IQity OGT Study Guide
by IQity

Free

The OGT Study Guide by IQ-ity is one part of an entire learning management system (LMS) that comes with courses and an interactive whiteboard. It is currently available free to Ohio school districts - which is how this review was obtained. The OGT Study Guide is an online way to prepare students for all five sections of the increasingly important Ohio Graduation Test. It is the main competitor of Study Island, another online tool, and the two programs have some things in common and numerous differences. Once a user sets up an IQ-ity account with a name and password (each student will have a different password), he or she can quickly sign onto the IQ-ity main page. The main page displays directions on how to use the study guide. Links to each of the five subject areas appear on the left of the screen. By clicking on a subject, users get several options: an overview, standards and a practice test. The overview, directed largely at teachers and parents, acknowledges the authors of that particular section and describes their backgrounds. It also explains how the content addresses Ohio’s academic benchmarks and grade-level indicators.

Standards sections are divided into individual lessons – each one aligned with a particular Ohio academic benchmark. Lessons are subdivided into topics. A description of the benchmark and grade-level indicators is included. Quizzes on subjects covered in the topics conclude each lesson. The quizzes incorporate multiple choice, short-answer and extended response questions. Users click on their choice of answers in the multiple choice questions and find out instantly if the answer is correct – and why it is correct. Space is provided for typing the answers to short-answer and extended response questions. Once users hit the submit button for written answers, they are provided a sample correct response that can be used for comparison. Teachers and parents can use a “drop box” feature that is exclusive to IQ-ity to monitor the academic progress of their student or child. Students can elect to mark a question for later review.

Each of the five subject areas covered by the study guide concludes with a model OGT test designed to simulate what students will face with the “real thing.” The model test incorporates most of the questions that are found on the lesson quizzes and should be familiar to astute students.

Another section allows teachers to customize their own version of the study guide and incorporate their own curriculums. A discussion board permits any user to submit comments to the IQ-ity staff.