ACT EXPLORE RESULTS

ONEONTA HIGH SCHOOL8TH GRADE - OCTOBER 2010PRESENTED ON DEC. 14, 2010ACT EXPLORE RESULTSCollege Readiness Begins in Middle SchoolExamine the extent of early exploration and planning in certain college readiness areasSetting educational goalsSelecting classesExploring Postsecondary optionsTaking career assessment and interest inventory

Explore how parents, school staff and school experiences help students with their early educational planningRigorous Curriculum for ALL StudentsNo matter where they are bound:Vocational or Technical CollegesApprenticeshipsCommunity College, or4-year CollegeDirectly into the workforcea rigorous college preparatory curriculum gives students the best options for life after high school.When students skills are improved during middle school, the results by the end of high school can be astoundingMAKING READINESS A REALITYMonitor College Readiness Early

Based on more than 540,000 8th graders whotook EXPLORE in 2007:Majority of students are not on target in middle school to be ready for college-level work after high schoolACT data suggests that students who enter high school lacking prerequisite skills rarely ever catch up4Presenters note: There are 3 different statements. You must click to bring the statement up and click to send it back. On the last statement, the last click will send you to the next slideScriptAs we strive to make college and work readiness a reality, it is important to be able to understand the importance of monitoring and intervening early so that any adjustments and interventions can have a greater impact in a students growth. One recent report, The Forgotten Middle: Improving Readiness for High School looks at 8th graders and identifies an alarming trend..most students are not ready for high school, and therefore are at a disadvantage (without any intervention and monitoring) when it comes to becoming college/work ready.Slide InformationThe slide pretty much covers the information needed for presenters. Make sure to not just leave this slide with a negative feel.there are solutions (EPAS, College Readiness Standards, College Readiness Benchmarks).Again, as a curriculum based assessment, we can definitely determine student proficiency, and how that ties to readiness (both college and high school).The impact of students being ill-prepared for high school has a continuing effect for college readiness. Early intervention and monitoring are necessary for student success.Background- Early intervention (parents 2004, early college planning in LA, CPS, Beaverton): http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/case.hlForgotten Middle Report: http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/ForgottenMiddle.pdfTrapsTraps: Are we blaming? No, not at all! We are just identifying a troubling trend in education. We should not see such reports as a reason to play the blame-game, but instead as an opportunity for the education community to come together and work toward preparing students for college and work success. There are improvements that are needed to be made throughout education (all levels) to ensure that our students have the base they need to succeed, and achieving such a goal can only be done when we all work together, have a clear plan based off of research and hard data, a way to assess progress, and a comment to use the data to make informed decisions at the student, class, building and district levels.0510152025303540EXPLORE8th/9th GradePLAN10th gradeACT11th/12th grade322536Score Scales RelationshipEnglishMathReadingScienceEnglishMathReadingScienceEnglishMathReadingScience Writing55The ACT in its present format was introduced in 1989 on a scale of 1-36. Plan was introduced in 1987 on a scale of 1-32. EXPLORE became fully operational in the early 1990s on a scale of 1-25. We had three tests that measured common skills in a common format, but we had three different score scales. To help educators better track their students academic development, we put PLAN on ACTs score scale and EXPLORE on PLANs score scale. We did not put EXPLORE on ACTs score scale. We can predict a Composite ACT score range from PLAN. We can predict a Composite PLAN score range from EXPLORE. But, we will not predict an ACT score from EXPLORE.See your EXPLORE or PLAN Administrators Manual for more detailed information.

Student Score Report Review

Using Your EXPLORE Results

What do Your Scores Mean?Composite Score15Range(1-25)13EXPLORE takes the # of questions you answered correctly and translates this into a score between 1 and 25The composite score is simply the average of your test scores in English, Math, Reading & ScienceYour Composite score can range from 1-25The subscores tell you how well you did in 2 specific areas of each subject( English and Math) and range from 1-16. These scores are on a different scale than the subject area and composite score and therefore do not add up to equal the subject area score.The percentage listed is the percent of students scoring at or below your score. Or, You scored as high as or higher than __% of other students

Your Estimated PLAN Composite Score RangeYour High School Course PlansCompared to Core

A rigorous college preparatory curriculum in high school is the best indicator of college success. To help students develop proficiency in the four core content areas, ACT strongly recommends that students take, at a minimum:Importance of Rigorous Coursework

English (4 years)English 9English 10English 11English 12Math (3 years+)9 Algebra I10 Geometry11 Algebra II/Trigonometry (1 sem.) Any courses beyond Algebra II 12 Probability and Statistics12 Pre Calculus 12 AP CalculusSocial Studies (3 years+)9 World History10 +11 American History12 American Government12 EconomicsGeographyPsychologyHistory Other (European, State, etc.)

