Let's get familiar with the navigation and features of Shmoop's newest test prep! We'll call it "Test Prep 4". If you are looking for our FAQ's take a peek here.
Navigation
Next Steps
The Next Steps page shows you relevant links on your Test Prep journey. This page transforms after you finish a series of short exams on each test subject we call Diagnostics.
Before Diagnostics - Just a list of links to the Diagnostics, we don’t know enough about you to recommend much!
After Diagnostics - You’ll see your current scores in each subject at the top, with links for suggested readings to get started.
Diagnostics
For us to recommend where you should focus your time and attention we need a brain scan. But that is both impractical and probably illegal. Instead, we’ve created a series of questions in each subject to check your knowledge.
The Diagnostics page is where you can start a diagnostic exam and see your results in each subject. Once you finish a diagnostic, check out the answer explanations. Some of them even have videos, wow!
Study
The Study page is your home to understand both the subjects covered in the exam and how well you’ve been answering questions relating to that subject. Click into a subject to see the various topics covered in the test. Clicking a topic will lead you to a page that has a list of the various Readings, Videos, and Drills we have for that topic.
You’ll see the Correct-o-meter and the Shmoop Recommends icon throughout these pages to indicate recommended areas of study.
Practice Exams
A practice exam is a series of questions structured nearly the same way as the real test, which is a great way to get a feel for what test day will feel like. Here you can access links to practice exams and your results.
History
This page shows all the places you’ve been in Test Prep, and all the things you’ve seen, but does not list the friends you’ve made along the way. You’ll find a chart showing your progress-over-time in the various subjects, a list of assessments and readings you have completed, videos you’ve watched, and a metrics scoreboard totaling all those things.
Where did everything go?
You’ll notice that certain sections have new names, new locations. Here is a basic list of how things have been updated and modified.
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- New pages and feature
- Next Steps Page (Similar to the old Progress section, this page contains links to diagnostics, topics to get started, and a skills summary.)
- Shmoop Recommends (This was once the Learning status. It has been updated to include a more relevant skill range (top 20 skills under 95%).)
- Correct-o-meter (This new skill chart immediately displays overall vs diagnostic score, and whether this is a recommended skill to work on.)
- Study Page Filters(In the new study pages, you can filter the content by type (readings, drills, and videos), recommended state, etc.)
- Activity History (This has been added to the history page. It bears some similarities to reports, except this includes the history of most behavior (videos watched, assessments finished, readings marked as done).)
- New pages and feature
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- Moved pages and features
- Set Exam Date (This has moved to the top left, just below the navigation.)
- Progress over time (This chart has moved to the history page.)
- Drills (These are listed in the study list pages, as well as a sub-page under Study.)
- Videos (Instead of being their own page, these are now listed in the relevant sections in the study pages, as well as a page with all videos under Study.)
- Moved pages and features
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- Modified pages and features
- Skills Mastery (The content here has been moved to the Study main, study list, and Next Steps pages.)
- Review Topics -> Study Main (Navigation has been moved to the study main and subpages. Also includes correct-o-meter, videos, and relevant drills based on skill tags.)
- Assessment Answers (This page now includes the test passages and clearer links to relevant review topics.)
- Modified pages and features
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- Removed pages and features
- Goals (Since these did little more than list goals, this has been removed.)
- Classmate Leaderboard (This has been removed since it didn’t contribute much to the test preparation experience.)
- To-do List (Much of the Correct-o-meter and Shmoop Recommends functionality has negated the need for the to-do list.)
- Reports Section (This content still exists, but it is now under the assessment type and on the history page.)
- Removed pages and features
If you have any other questions please let us know!