My Experience with Bench Prep

This is a Public Service Announcement for those considering using BenchPrep.

Now normally, I would not post something like this, but this experience has gotten my blood boiling so much that I can't stand it. I work in supplemental education, which is an industry that is also known as "for-profit" education. There are many people in this industry who are well-intentioned and have their clients' best interests at heart. There are also those who are in the industry solely to make a profit and will stop at nothing to achieve it.

Enter BenchPrep, which has been lauded as one of the best educational platforms. For those of you who are not familiar with BenchPrep, it is a platform that allows you to access practice questions for just about any standardized test you can think of: ACT, SAT, GRE, GMAT, the Bar exam, etc. etc. etc. Basically, BP has gotten permission from other companies to use their content, and resell this content to you at a reasonable rate.

They also present it to you in a very nice interactive package allows you to get immediate results if you get an answer wrong. You can also use their services on your tablet or mobile device. The idea is pretty innovative.

However, the content is not even close to being decent. I was gifted the SAT package (by Nova) which is valued at $99. And here's where the problems start to abound.

I will not bore with you mathematical dribble, but I will post screenshots of questions that I encountered in this one $99 package. Remember, on the Bench Prep website, they tout "The content in BenchPrep courses is provided by the World's best educational publishers."

Um... Have they heard of the Triangle Inequality Theorem?

There is a brief break in the image because I couldn't fit the whole thing in, but I included the relevant information. For an expert educational company, they sure don't know how to read their own graphs.

Use apostrophes much?

This must be a new way of doing mathematics. Pretending that rules of mathematics apply only when you want them to.

I can't even follow this one...

I actually e-mailed a long time ago about a discrepancy I found and the reply came as such: "Thanks for point it out. We are working on a new design that would look much closer. Also, we are developing new content edit tool that would help us fix these content errors." They have since implemented a flag tool, which I have being using like there's no tomorrow, but they still have not even tried to fix the incorrect question I brought up a year ago. These are five incorrect problems that I encountered having gone through 36 practice questions. This does not even include the questions that were irrelevant or poorly worded, nor have I even touched about the incorrect ACT questions I found.

At first it was kind of amusing. Oh! Let me see how many wrong mistakes I can find! But after a certain point, amusement turned to frustration turned to anger. Imagine being an unsuspecting high school student who saved up to pay a hundred dollars for this drivel. I couldn't let that stand without doing something about it. I fully support supplemental education when you receive quality in return, but this -- as is the case for many other companies -- is not offering an equal exchange in my opinion. I would definitely want my money back. 

As I look on their on their website, I see 24 people on their team -- 3 in charge of content.

I think this is a case of a company having expanded way too rapidly for their own good. Considering that even after a year, my problem has yet to be addressed. Even after I flagged the questions, I was asked by support to upload photos. Three attempts to fix a something that should have been fixed before the product was released. Better yet, how about finding a better educational company to sell you their questions?

On their FAQ page, it states "We are continuously updating the content to make sure it is shown in the best possible way. Please send an email tosupport@benchprep.com if you find any issues with the content. Make sure to attach a screenshot of the error and a short description of why it's wrong.  There is also a "Flag Content" tool/feature located to the right of your course content. To report an error, click the Flag Content tab and write a brief description of the content error." Last I checked, this wasn't a crowd sourcing page. People are paying money for your content. 

I do my best as a tutor, and I also write my own content. I take a painstakingly long time because I take pride in the quality of the work I put out there. I understand that there may be inconsistencies; I make mistakes, too. Quite often actually. However, with 24 people working on a team, 5 out of 36 is simply unacceptable. In any other professional editing job, that kind of track record would be enough to get you fired. A quick look at their reviews in the Apple Store and Google Play shows that I'm not the first one to think this.

I think the company needs to seriously address content quality issues before they try to push their platform on other unsuspecting buyers who don't know any better. Consider this  a warning to those of you who are considering their platform.

Disclaimer: I have only reviewed the Nova SAT and ACT practice questions as well as Allen Prep's ACT practice questions. I have not seen course content. I will update if I have the nerve to even look.

ACT vs SAT

The intent of this blog post is not to repeat what you should have heard multiple times by now. Any number of sources can tell you how long the test is, how many questions there are, if it is legal to bring in your pet ferret to help you bubble in answers, etc. My goal is to give you a different point of view when it comes to these dreaded examinations.

Truth be told, standardized tests are just a series of predictable questions and answers that are presented under the guise of useless situations. I mean, who cares how many different combinations of sandwiches you can make at a deli, because, really, who is going to buy that many sandwiches? But, alas, I digress.

The point here today is to help you figure out which test you should take.