Natural Science (3 years+)9Biology10 Physical Science11 or 12Environmental ScienceGeologyChemistry or (AP)PhysicsAnatomyAP Biology

16To help students develop proficiency in these core content areas, ACT recommends that students take these classes, at a minimum. Students who take rigorous coursework generally score better on the ACT.Your Reported Needs

17You were asked whether or not you needed help in each of 7 different areas. Listed here with check marks next to them are the areas you indicated that you needed help withDo these area of need correspond with the area that you scored lowest in on the test?You should talk to your parents, school counselor and teachers about your need for help in these areas to ensure that you get the additional help you need.Your Plans for After High School

College Readiness Benchmark Scores*The ACT Benchmark Score indicates a 50% chance of obtaining a B or a 75% chance of obtaining a C in corresponding credit-bearing college courses.

19College Readiness Benchmark Scores offer a different (and unrelated) measure of student success on EXPLORE, PLAN, or the ACT than that provided by National norms. Rather than comparing students test scores to that of other students, the Benchmark Scores compare student performance against a measure of college readiness. Students that meet Benchmark Scores are likely on track to be successful in an entry level college course in that subject area (provided students continue with a similar level of commitment to coursework and study habits).

College Readiness Benchmark Scores can be used to help students understand the areas in which they need to improve to be prepared for college-level work.

Benchmark scores offer a common language that can be used to help define college readiness

Can be used to relate state standards to postsecondary expectations

State-specific College Readiness Benchmarks can be identified

Again, empirically derived based on student performance in college coursesCollege Readiness

Students who meet ACTs College Readiness Benchmarks are:substantially more likely to enroll in collegeless likely to need remediationmore likely to achieve a grade of B or higher in specific college coursesMore likely to re-enroll at the same postsecondary institution their second yearRecent ACT Research

Your EXPLORE results give you an early clue as to whether you will be ready for college-level work if you keep doing the same things in school.ACT has also developed College Readiness Benchmark Scores. If you meet these benchmark scores, you are on your way to having the skills you will need by the time you finish high school.The checkmarks show whether you scored above, at, or below the benchmark scores.Students who score at or above the College Readiness Benchmark Scores for EXPLORE in English, math, and science will probably do well in these subjects in high school and college if they keep up with their coursework.Students scoring at or above the reading benchmark are on their way to having the reading skills they will need in all of their high school and college courses.

Thinking about College?EXPLORE Score ReportSide 2

23Visual 13:Points of Emphasis

On Side 2 of your EXPLORE Score Report you will find important information about how you can improve your skills based on your EXPLORE results.

Earlier, we talked about the importance of making high school course plans that will help you develop the skills you need for college-level courses. Your EXPLORE Score Report can give you specific suggestions on how you can improve your skills.

Review Your Answers

Building Your Skills

25The back of your score report describes the skills and knowledge you have already developedListed at the bottom of each section you will see listed the # of questions you answered correctly, the # of questions not answered and the # answered incorrectly. You may ask for your test booklet so that you can see the questions and see what areas you may need helps with.On the right you will find some suggestions for improving your skills.The back of your Score Report describes the skills and knowledge you already probably have.You'll also see some ideas for improving even more in the different subject areas. The suggestions are based on your scores and can help you do better.As a student, You will definitely want to discuss these ideas with your counselors, teachers, and parents so that you can work together to get the most from your courses and be "college ready."How Can I Improve?

www.act.org/standard

EXPLORE 8th-Grade Benchmark = 17

Score Range: 16 19Perform one-operation computation with whole numbers and decimalsSolve problems in one or two steps using whole numbersPerform common conversions (e.g., inches to feet or hours to minutes)

Translating Scores to Skills

28But what do the scores mean in terms of students skills??

