Test Prep with Varsity Tutors

Let's face it - high stakes tests are a part of our lives and, while we don't want to teach to the test, we do need to prep students for them.  There is nothing that will replace quality instruction for preparing for a major exam, but there are a number of quality online assessment tools out there that are effective at helping students build on that quality instruction and get great test scores.  One tool that we have come across recently is Varsity Tutors.  This site offers free diagnostic and practice tests with feedback that help students prepare for an exam.  All of these tests are free and open to the public and, should you find from taking these assessments that you need extra help, you can sign up for in-home tutoring from them (for a fee).

 Creating an Account:

Creating an account is easy and allows any user to take any of the tests and get immediate feedback. 

Taking Tests:

When you first create an account, you are taken to the list of tests that you can take. You can select from over 100 tests and sub tests for everything from the intermediate and high school level to AP, SAT and CLEP.  

Diagnostic Tests, Practice Tests and Flash Cards,

There are 3 main types of assessments that you can take.  One is a diagnostic test for the major exams that are intended to be an overview of the entire exam to see how you would do.  The practice tests are broken down into different sub categories and the Flash Cards are really individual questions that you can work through one by one.  Your receive feedback on how much time was spent on each question as well as your performance on each question.  They have included an explanation of the correct answer on each question so that you can learn from your mistakes.  

Classroom Tools

• Creating Tests
• Teachers can create their own tests by either adding questions of their own or by choosing questions from the item bank.  

• Sharing Tests
• Once created, you can share the tests with students either individually or as a group

• Viewing Results
• Once students have completed their test, they get a Full report - View an example by clicking here.  
• Teachers can then see an item analysis of those test results for their whole class and can drill down and see how each student did on each assessment.  

Embedding Assessments and Flashcards

If you are interested in having students study and want to keep them on your website you can embed both complete tests and flashcards right into your website or LMS.  Check out the example below:

Powered By Varsity Tutors

Overall, we are impressed with this assessment tool and think it is worth checking out.  Let us know what you think.