Homeschool Review: SpeedyPrep #hsreviews #collegeprep #clepprep

It's been a tough year at our house and I was excited for the opportunity to try out SpeedyPrep and see if we could use it to fill in some gaps that I'm finding in our homeschool journey. Although SpeedyPrep is designed to offer prep work for students that want to take College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams to earn college credit from home before college, it can also be used to help make sure that your kids are learning what they should be learning.  That's how we are using the program right now and it is offering a bit of sanity for this mom's heart.  I don't know if you've ever felt the self-doubts of homeschooling and wondering if you are doing right by your kids, but this year has been one of grand attack on me.  My third child is graduating and my last one is a Sophomore.  Never before have I felt so inadequate.  SpeedyPrep is helping me help my children and I'm secretly hoping that it will help some of their standardized test scores as well.

Now mind you, this isn't an easy "jump on the computer and pass some stuff off" kind of program.  There are 24 different courses to choose from and they are advanced placement work.  It is preparation to pass college level tests so the questions are college level questions.  In a mastery learning approach, students work through digital flashcards of questions.  If they answer correctly, they move right on to the next question.  If they answer incorrectly, the program shows the correct answer.  Students then have an option to watch a video that further explains the question/answer before they proceed.  The videos act as supplements to the information presented in the flashcards so students do not need to know all of the correct answers.  The beauty here is that the flashcards teach you how to learn.


For purposes of review, my son has worked through flashcards in College Composition, Spanish, American Government, College Mathematics, United States History 1, and Western Civilization 1.  Can you tell what subject we like best?  It is not easy work for him (nor is it designed to be), but he is enjoying what he's studying.  Typically, a student should do extensive study in a particular subject before they begin the SpeedyPrep course.    Each subject begins with an Intro that spells out exactly what a student should know before they begin.  The Intro explains what the specific topic includes, what college requirements it fulfills, how many questions are on the CLEP Exam that the SpeedyPrep Course coincides with and how long a student is allowed to take that specific exam, and outlines the exact parameters that the College Board uses for the exam.  It even explains the makeup of the exam so that students are as prepared as possible for the types of questions coming from the discipline itself.

I took Advanced Placement classes in High School and know full well the advantage of being able to CLEP college courses.  I also understand that each college allows for different things to count for credit and am glad to see that SpeedyPrep explains that up front.  It was always strange to me that I received credit for English Composition II instead of English Composition I and that my junior college wouldn't accept my College Algebra CLEP scores but my senior college did.

One of the things that I find important to note is that students are not required to complete a course in one sitting with SpeedyPrep.  The beauty of the design is that you can step away from your work and come back to it as you are ready.  That is great for the crazy lifestyle that we lead.  The progress bar tells you where you are in your actual MASTERY of a subject and that is absolutely PERFECT for accountability.  Students can't just watch videos and consider themselves "done."  They actually have to show that they have learned or know content by answering the flashcard questions correctly more than once.  As a matter of fact, students will need to provide correct answers seven times before they are considered "mastered".  Then (and only then) will the progress bar move.  Don't you just LOVE this?  There is no "lucky guess."  Students will actually know what they know.

My guy is seeing firsthand that college isn't going to be easy, but he's also learning a new way to study.  I am learning myself.  By looking at what is required, I am able to see holes in what we've studied and can make future changes accordingly.  I would suggest that you check it out for your children and see how to make it best benefit you.  How exciting that there is a program designed that will help our kids as they transition to college.

You can find out more information about the SpeedyPrep subscription program by visiting the FAQ page and by visiting the following Social Media pages.  Please do so.

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And one more thing:  SpeedyPrep is now part of the Home School Legal Defense PERX program.  That's a win for us all.

I was given the opportunity to review SpeedyPrep as a member of the Homeschool Review Crew.   You can check out the Crew Review and see what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew thought of this Unit Study and other resources we reviewed (or just click on the banner below.)

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