Visual representation translating the concept of scores to skills. This attempt is to not focus on words on the targets but to be a visual representation that focus needs to be on skills and not numbers. The objective is to move the students into different ranges which equals the increase of academic skills.

Oneonta High School Scores Oct. 2010Scores are reported by subjects: English, Math, Reading, ScienceScores are compared to the EXPLORE Benchmarks to examine college readiness.This is the first year to administer the EXPLORE, there are no comparative scores to previous years.Although last year it was given as optional and 60 students participated.

ACT EXPLORE 10/2010 English: 77% performed above benchmarkMath: 34% performed above benchmarkReading: 52% performed above benchmarkScience: 13% performed above benchmark30ACT EXPLORE AVG SCORES BENCHMARKSWhen averaging the scores of students above and below benchmarks, the results are more promising!English: Benchmark is 13, average scores showed 4 points above 2 points below.Math: Benchmark is 17, average scores showed 1 point above 3 points below.Reading: Benchmark is 15, average scores showed 3 points above 3 points below.Science: Benchmark is 20, average scores showed 2 points above 3 points below.31ACT EXPLORE AVG SCORES VS BENCHMARKA perfect score on each subtest and composite is 25. The benchmarks are the averages set by ACT. We strive to meet the benchmarks but it does not hurt to look at the maximum score.32

How does our students performance compare with that of students in the national norm group?+1.3+0.2+1.3+0.8+0.6As a school we met all benchmarks in four subjects.When compared to the national performance our scores exceeded by 0.2 to 1.3We are on target with national level, however we should strive to make a greater difference.There are no sufficient data to compare our current scores to previous years or the other schools. 33

Are our students achieving similarly across gender groups?+1.7+0.5+1.2+1.5+1.2Obviously, girls performed better than boys and ranged from 0.5 to 1.7 in all subjects.34

How do our students differ in their career preferences?55% of students had Technical career preferences that take two-year or career tech college to prepare.35% of students had Science/Technology career preferences that take four-year college or more. 35World of Work MapInterest Inventory Results

Using Your EXPLORE Results

Coursework PlanningOn Page 1140Pages 10-11 in your Using Your PLAN Results handbook will assist you with coursework planning. Each career that was shaded has a alphabet that corresponds with it. Circle the alphabet that corresponds on the top row. Next you will circle all of the check marks that are in the column below it.Lastly you will circle the subject areas on the left that have any check marks circled. You will want to meet with your counselor to see what courses your school offers in these subject areas and make sure that you are taking these courses. These are the courses that are most closely related to the career area that you are interested in.

***CAREER AREA OF CHOICE FIRST***Coursework Planner Page 12

41Visual 16:Coursework Planner

In the Its Your Future interpretive guide, you will find a Coursework Planner (page 10) that is designed to help you think about the courses you should take in high school.

Using the Coursework Planner, you can see how the subjects you take in high school are related to specific Career Areas that you will find on the World-of-Work Map. It helps you keep your career preferences in mind as you plan your courses.

It will also help you make sure you are taking challenging, college prep courses as part of your plans. Remember, the more challenging the courses you take, the more likely you will be ready for college-level work once you graduate high school.

www.explorestudent.org

Resources for Parents

www.act.org/http://www.actstudent.org/index.htmlScroll to the bottom of the page and click on parents, you get to this page!

Sample Tests:http://www.actstudent.org/sampletest/index.htmlhttp://www.act.org/aap/pdf/preparing.pdfTips on English, math, reading and science subtests:http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/tips/subtests.htmlTips on Writing portionhttp://www.actstudent.org/testprep/tips/writing.htmlTips on how to prepare for the test:http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/tips/index.htmlThe entire process of testing:http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/taking/procedures.html

ACT Explore important website:49

50ALSDE TESTING PLANACT EXPLORE 8TH 2010NO TESTING9TH2011ACT PLAN10TH 2012ACT 11TH2013Take the ACT as many times as you can to reach your scholarship goal.To review this information , you can find this presentation posted on my website .Go to www.oneontacityschools.comgo to OHSgo to school stafffind my name and go to presentations