“But shouldn’t I take both, blogger person?”

Well sure, if you have the time, energy, and money to take both, then why not? Most students I know, however, would much rather spend their free time doing something a little more fun than spending time studying for ANOTHER type of test. Notice I did say more fun, because some people —- including me — do find some sick sort of pleasure in taking standardized tests. I think for your own sanity, though, it would be easier to focus your energy on one test and do that test well.

However, if you have your heart set on taking both, please go right ahead. Otherwise, to help you figure out which test is truly for you, please refer to the questions below.

1. Book Smart or Street Smart?

Generally speaking, the more hardworking, studious and booksmart students tend to fare better on the ACT because it is a content-based test made up of questions that tend to be more straightforward. The base of knowledge required might be a tad wider, but the questions are easier to decipher.
Bright underachievers and good test takers, tend to do better on the SAT since it is a reasoning-based test. The test takes all the things you learned in school, and packages up into 160 cryptic little questions. In fact, those who have a natural knack for acing tests without studying hard might be able to achieve a reasonably high score without investing too much effort in test prep. We can all scowl at them later.
If you aren’t sure, then move on to the next question.

2. Are you a slow reader? Do you struggle with reading long passages?

If so, I would suggest you try the ACT. Reading comprehension was the section I loathed the most when I took standardized tests, and I find the ACT Reading a lot easier to handle than the SAT Critical Reading. As a point of reference, notice the use of the word “critical” in the SAT. Not okay. Furthermore, SAT Critical Reading will have you compare/contrast passages on at least two separate occasions, including two long passages of at least 400 words. On the ACT, the only time when you will have to compare/contrast passages is on the Science section. Go figure.

If reading doesn’t phase you, move on the next question.

3. Do you think critically on your feet?

If so, the SAT may be a better test for you since the questions are designed to be convoluted. Tricky even. I also find the SAT to be a little less formulaic than the ACT, so thinking caps need to be fully functional for the test. Otherwise, you may want to consider taking the ACT, because both the content and style of question are easier to study.

4. But what about Math?

Math Smath. At the end of the day, I find the Math sections to be of similar difficulty. The ACT content covers more advanced topics (book smarts) while the SAT offers simpler content presented in a trickier fashion. (street smarts).

If after all these, you are still unsure, please feel free to take practice tests. After all, practice tests will be your biggest ally in your journey to mastering either the SAT or ACT.

Disclaimer: The above points of distinction are what I have discovered from my personal experience. Also, they tend to apply to students who don’t fall on either extremes of the spectrum. If you are already scoring extremely high or extremely low on the tests, choosing one test over the other shouldn’t make much of a difference to you.

If you want to try some practice tests, check out the official links below.

http://www.actstudent.org/sampletest/ (ACT Sample Test)

http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-practice-test (SAT Sample Test)

If you need more information on where to get authentic practice tests, feel free to contact me

Which ACT book should I buy?

I have been in this situation many, many times myself. I am at the bookstore looking at what seems to be an entire wall of test prep books. Each one I pull from the shelf has a brightly colored cover with phrases like Proven Techniques!, Higher Score Guaranteed!,  or Learn Everything While You Sleep!

The truth is, ACT and SAT is a huge industry, and many companies want to trick innocent high school students into buying their books, so they'll do whatever it takes to get you to spend money on their product. Having been an ACT tutor for years, I have leafed through just about every prep book on the market and here is what I have discovered: Just about every practice test I have seen is a rewritten version of an actual exam offered by the real ACT.


So, save yourself some time and just go with the Real ACT Prep Guide. Consider every other version a Folex: it may look real, but in the end, the screws fall out and you end up wondering why you spent your money in the first place. In redesigning the questions, the counterfeit test writers lose some of the original intent and content that the real ACT writers had originally intended.

If you are interested in additional practice materials, please send an e-mail to ACTsecrets@gmail.com

How many times should I take the ACT?

One of the things that distinguishes the ACT from the SAT is that the ACT allows you the option to take the test up to 12 times and submit your best score.

Nobody in their right mind should take the test 12 times, so how many times should you actually take it?

My suggestion is two to three times. No more, no less. If by the third time, you still aren't reaching your goal score -- even with adequate preparation -- you should cut your losses.

I once had a student so determined to reach his score that he took the test 6 times. I offered him as much help as I could, but even so, his results never improved.

One way to space out the exams is out is to take the test once in the fall of your Junior year, and once in the winter/spring of your Junior year. If you are still unsatisfied, try once more during the beginning of your Senior year. However, if you really want to get the test over with, you can register for back-to-back test dates. The choice is ultimately up to you.

Just a friendly reminder that the deadline for the February 2012 ACT is this Friday!