Published by The Learning Company, One Antheanaeum Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, Phone number for the Princeton Review: 1-800-2-Review. Web site: www.review.com
The CD-ROM is compatible for both Windows and Macintosh systems. The price is $34.95. The CD's purpose is to help prepare the student planning to go to college for the PSAT/SAT/ACT exam. The writers of the CD provide a guarantee to help students raise their SAT or ACT scores after using this product or they will refund the money spent on the purchase.
[Back to Multimedia Reviews Index Page]The CD is broken down into 7 doors that the user can enter. The sections are as follows: The Tour which shows the various sections of the SAT and what is available on the CD. The General Test-Taking Strategies shows how the information in the CD will help the user improve their SAT scores.
Verbal Section-This section is broken down into 5 sections which include: analogies, sentence completions, PSAT writing, critical reading, and vocabulary hit parade.
College Counselor-This section includes 6 sections which include: admissions roadmap, about the PSAT/SAT/ACT drawers, web site links to over 1600 colleges across the country, you versus the world (compares your scores on the test to the national average), financial aid, and reports.
Intro Section
Math Section-This section is broken down into 6 sections which include: math strategies, arithmetic, algebra, more algebra, geometry, and quantitative comparisons.
The Test Section-This section has 4 sections: take a drill, reports, take a test, review a test.
The vocabulary hit parade contains sentences and definitions on the most used words on the SAT test for the past 7 years. It is highly recommended that the user do this section before trying the other sections in the verbal door.
There are short drills in each lesson to sharpen the user's test-taking skills.
There is a reports icon that allows the user to track their progress and watch the scores go up as the various tests are taken.
There is a reports icon that allows the user to track their progress and watch the scores go up as the various tests are taken.
The target audience is for the college-bound high school students in grade 10-12.
The CD is fairly easy to navigate. My son was able to use the introduction provided to start working. Getting into and out of the various lessons is easy. The icons are self explanatory so that the user basically knows what each one means. The college counselor is easy to use and allows the user to access the colleges that he/she is interested. The easy to click on areas in the counselor room allow easy navigation.
The following materials are provided with the package:
Although the CD is mainly a learning tool, the actual video presentations presented make the learning less stressful. The characters they use are dressed casually and are enthusiastic about the student learning how to better their score. Being able to see your scores and your improvement along make the learning process a challenging one. Being able to follow their progress enhances the students desire to want to learn more.
Windows 95
Macintosh
Recommend this CD for the serious minded high school student that wants to go to college. This CD will help prepare the student for the test and may also reduce the stress level of taking the test "cold." The student can work at his own pace and gain confidence in his test-taking abilities. In addition to learning to improve test-taking skills, the amount of learning that the student will gain is tremendous. Learning the 300 vocabulary words alone will help them in everyday life. This CD is recommended for home use and could also be used by the high school media center. The ability to link to 1600 colleges in the U.S. would be a helpful for high school counselor's helping students plan their next step in the learning process.