1. PSAE: The Intro What is it? How do I prepare?

2. PSAE Basics: What is it? Stands for: Prairie State Achievement Exam It’s 2 days of tests Combines your scores from the ACT (day 1) and WorkKeys (day 2) to determine if you meet the Illinois Standards It’s a Graduation Requirement! It’s a Senior Promotion Requirement!

3. PSAE Basics: When is it? Day 1: ACT – Wed, April 23, 2014 Day 2: Work Keys – Thursday, April 24, 2014

4. PSAE Breakdown DAY 1DAY 2  ACT  English  Math  Reading  Science Measures College Readiness  WorkKeys  Applied Mathematics  Reading for Information  Science Measures Career Readiness Score Range: 1-36

5. PSAE Day 1: ACT ENGLISH  75 Questions  45 minutes  Punctuation, Grammar, Sentence Structure, Style, Organization READING  40 Questions  35 minutes… Pacing is KEY!!  4 Passages (8-9 min per passage)  Main Idea, Vocabulary, Development, Voice, Implied Idea, Explicit Detail, Application MATH  60 Questions  60 minutes  Easy  Hard  Pre-Algebra (14Q), Elementary/Intermediate Algebra (19Q), Geometry (23Q), Trig (4Q) SCIENCE  40 Questions  35 minutes  Interpretation of graphs and charts!!  Data Representation (15Q), Research Summary (18Q), Conflicting Viewpoint (7Q)

6. Let’s talk ACT  Did you know you can take the ACT before April?  Set up an account on www.actstudent.orgwww.actstudent.org  You’re eligible for 2 fee waivers per year

7. Getting ½ of the questions correct is enough to enter many 2 and 4-year Colleges without paying $$ for remedial classes. That’s a score of 18-20! Did you know that getting a score of 13 is the same as choosing one letter all the way through? ACT Facts:

8. ACT Facts: What do IL schools want? U of I at Champaign-Urbana….22 with a strong G.P.A. UIC…. 22 with a strong G.P.A. Chicago State University….18 or higher Northeastern….19 or higher, or top 50% rank Southern Illinois University-Carbondale…18 with a strong G.P.A. NIU….19 with a strong G.P.A.

9. ACT Q: why do I want to go to college? A:

10. 20+ is a great score, but difficult to attain… AHS averages over the past 5 years have ranged from 15.6 -17.0, which is below College Readiness Standards The good news is that with good preparation, you can raise your score! Just getting a few more questions right in each subject will bump your score those extra couple points!

11. Let’s take a 2 nd look.. PSAE Day 1: ACT ENGLISH  75 Questions  45 minutes  Punctuation, Grammar, Sentence Structure, Style, Organization READING  40 Questions  35 minutes… Pacing is KEY!!  4 Passages (8-9 min per passage)  Main Idea, Vocabulary, Development, Voice, Implied Idea, Explicit Detail, Application MATH  60 Questions  60 minutes  Easy  Hard  Pre-Algebra (14Q), Elementary/Intermediate Algebra (19Q), Geometry (23Q), Trig (4Q) SCIENCE  40 Questions  35 minutes  Interpretation of graphs and charts!!  Data Representation (15Q), Research Summary (18Q), Conflicting Viewpoint (7Q)

12. Now for the goods: How to prepare for the ACT Let’s do an exercise together – First I’ll show you how Then you’ll do it on your own – PRIZES will be available to those who complete this very easy assignment! » Yes, I said PRIZES! Step 1: Find a computer during an acceptable time..

13. Step 2: Go to www.whatsnextillinois.orgwww.whatsnextillinois.org

14. Step 3: Sign in Account name: cps######## Password: cps######## DON’T ENTER #s, Enter YOUR OWN ID #! all lower-case!!

15. Step 4: reset your password Make your life easy! Make your new password : cps########

16. Step 5. Enter some personal information…

17. Next steps: 6. Click College planning 7. Click Test Prep

18. 8. Look! Pick one test prep option testGEAR Number 2

19. Example—Number2 Click on ACT Click BEGIN TEST PREP

20. Pick a practice test, any test

21. I’ll pick Pre Algebra..remember there are _?_ pre-algebra Qs on the ACT Pick an answer and Submit

22. No worries if you get it wrong—check out the hint, and try again..

23. Look! They show you how to get the right answer!

24. Print results to show me how you did… ONE practice test on NUMBER 2 OR 5 testGEAR practorials (20 Qs)

25. Questions?

26. Alright, Vikings… Let’s kick some ACT butt! Action steps: – Online prep homework – Create a study plan and start putting it to work – Consider signing up for a National ACT test Need one-on-one guidance…

27. See Mr. Ebrahimi!