Inside the Apple: Meet the Mock Squad!

Twenty years after Jed started Applerouth by meeting students in his parents’ garage, the company has a lot more moving parts! In this edition of “Inside the Apple,” I’d like to give you a behind-the-scenes look at some of the people who work incredibly hard to give students a realistic practice test experience with fast results - our Mock Squad!

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Between the two of them, Connor and Jen have worked with over 250 students in their roles as tutors, but their work in the Mock Squad is just as crucial. You may have noticed that we at Applerouth love to have students take mock (aka practice) tests before and during tutoring, and we offer in-person proctored exams in all of our in-person markets as well as online options for all students. The logistics are important to get right, and the Mock Squad’s detail-oriented attitude is what makes these mocks so successful:

With fifty proctors spread across the country and sometimes more than twenty proctored tests running in a given day, it could be tempting to cut corners. But we know that the best way for our students to be ready for test day is to treat each practice test like it’s an official test, which requires a lot of extra time and energy (we may not cut corners, but we do cut hundreds of practice tests out of textbooks each week!). Even our testing experience is based on Jed’s research in educational psychology.

Sometimes families want to plunge right into tutoring without taking the time to take a baseline test. While we understand the urge to get the ball rolling, especially if it feels like everyone else started prepping but you, as Jen explains, taking a baseline practice test will actually save the student (and tutor) time by laying a good foundation:

We believe so strongly that baseline tests are the best way to begin a tutoring package that we’ve made sure to include them in our Complimentary Consultation Package (email your IEC Account Manager for more information). Any student recommended to Applerouth by their IEC can take a proctored mock test for either (or both) the ACT and SAT before they even sit down with a tutor. Our diagnostic score reports help students see where they have room to grow and can even inspire them to get more serious about their test prep efforts.

And mocks serve an important purpose during the tutoring program as well. Periodic practice tests help improve students’ sense of responsibility when signing up for official tests and can also reveal if a student is easily rattled by the seriousness of a testing environment or a noisy neighbor tapping a pencil.

We offer both regular and extended time options for mocks. Jen also pointed out that students struggling with timing on practice tests may signal the need for accommodations in school as well as on standardized tests. If you have a family who’s just starting out on their testing accommodations journey, Applerouth’s Guide to Securing Testing Accommodations is a great resource.

We also have a multitude of options for students who aren’t located in one of our in-person markets or who don’t feel comfortable taking a test in-person at this time. No matter where in the world your student lives, we’ve got them covered:

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If your student is testing using a proctor on Zoom, here are a few tips for making an “at home” mock feel more like gameday:

• Make sure you’re in a room with a reliable internet connection where you can keep the door closed and distractions out.
• Take the test at the same time you’ll have to take the real one; find out how well your brain works at 8 am!
• Keep your desk (yes, you should be sitting at a desk!) clear of everything except your computer, your test booklet, pencils, and calculator (if it’s allowed for that section). Less objects means fewer potential distractions.
• Make sure you eat a good breakfast and have water and snacks on hand for breaks, but avoid sneaking a snack or petting your pup in the middle of a practice test since you won’t be able to do that on gameday.

In anticipation of the move to computer-based testing in a few years, we also have on-demand tests available on our website, no printer required. Ready to get started? Students can sign up and take an ACT or SAT test immediately!