There are just some things in life, like taxes and root canals, which you have to do no matter how miserable the process. As a high schooler, I thought taking the SAT ranked right up there. Many homeschoolers fight against things like standardized tests, and often for some legitimate reasons. However, if your kids want to attend college, the SAT or ACT are often a non-negotiable stepping-stone. Not only are high SAT scores helpful, or required, in getting accepted to a great college, they can also help students qualify for scholarships.

Fortunately, eKnowledge (sat.eknowledge.com) has found a way to make the process a little bit more palatable. The SAT Power Prep program is like a mini SAT program on disc to prepare the student to excel on the SAT written exam. The program is loaded with helpful features that take the student through the process of preparing for the test. It includes a variety of videos with information about how to study, what to expect from each section of the test, how to schedule your study time, how the scoring works, etc. There are sample questions to work through for each section, along with information about why the answer is correct.

Perhaps the most helpful parts of the program are found on the Premium Version, including theResources sections, the Vocabulary Workshop, and eDictionary. The Resources section has "workbooks" covering each of the sections in some detail. For example, if you've forgotten how to do geometry or algebra, you can read through the workbook for that section as a refresher. TheVocabulary Workshop walks the student through some of the more common roots, prefixes, and suffixes.

I think these videos and other resources would be helpful in preparing a student to take the SAT, especially if the student has little experience with standardized testing, or deals with anxiety about taking tests. If the student were very visual and auditory, the learning style would be a good match. I only had a couple of concerns about the program. I thought the price was a bit high for what was offered. I would like to see more sample questions for each section so students can really practice the different types of questions. While the program provides information about books that have complete sample tests, I would like to see one available within the program. Nothing beats the experience of taking a complete, full-length test and seeing how you would score on the real test and why each of the answers was correct or incorrect.

-- Product Review by: Dr. Anne Margaret Wright, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine

Here's another SAT Power Prep review!

The eKnowledge SAT Power Prep program is a systematic study program that is designed to cover every topic and question-type that might possibly appear on an SAT exam.

The program is organized into 120 interactive, multimedia (i.e., it includes video workshops with each lesson) mini-lessons that allow the student to prepare for the SAT in short, logically organized, bite-sized segments. This approach is helpful as it allows the student the freedom and flexibility to study in a manner that coincides with his or her needs. Further, the program is designed to allow the student to work his or her way through each segment, and when finished, more on to the next segment or pause until able to return to the study. SAT Power Prep is also designed to allow the student to easily track progress and identify where additional work is needed.

SAT Power Prep provides the student with two options for SAT preparation: (1) The Comprehensive Preparation; and (2) The Targeted Preparation. The comprehensive preparation requires that the student watch every lesson segment and complete every practice question and quiz. This preparation option insures that the student has learned every concept, topic, and question-type that might be found on the SAT exam. The targeted preparation assumes that the student knows where he or she needs help. Thus, the program is then used to target the areas where improvement is needed. When using the targeted preparation approach, the student is instructed to complete the practice questions for each segment, and then, when an area of difficulty is reached, the workshop video associated with the trouble area segment is watched, and then the student practices what he or she has learned.

The SAT Power Prep contains more than nine hours of segmented lessons, in excess of 40 hours of class work, complete printable outlines of every concept and subject, hundreds of practice and quiz questions all with instructor led video/audio explanatory answers, and a note taking capability integral to the program.

SAT Power Prep seems to be a good, solid SAT preparation software package. I would not hesitate to recommend this product to families with students preparing for the SAT exam.

-- Product Review by: Dr. Heather Allen, TOS Senior Analyst, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine

And another perspective:

SAT Power Prep
eKnowledge LLC
160 W. Foothill Pkwy STE 105
PMB 176
Corona, Ca 92882-8845
909-256-4076

I have simply been a facilitator in my daughter's education. I have provided activities, materials and opportunities, and my daughter has taken advantage of these things and has flourished in her education. I love being able to provide her with materials that have great educational benefit to her, so I was excited when I was given eKnowledge.com's SAT Power Prep to review.

While reviewing the SAT Power Prep, I quickly decided this was going to be the tool I would provide for my daughter to help her prepare for the SAT tests she will be taking all too soon. My daughter is now considered a junior and her plans include obtaining a college education. Preparing for the test only makes sense because getting decent scores on the SATs determine whether or not she will be accepted into the college of her choice as well as whether or not she will be eligible for financial aid scholarships.

It is interesting to note that the program is quite simple to use yet it seems to be quite comprehensive in the material that is included in the program. SAT Power Prep requires Windows 98 or higher, 1GB HD, 128MB RAM, Sound Card and Powered Speakers. I tried the program on Windows 98 as well as our computer with Windows XP, and the program worked well on each one. The video segments looked better on my Windows XP, but they were fine on my older computer-just not as streamlined. Installation was quite simple on each system.

