate upwards of 15 percent of Utah's students.

Interested in getting Shmoop into your school or district? Email sales@shmoop.com and let our Sales Shmooperstars know who you are and what you're looking for.

Just have a question about something in Shmoopland? Hit us up at support@shmoop.com. It's kind of gross how often we check our email, so we'll get back to you in the blink of a cursor.

_{ACT is a federally registered trademark of ACT, Inc. Shmoop University is not affiliated with or endorsed by ACT, Inc.}