Is ACT prep really helping?

Typically I am all for using techniques and programs that will help students prepare for their futures. However, the school I am at for my fall teaching internship is using the John Baylor Prep programs, and I am finding, as a teacher in the field, that it would be much more effective if students would take the prep program seriously.

I have heard from the bulk of my students that they don't really try when we do JB Prep. For the month of October, we set aside 3 weeks worth of Thursday/Friday combinations for the ACT preparation program. As a whole, it seems as though the students are burned out on standardized test taking. This is my main issue with the whole thing. It seems like a rather large price to pay for a program that students will do because they are told to and not because they see the value that such programs hold.

After reviewing the program myself, I think that the way John Baylor teaches students to approach the ACT is helpful. He provides tips on taking the test that will help students earn at least a 20 on the ACT. He breaks down the sub tests in a manner that help students better understand how to take the tests and understand the material that they will be tested over.

Overall, this is a great program that my school is choosing to use. The effectiveness, however, will be gauged by how well students perform on the next ACT test they take, which may not be at all for some of my students. If students would take a more serious approach to this preparation, I wouldn't see this as much of an issue. That being said, I think there needs to be a reevaluation of this method's effectiveness before the school renews its license to use this prep system.