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2 Format of the Educational Planning Assessment System…

3 The Explore  Purpose: Help 8 th graders plan for their high school coursework as well as career choices.  Score Range: 1 – 25  Testing Window: September 14-25

4 Subject # of Questions Time English4030 minutes Math3030 minutes Reading3030 minutes Science2830 minutes

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ACT’s College Readiness Benchmarks College Course or Course Area Test EXPLORE Score PLAN Score ACT Score English Comp. English Social Sciences Reading AlgebraMathematics BiologyScience

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9 The Plan  Purpose: Helps students measure their academic development and make plans for remaining high school years and beyond.  Score Range: 1 – 32  Testing Window: September 14-25

10 SubjectNumber of QuestionsTime Allowed English 5030 minutes Math40 40 minutes Reading2520 minutes Science3025 minutes

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ACT’s College Readiness Benchmarks College Course or Course Area Test EXPLORE Score PLAN Score ACT Score English Comp. English Social Sciences Reading AlgebraMathematics BiologyScience

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15 The ACT  Purpose: Assess general educational development and their ability to successfully complete freshmen level college courses  Score Range:  Testing Window: March 9, ACT Administration March 23, ACT Administration Make-up Day March 9-23, ACT Administration window for students with accommodations

16 Test # of Questions Time AllowedContent English75 questions45 minutes Measures standard written English and rhetorical skills. Mathematics60 questions60 minutes Measures mathematical skills students have typically acquired in courses taken up to the beginning of grade 12. Reading40 questions35 minutesMeasures reading comprehension. Science40 questions35 minutes Measures the interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem- solving skills required in the natural sciences.

ACT’s College Readiness Benchmarks College Course or Course Area Test EXPLORE Score PLAN Score ACT Score English Comp. English Social Sciences Reading AlgebraMathematics BiologyScience

18 Structure…

19 The Math Test  There are sixty multiple choice questions in sixty minutes  It’s the mathematics needed for college mathematics courses

20 Math Content 55% 40% of which is pre and elementary algebra Algebra 38% Geometry 7% These questions won’t make or break a score! Trigonometry

21 Math Content 23% 14 Questions Pre-Algebra 17% 10 Questions Elementary Algebra 15% 9 Questions Intermediate Algebra 15% 9 Questions Coordinate Geometry 23% 14 Questions Plane Geometry 7% 4 Questions Trigonometry

22 What do the benchmarks mean? According to the ACT site, a benchmark of 22 on the mathematics section means a student has approximately a 50% chance of earning a B or better and 75% chance of earning a C or better in an equivalent college course.

23 ACT’s College Readiness Benchmarks College Course or Course Area Test EXPLORE Score PLAN Score ACT Score English Comp. English Social Sciences Reading AlgebraMathematics BiologyScience202124

25 Strategies… Before that, we must say something very important! There is no “quick fix” So, think crock pot, not microwave

26 PacingPacing Questions are arranged in order of difficulty Student Strategies

27 Answer the easy questions firstAnswer the easy questions first Don’t forget to mark—in the test booklet—the questions you skip

28 Answer ALL the QuestionsAnswer ALL the Questions There is no penalty for guessing and no penalty for wrong answers! Therefore, guess when all else fails and guess consistently!

29 Read Each Problem CarefullyRead Each Problem Carefully  You don’t necessarily have to use all the information you are given  There are “Cannot be determined from the given information” problems

30 Look for clues in the answer choicesLook for clues in the answer choices  Sometimes just substituting answer choices will yield a correct answer  This strategy is time consuming!

31 Once you’ve determined the answer, pick it…even if you’re not finished working it all the way through. NO NEED TO SHOW ALL WORK!

32 USE FIGURES WISELY! An arc on an angle doesn’t necessarily mean it’s congruent to another angle with an arc.

33 Eliminate obviously wrong answers Or Eliminate any odd ball answers…if three are the same and two different, get rid of the two NARROW YOUR ANSWERS

34 DRAW A PICTURE IF APPROPRIATE Your Method… USE WHATEVER METHOD IS FASTEST AND EASIEST FOR YOU, EVEN IF IT’S ONE YOUR TEACHER DIDN’T USE

35 TWO PART QUESTIONS Be sure to answer both parts Caution … The first answer is likely one of the wrong answers given

36 DON ’ T FORGET … TAKE YOUR CALCULATOR TAKE EXTRA BATTERIES

Get a good night’s sleep! Eat a good breakfast!

Take a shower the morning of the test… Wear a watch

Answer 10 problems, then bubble 10. Answer 10 more problems, then bubble 10 …and so on.

40 ModelingModeling How do successful problem solvers work?

41 Summative Assessment  Use ACT items from the ACT site and The Real ACT Prep Guide on each unit assessment  Label the section ACT Style Questions  Teacher and student monitor progress on each question

42 Integration  Integrate more algebra in geometry  Integrate more science examples while teaching probability and statistics  Science incorporate data interpretation in all units

43 Openers (Bell Ringers) In math it’s not about the answer to the question, rather the process! In science, it’s about “real” practice on data interpretation!

44 Bell ringers  Answer isn’t part of discussion  Focus is on the process only  This isn’t easy for students or teachers  Question(s) does not always have to fit the content  10 minutes or less  Department/school “buy in”  Main strategy and used consistently

45 Teachers familiarize themselves & use the ACT site