MEK recently launched our ACT Connect program, a brand new course aimed at providing flexibility and expert coaching from the comfort of your own home. With the same teaching team that has worked at MEK for years on ACT prep, we are confident that the program can improve your performance. 

Naturally though, new programs also come with a lack of data and prior evidence of efficacy. We completely understand related concerns and thus, would like to provide you with an objective evaluation of our ACT Connect Program. This case study will take a look at a few of our recent students that are part of the course. We will provide real data and statistics on their performance within the program along with actual results from the ACT. Afterwards, we will also be sharing some of our takeaways that you can utilize when determining which prep program is right for your student. 

Case Study Student #1: Hailey S.

Our first student is Hailey, who’s name has been changed for privacy purposes. Hailey was a brand new student to MEK, with ACT Connect being her first program. She chose to focus on Science and Math with our subject specific package option.

An interesting thing our team noticed right off the bat with Hailey’s performance data was her consistency. For her math section, she came in as a strong performer with a 35 on her first test. While her score varied a little, the overall trend demonstrated a clear strength in math as she maintained scores around the original 35 she obtained. 

For the science section though, Hailey began from a lower baseline. She started with a 29 and 27 on her first two tests.  Throughout the course of her next week and a half with the program, Hailey saw her science scores improve by nearly 7 points, achieving two 36 scores along with multiple 34’s as well! 

Case Study Student #2: Kayla S.

Our second student Kayla, whose name has also been changed for privacy purposes, chose the full package option. Unlike Hailey, Kayla was a previous student with MEK. Thus, we were able to compare both her performance during the program as well as her actual exam performance.

Program Performance Evaluation

To begin, Kayla came into the program with decent scores in most of her subjects aside from English. In her prior ACT Evaluation test at MEK, Kayla scored 24 on English, 28 on Math, 30 on Reading, and 27 on Science, leading to a composite score of 27. 

When it comes to Kayla’s performance on ACT Connect, her scores reflected her prior strengths and weaknesses. For instance on Math, Kayla stayed very stable, hovering around 33 and 34. On Reading, she also stayed very consistent and hit 35 or 36 every single time. Even on Science, Kayla was able to increase her score by about 3 to 4 points, scoring around 30-32 every test. The one key area was Kayla’s prior weakness: English. As stated earlier, Kayla scored 24 on her English evaluation, which was a much lower score than she had hoped for. Through working on the ACT Connect program, Kayla was able to boost her English scores to an average of 34 points, hitting a 36 once and 35 four times along the way. The below graph demonstrates Kayla’s raw scores on each English test she took throughout the program, showing the incremental improvement she saw throughout the class. 

ACT Exam Performance Evaluation

Naturally though, the main goal for any student taking a test prep course is to see improvement on their actual exam. We were fortunate enough that Kayla took the July ACT right after using ACT Connect. Thus, we were able to see the direct impact the program had on her test scores. As stated earlier, Kayla’s original ACT evaluation score was a 27 overall. On the July ACT, Kayla actually was able to achieve an extraordinary 36 on the exam, with section scores of 36 for Math, 35 for Science, 35 for English, and 36 for Reading!

MEK is incredibly proud of Kayla for her incredible achievement and is excited to see how much ACT Connect was able to help her attain her target score. Kayla herself provided some direct feedback to our team, letting us know she was very thankful for the program and that it helped her a lot during her preparation for the exam. 

Takeaways for Parents and Students

ACT Connect was started as a way to provide MEK’s expert coaching to students that need more personalized structure with limited availability. The results from our students confirms that we’ve been able to meet this goal by improving their skills and increasing their scores. This data also allows us to provide better recommendations around the ACT Connect course. 

If you are considering taking an ACT prep class but find that you are stronger in some subjects and want to focus on weaknesses, this program is a fantastic option. By allowing you to customize your plan with different packages, ACT Connect gives you the freedom to focus on what you want.

For students that find themselves struggling with the test in general, ACT Connect can still prove to be a valuable resource in providing well-rounded instruction and practice materials at a self-set pace. However, if time and flexibility is not an issue for you, it could be more worthwhile to consider choosing an in-person ACT course instead. Doing so would allow students to create even better connections with their instructors and receive more personalized instruction.

If you are interested in hearing more about any of our ACT prep options, whether that be ACT Connect or in-person tutoring, please fill out our form here for more information. For any other questions you might have about MEK, give us a call at +1 (855) 346-1410 or contact us today.