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What it does

Socrato.com is a web-based test preparation and assessment platform. Based in Boston, Socrato’s Beta version includes practice tests for Massachusetts state exams, as well as the U.S. citizenship exam. There are also vocabulary tests for the SAT and GRE, and users can upload their own practice tests or study materials to share publicly or amongst a private group. These ‘study groups’ can be set up by classmates or teachers, or even by school administrators for use across a district. Socrato also features tools for assessing a student’s learning styles, strengths and weaknesses, progress, etc., which can be used by the student or by their parents, teachers, and tutors. Currently, all tests on this site are multiple-choice, true or false, or fill in the blank – essays are not supported.

In their own words

"Socrato is a web-based test preparation and assessment platform. Socrato’s patent pending technology helps users quickly identify their strengths and weaknesses, enabling them to focus on the right areas faster, saving study time. Socrato also allows parents, teachers, and tutors to assist with and track students’ progress so they can help keep students on track… The word Socrato is a play on the name of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates - the creator of the Socratic teaching method and a teacher of another great philosopher, Plato."

Why it might be a killer

Instead of simply providing practice exams, diagnostic tests, and/or study tips like some other test preparation sites, Socrato.com adds features like the personal analysis of a student’s learning patterns, strengths, weaknesses, etc. to help the student and their parents/teachers/tutors to best customize and focus the test preparation process.

Some questions

Will essay tests or questions be supported in the future? Will the tools and materials available on Socrato.com stay free or will the site start charging? According to Socrato’s FAQ section, “We are still studying the business model best suited for our technology and services, so it’s difficult to say.”

Updates


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