ACT Test Planning Tips for Sanity and Success

Questions for the group... ➔ How many of you have given the ACT before? ➔ How many of you have given the PLAN before? ➔ How many of you have requested ACT accommodations? ➔ Has anybody read the manuals (ACT and STATE)? ➔ How many of you are doing this work SOLO? ➔ How many of you have a “team” to work with?

Topics 1.Preparing to administer: Things to think about 2.Securing dates 3.Accommodations 4.Logistics & Space 5.Preparing students, staff, parents

Preparing to Administer the ACT Things to think about: ★ Follow testing time windows as determined by MDE. ★ Adhere to the strict test security guidelines from MDE; these include things like ○nondisclosure training for staff; ○accounting for secure materials; ○maintaining the Chain of Custody of testing materials; ○verifying student accommodations; ○actively monitoring the testing sessions; ○preventing cheating; ○reporting security breaches; ○avoiding consequences for staff members who mis-administer a test or breach security by providing thorough staff training.

Preparing… ★ Consider Quality and availability of test supervisors (consider experience, full-time vs. part-time, etc) ★ Provide proctor training for sufficient breadth and depth so that no teacher licences are pulled by the State of Minnesota. ★ Administer tests in quietest areas of the building as much as possible (Lower C). ★ Create a building atmosphere that is conducive to testing (quiet, minimal movement in hallways, no bells, no announcements, no fire drills, no noisy construction vehicles, etc.). Also remember these things on your make-up day.

Preparing... ★ Create testing/proctor schedules and room usage that are easy for students to figure out. ★ Match students with known, grade level teachers as much as possible. ★ Offer Student Test Prep session for the Inventory and Test. ★ Disrupt TEACHING and LEARNING time as little as possible. ★ Notify PSEO/DCTC students about Inventory and ACT test. ★ Follow teacher contract in terms of proctor training times, PREP times, and LUNCH times (work with Union Representatives). ★ Consider printing picture Rosters for each testing group

Preparing... ★ Remember length of time the for ACT is 4.5 hours and highly regulated (up to 6 hours or more; and possibly over multiple days for extended time) ★ Decide how to handle LUNCH (open lunch for juniors this year). Tricky for kids with extended time. ★ Remember that Hall Supervisors MUST attend the Proctor Training ★ ACT Minnesota for more information ACT Minnesota

We set aside following dates for : ●INVENTORY Training for ENG 11 Teachers (April 16: sessions before and after school). Give “real” copies of the Inventory, remind teachers to get started right away with giving Inventory as it takes 90+ minutes to complete. ●INVENTORY: (April 20 & 21 in ENG 11 - Super Block week; Science MCA testing those days also) ●INVENTORY Make-up: (April 22, 23, & 24, as needed) ●Student ACT “Need to Know” Training: April 15 during HR : PPT to all 11th graders in Auditorium, and April 20 & 21 during the Inventory - handout at end). Math reviews Mar 18, April 8, April 9 ●ACT TEST Supervisor/Proctor Training: (April 17: sessions before and after school). ●ACT TEST: (April 28) ●ACT Make Up Day: (May 12) Securing Dates Securing dates (and space) EARLY is recommended!

Securing Dates… TESTING CALENDAR Jefferson SUPER BLOCK schedule SUPER BLOCK Rationale

Dealing with Accommodations ●State accommodations CAN be ordered for students who were denied accommodations from the ACT approval process. ACT will NOT send these scores to colleges. Parents need to be notified and approve STATE accommodations. ●Our building Test Accommodations Coordinator processes all students who need accommodations, directly through ACT. IEP’s: (demographics page, assessments page, testing page). Other documentation must be included in some cases - i.e. medical diagnosis, psychological diagnosis. Professional evaluations conducted inside or outside of school, by qualified professional count as documentation. 504 Plans: (copies of each 504 plan). Documentation is required for any medical or psychological diagnoses.

Accommodations… ●Types of accommodations available. Show KC’s sheet for recording accommodations to submit to ACT. Accommodations from ManualAccommodations from Manual ●Anything you are ordering MUST be in the 504 plan or IEP. ●Parents need to sign a release for us to send confidential information for accommodations to ACT; phone verification is permissible ●We have 59 STUDENTS with ACT Accommodations!

LOGISTICS 9th grade:run regular schedule and classes 10th grade:all-day biology field trip 12th grade:senior retreat off campus OPEN LUNCH for 11th graders after TEST; PERIOD 6 run for students in grades 9, 11 & 12

LOGISTICS... ACT ROOM SUPERVISORS ACT FIELD TRIP CHAPERONES ACT HALLWAY PROCTORS ACT TEACHING 9th GRADE 9th Grade Teacher Room Assignments

Preparing your STUDENTS ACT Student Prep Session

Preparing your STAFF ACT Day 9th, 10th, 12th grade Room Supervisor and Proctor Training Instructions for Materials Pick-up *SHOW INVENTORY / TEST BOX

Preparing your PARENTS In early January we sent out a Blackboard Connect (mass ) message with testing dates and ACT and MDE website resources.

The INVENTORY: things we’ve learned... ★ Must be completed before starting test ★ Best to do separate training, specifically for those administering it (US History teachers) ★ Typically takes minutes for students to complete ★ Best to allocate 120 minutes to assure all will finish ★ Good idea to have a transcript for each student ahead of time.

Survey from Room Supervisor Survey after TEST

What are some take-aways from today’s session?

Contacts: Kristin Wetzel, Testing and Chemical Health Deborah Holman, Assistant Principal