Hi I’m Sarah Reinecke, a summer reporter at The Bakersfield Californian.

I’m looking into how well ACT/SAT prep courses work in raising students’ test scores. My experience in South Dakota with the ACT was that I took the test and was unhappy with my score. So, I paid about $200, took a 6-week prep course and took the test again. I got the exact same score the second time.

What experiences have you had with this? What are your thoughts on prep courses for these college-entrance exams?
 

larger view

Is that guy really holding a sword? How big is that stone he's got his boot planted on? 

Senior Mark Duerr created this anamorphic (3D) painting for his senior seminar project at Valley Oaks Charter School.

How it works: Like a railroad track running into the distance, the sword plays with depth perception by setting up the inverse of a linear perspective.

The painting is bigger at the top, and gets smaller toward the foreground, so it appears like it's standing up, Duerr said.

It's big. Count the length of the sword: Each red square is 1-foot square.

Duerr spent about two weeks on the project and used acrylic paint and sealed it, so this sword-in-the-stone will be a permanent fixture on the school's loading dock.
 

 - Jeff Nachtigal