All Georgia high school students will be able to take advantage of the next round of state-sponsored, free online SAT prep classes.

The program opened in the 2005-06 school year available only to students in public high schools.

In the coming school year, students enrolled in home-school programs and accredited private schools located in Georgia also can take the course for free.

The SAT is a nearly four-hour test that serves as key indicator for colleges to gauge how a student will do in college. It measures critical thinking, mathematical reasoning and writing skills.

Most students take the SAT in their junior or senior year of high school.

The decision to expand the program came after state schools Superintendent Kathy Cox heard from parents of students not in public schools who wanted to take advantage of the service.

"These parents know the impact a program like this can have," Cox said.

The program costs the state about $1 million a year to run, said Dana Tofig, spokesman for the Georgia Department of Education.

"There were about 103,000 students who signed on last year, which is about 23 percent of the number of available accounts," Tofig said. "For a first year, that's pretty good and we saw a steady growth in usage throughout the year. However, we'd like to see more students use the program in the coming school year and are confident that more will."

According to state records, 116 Gainesville High School students took the course and 463 from the Hall County school system.

The College Board, which administers the SAT, created the class, which features 18 interactive lessons; six full-length, official practice tests, plus diagnostic pre-tests; more than 600 practice questions; explanations of answers to all questions; automated essay scoring; and personalized score reports for students.

Public-school students can take the online course after they receive a pass code from their guidance counselor or principal's office at the beginning of the 2006-07 school year. Gainesville and Hall County schools start classes Aug. 4.

Students will be able to access the course if they have a pass code from the 2005-2006 school year.

Students from home schools and accredited private schools will be able to request access to the course beginning in mid-July. Access should be available sometime in August.

source: www.gainesvilletimes.com