Test Prep Success Stories

Background on Gemm’s Cognitive Skills Program

Gemm started using Fast ForWord software in 2006 and noticed how quickly it worked for teenagers.  It took only a few weeks to see dramatic improvements in reading and in grades.  Scientists explained that this was because for teenagers the program automates what they already know, making reading and learning less exhausting and fluid.

Test taking is the same as learning.  It requires good reading skills, efficient processing to work quickly, good short-term memory skills to reduce re-reading, and it requires good attention stamina.  Without a doubt, Fast ForWord improves cognitive skills, and it works fastest of all on teenagers, so Gemm wondered what kind of impact it would have on ACT or SAT test scores.

We soon had our answer…

Gemm’s First Test Prep Student
John was never a great student, but a few years at a private school gave him a good work ethic to overcome his learning and reading difficulties. He went the traditional SAT test prep route in his 11th grade year, including an SAT test prep course through a major chain. He saw a 50-75 point bump from PSAT to SAT but it was not what he needed for the schools he wanted.

Over the summer after his SAT he came to Gemm and did our Fast ForWord based program. He re-took the SAT in the Fall and had a 300 point gain that opened up all kinds of school choices, including his first choice. He and his parents were thrilled.

In addition, John is now an avid reader and is finding college a whole lot easier than he had expected. The gains John enjoyed during his summer with us are enduring and are now helping him in his daily academic life.
Programs for reading

Dramatic Gain for an Above Average Student 
Andrew came to us in 6th grade at about a grade above grade level in reading, putting him in the 60-65th percentile.  But his mother was adamant that his reading was holding him back and that he was capable of more.  She had high aspirations for him, seeking to enter him into an extremely competitive school.

He worked on our cognitive software for about four months. A few months later his mother told us the results of the ISEE that he’d taken — he had scored in the 99th percentile for reading comprehension! Not only that, she made our day by reporting that he was now an avid reader.

The software had corrected his minor glitches and unleashed a powerful intellect that was now performing at his potential.

From Nowhere to Average 
Linda did not enjoy reading and was several grades behind at school — she was reading at a second grade level to be exact! Her PSAT scores, of course, were well below where they needed to be. Her mother considered an SAT tutor but opted for Gemm Learning’s SAT prep online, because she felt that Linda first needed to improve her fundamental learning and reading skills.

The results were dramatic. First she noticed a major improvement in her reading and has become an avid reader. But the SAT test results brought even better news. Her Critical Reading test score went from around 250 to around 550.   This was a life-changing outcome for Linda and her family.