Friday, September 2, 2011

Prestwick House Develops New ACT Prep Program Based on Best-Selling Vocabulary Power Plus for the New SAT Series


September 1, 2011, Smyrna, DE — This week, Prestwick House will introduce its first vocabulary series tailored to the needs of ACT students, Vocabulary Power Plus for the ACT.



Based on the same techniques used in Prestwick House’s best-selling Vocabulary Power Plus for the New SAT vocabulary series with over 700,000 copies sold since 2004, Vocabulary Power Plus for the ACT is now available for students in grades 9-12.



“This series is based on both NCTE/IRA scientific research and the ACT itself,” says author, Daniel Reed. “Because of this, teachers will be able to give their students quality ACT test prep while simultaneously adhering to best practices in teaching vocabulary.”



“With the number of vocabulary words students are expected to learn, and the limited amount of time available to teachers in the classroom, it makes sense to create a program that can maximize both student ACT scores and word retention.”



While the ACT exam has been taken by students across all fifty states since 1960, ACT.org reports that the number of students taking the test has grown significantly in the past ten years. In 2010, 27 states reported over 50% of the student population as test-takers.



“With the increased number of students preparing for the ACT test and a lack of ACT-specific vocabulary products on the market, we wanted to make sure that teachers had what they need to help their students excel,” says Prestwick House Brand Manager, Jerry Clark.



“Vocabulary Power Plus for the ACT covers not only vocabulary, but also reading, writing, and grammar in a logically structured format. While skills learned through Vocabulary Power Plus for the ACT are universally useful, the series is specifically tailored for use as preparation for the ACT — something that we think teachers of ACT test-takers will find extremely useful.”



In addition to teaching vocabulary, this series provide students with practice on ACT-style questions and provides effective writing strategies that will prepare them for the ACT writing component.



“We provide ACT-style questions so that exam takers will be familiar with the structure of the language portion of the ACT on the morning they take it. The series helps test takers develop the cautious aggression necessary to succeed on any assessment test, whether ACT or SAT,” explains Reed.
“The ACT writing test is about getting your idea on paper in a short amount of time—not editing or proofreading or rewriting, because there’s very little time (30 minutes) for revision. Developing a rapid writing strategy for use with any topic is essential.”

Along with student workbooks, a teacher’s edition, and multiple versions of test packages, the Vocabulary Power Plus for the New ACT series contains helpful Introduction Presentations and Practice Presentations. Introduction Presentations familiarize students with words at the beginning of each unit and help them grasp shades of meaning by using words in an authentic context. Practice Presentations ensure that students have a firm understanding of new words provides the practice they need to retain them.



Currently, Prestwick House is looking for school partners to test the effectiveness of Vocabulary Power Plus for the ACT on students’ ACT scores. If you are interested in partnering with Prestwick House to try out this new program in exchange for free vocabulary materials, please contact Keith Bergstrom at keith@prestwickhouse.com or (302)-659-2070 x131.



To learn more about Vocabulary Power Plus for the ACT, call (800)-932-4593 or visit www.PrestwickHouse.com.


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