Ivy League Edge Offers Free Lifetime Use of Readerly App to Beta Testers

Ivy League Edge announced today it is giving away free lifetime access to all Readerly content to the first 500 who try Readerly beta. Readerly is the first app of its kind to help students hone their critical reading skills using an innovative learning method called interactive close reading. By playing Readerly on a smartphone or tablet PC for short bursts every day for a few months, students learn to read with more intellectual rigor, resulting in increased academic performance, as well as improved scores on standardized exams like the SAT, ACT, and GRE.

A player first chooses a Readerly Topic, for example, “Cyborg Vampires Attack!” or “Food, Glorious Food.” Once the player has picked a topic, she reads a series of short passages that become increasingly difficult. The player answers questions about each passage that test basic comprehension then build to more challenging ones.

By answering questions correctly, the player earns points. Earn enough points and the player advances levels—from Rookie to Reader to Scholar, and eventually, to Sage. Like a good tutor, Readerly adapts the questions it presents to the player based on her responses. It guides the player to a deeper understanding of the reading passage and the topic as a whole.

In the first Readerly Topic scenario, the player is a private investigator hired by a corporation that owns an international chain of popular sports restaurants. The corporation recently partnered with a former professional football superstar to open a number of new locations of the restaurant. Not only was the retired star going to serve as the celebrity spokesperson for the chain, he had put up a substantial sum of his own money to help fund the aggressive expansion venture.

In the topic scenario, the former star allegedly commits suicide—but under suspicious circumstances. The player’s mission is to finger a plausible culprit and build a case against the guilty party. The corporation wants to sue the wrongdoer in order to recover the proceeds lost in its investment partnership with the football star. The chief executive has authorized to pay the player triple her usual fee. The CEO wants her to answer as quickly as possible the following question: Who can we hold liable for our losses?

The reading passages that follow are evidence. The player “discusses” all the passages presented with her partner, the Readerly Tutor, in order to develop a deeper understanding of the circumstances surrounding the pro football star’s death. The player’s ultimate goal is to build an airtight case against who she thinks is the most likely perpetrator.

“Unlike standardized exams, which toss random reading passages at test takers,” said Dr. Sean Miller, the game’s designer, “Readerly leverages students’ natural curiosity about the world to empower them to take ownership of their own reading.”

Sign up today at https://readerlyapp.com to try Readerly beta and get free lifetime access to all Readerly content.

About Ivy League Edge

Ivy League Edge is an edtech company that helps high school students get into their first-choice college—and excel academically when they get there. The company makes 2 apps. Foyl, Your College Interview Practice Buddy, is available for free download on the Apple App Store. Readerly is an app that empowers students to dramatically increase their scores on the reading sections of the SAT and ACT. Ivy League Edge also hosts Pop-Crit Portland, a college-readiness summer program that uses popular culture criticism to train teens to read and write with intellectual rigor.