The people behind the ACT and Kaplan Test Prep announced that they will be partnering to provide students with online-only test prep at an affordable cost.

In attempts to provide test prep for all, the new ACT preparation program "will be available for free to low-income students and to all students at a lower cost than traditional test prep programs,” said THEJournal.

Low-income students that are able to register for the ACT with a fee waiver will receive the test prep for free while it will cost less than $200 for other students.

"The new program, ACT Kaplan Online Prep Live, will give students access to live, online, content-based courses taught by experienced teachers who can answer student questions and provide interactive, instructional guidance in real time. The platform will also include recorded sessions that students can access on demand with nearly any device,” said THEJournal.

While other online preparation programs exist for the ACT, they can cost over $1,000. The Kaplan partnership is intended to make preparation materials an option for all students this upcoming fall.

The SAT previously experimented with providing free test prep to students with positive results. College Board, the test’s creator, announced recently that 19 percent fewer students are paying for SAT prep after it partnered with the virtual school Khan Academy.

Certainly, providing affordable and easy access to test preparation materials is a major part of the agenda for test companies moving forward.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

4/19/2016