In addition to the program, you will need an Internet connection and a copy of 10 Real SATscompiled by the ETS and the College Board, the companies that own the SAT and publish the tests each year. The program provides a link to Amazon.com for you to purchase the book.

After installation is complete, you must insert disk number 2 to run the program. When you come to the Start Page, you will see an outline to follow. They suggest: 1) Make a study plan; 2) Do Classroom Study where you watch the video segments, answer practice questions, do the quizzes and track your progress (which you do on paper AND on your computer); 3) Timing and Comprehension through which you take the actual tests; and 4) Using a Calculator, which explains the types of calculators that are allowed (and encouraged to be used) during the SAT tests.

The Seven Sections of SAT Power Prep

1) The SAT section explains general information about the SAT tests-types of questions, the SAT format and how the SAT is scored.

2) The Classroom section provides 120 video lectures that cover SAT specifics. As the instructor presents the material, there will be 'pop ups' that allow the student to read through the highlights of the lecture. On the video screen, there is a button that says notes. The student is able to type in notes during the lecture (pushing that button automatically pauses the lecture) and these notes are stored on the computer, so the student is able to access the notes for later study.

3) The Resources section allows you to print the information given on the 'pop ups' in the video presentations. We printed these outlines so my daughter would have some structure in note taking while she was watching the video instruction. This also helped her as she was reviewing for the test.

4) The Testing section will take the student to the competency eQuiz. This is a great way for the student to check her progress. The student will be able to review the correct solutions to the questions they miss, giving great feedback and learning potential.

5) Tip of the Day sections gives numerous tips for studying for and taking the test. This section is divided into four sections: General Tips, Verbal Tips, Math Tips and Vocabulary Tips. Each of these sections is just full of relevant tips for the student. An example of a tip in the General section is: "Don't listen to anyone during the breaks-they do not know any more than you do, and they could make you feel discouraged about how you've done so far, or even overconfident. And don't de-brief after the test--what is done is done. Go do something fun, and forget the test!" As I looked through the tips, it impressed me that even little tips like getting a good breakfast and plenty of rest were included. I don't think they left anything out!

How to implement the SAT Power Prep in our homeschool

The beauty about this program is that there would be many ways to implement its use. It would be feasible to use this throughout the school year as a supplement to what the student is studying by working on the program a little bit each day. When my daughter reviewed SAT Prep, though, she immediately re-scheduled the rest of her school year. She has worked it out so she will complete her current studies by April, then she is planning to use the SAT Prep as her curriculum throughout the summer. Of course, the proof will be in the pudding, so to speak, and Alyssa has yet to take the SATs, but I took them many moons ago, and I certainly wish a program of this quality had been available to me. Kudos to the SAT Prep developers!

--Product Review by Terri Miller, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine

And another review perspective:

SAT Power Prep Software
sat.eknowledge.com

eKnowledge LLC
400 S. Ramona Ave. Ste. 203
Corona, AZ 92879

SAT Power Prep Software Program by eKnowledge was designed to cover and track every testable point. Studying SAT Power Prep will give you confidence knowing that you are covering every topic and every question-type that could possibly appear on your SAT exam. This is for High School age teens. The software is complete, but there are books that you can purchase to enhance the software.

I appreciated the opportunity to review a product so positively geared toward home schooling. The program explains itself well and was generally user-friendly. Installation was fairly simple but actually running the program was a bit complicated because it would not run properly on my computer. Although my computer contained all the system requirements listed, it still would not run properly. This required me to uninstall and reinstall the software on a different computer. The program ran well on the other computer, so it is not compatible with all computers.

The program provides a thorough overview of the type of questions on the SAT test and the number of each question type appearing on the real test. A useful explanation of SAT scoring processes is also provided. When accessing the "Classroom", several subjects are offered as selection options. Each subject then provides a choice of several different videos to watch to help explain what you need to know to answer the questions correctly. After completing the desired videos, you then progress through relevant practice questions for that subject. When you answer the question, an audio/video begins to explain the whole question and answer. This is particularly helpful if the question is answered incorrectly since it reinforces what you need to know. There are at least ten practice questions for each available subject.

The program also has a resource center with 17 books that you may print to practice and work in. It has questions, answers, and even explanations of how to arrive at the correct answer. You may also take an SAT test in the program allowing you to determine your probable score based on current knowledge. There is ample information on this set of two CDs, which is especially useful for someone who is going to take the SAT. Additionally, this program may provide high school children with tools for subjects such as Math or English.

Overall, I enjoyed this program and consider it informational for all high school age children. My only criticism would be that it is not a full screen providing a larger video size.



-- Product Review by: Kimberley Wampler, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine