INTERPRETIVE GUIDE FOR STUDENT AND SCHOOL REPORTS

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This Interpretive Guide is designed to help youunderstand and effectively use the ACT Plan® StudentScore Reports, Student Score Labels, Student ListReport, Profile Summary Report, Presentation Packet,and Early Intervention Rosters, all of which areprovided as a standard service of the ACT planprogram. Please keep the following cautions in mind:• The validity of conclusions about student groupsdepends, in part, on the accuracy of data reportedby students at the time of testing (gender,race/ethnicity, coursework plans, and other personalinformation), which are not verified by ACT.

• Numerous social, economic, and instructionalfactors are known to contribute to educationalachievement. Relatively few of these factors arerepresented in these reports. Conclusions abouteducational programs or policies at your school,based on student achievement, should be sup -ported by information from additional sources.

• In making decisions or drawing conclusions basedon differences among groups of students, extremecaution must be employed when the number ofstudents in any group is small. ACT urges extremecaution when interpreting summary results forgroups with an N-count of fewer than 25 studentsbecause of the instability associated with data fromsmall samples. This is particularly important whenthe identity of group members can be easilydetermined and confidentiality is likely to bebreached through release of data.

• When sharing ACT Plan results with others, identifythe population represented by the report. Forexample, conclusions regarding your entire classare appropriate only if all, or nearly all, of yourstudents participated in the program, or you havedetermined that those who took the test arerepresentative of the class as a whole.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE ACT PLANPROGRAMACT Plan Tests

ACT Plan includes four multiple-choice tests—English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science—that last30, 40, 20, and 25 minutes, respectively. ACT Planalso collects information about students’ interests,needs, plans, high school course information, andselected background characteristics. A completedescription of the ACT Plan tests and programcomponents is provided in Appendix A, pages 12–16 ofthis Interpretive Guide.

ACT Plan Score ScaleFor each of the four ACT Plan tests, the number of

questions answered correctly is counted to obtain araw score, which is then converted to a scale score.Scale scores for the four tests and the Compositerange from a low of 1 to a high of 32. The two ACTPlan subscores in English (Usage/Mechanics andRhetorical Skills) and Mathematics (Pre-Algebra/Algebra and Geometry) are reported on ascore scale ranging from a low of 1 to a high of 16.

These subscores have been scaled independently fromthe English and Mathematics Test scores, so theirsums will not necessarily equal the correspondingsubject scale scores. Neither are the ACT Plansubscores on the same score scale as the subscoresfor ACT Explore® (the ACT 8th- and 9th-grade test).

ACT Explore and ACT Plan are on a common scale.Although the tests are on a common scale, there are somedifferences. ACT Plan is more difficult than ACT Explore inorder to assess the greater academic development thatmay be expected of 10th graders. This is reflected in thedifferent score ranges of the two test batteries. Themaximum score allowed on ACT Explore is 25, whereasACT Plan testers may score as high as 32. Thisrelationship means that students would be expected toreceive the same score on ACT Explore and ACT Plan ifthey took both test batteries on the same day. Therefore,when you compare students’ ACT Explore scores (mostoften from 8th or 9th grade) to their ACT Plan scores (mostoften from 10th grade), you can interpret an increasedirectly and confidently as academic growth.

To provide maximum continuity, the results for ACT Planand the ACT® College Readiness Assesment are alsoreported on a common score scale with a range of 1–32 forACT Plan and a range of 1–36 for the ACT. Each ACT Plantest score is interpretable as the ACT test score that a studentwould be expected to achieve if that student had takenthe ACT at the time of ACT Plan testing. No relationshipis intended between ACT Plan and ACT subscores.

ACT Plan Test FormsNew ACT Plan forms are equated through special

studies so that ACT Plan scale scores represent the samelevel of achievement regardless of form. Differences indifficulty across forms may result in maximum scale scoreson some tests in some forms of less than 32.

National NormsACT conducts national studies in which the ACT Plan

tests are administered to 10th-grade students in schoolsacross the United States. Data from the study are used tocreate norms for ACT Plan. The norms reported for ACTPlan scores are intended to be nationally representative.Visit ww.act.org/plan/norms for more information onhow torunaway, runaway, runaway use ACT Plan normsto interpret student test scores.

Local comparisons to the national norm group aremost appropriate when ACT Plan is administered underconditions similar to those in the norming study—withall four tests administered in a single session in thestandard order, and students having calculatorsavailable for use on the Mathematics Test.

School Norms ReportingACT routinely prints school norms, or cumulative

percents, on the Student List Report and Student ScoreReports. School norms are printed on the StudentScore Report in the column labeled “In Your School.”

ACT also offers district norms, or cumulativepercents, for ACT Plan. District norms are available onthe district data file.

Student Information

The Student Information Section collects name, gender,birth date, current grade in school, race/ethnicity background,and student identification number. A needs assessmentallows students to identify the amount of help they need ineach of seven areas of academic and career development.The UNIACT Interest Inventory assesses students’preferences for work-related tasks. The High School CourseInformation section collects information about the corecourses students have taken and plan to take.

Supplemental ItemsA Supplemental Item section offers the option of

administering up to twelve locally developed questions tocollect student information of particular interest to yourschool or district. Student responses are summarized inTable 7 of the School Profile Summary Report.

Student Planning GuideEach student who participates in ACT Plan should

receive a planning guide, Using Your ACT PlanResults, which includes an explanation of informationreported on the Student Score Report and activities tohelp students use ACT Plan results in career andcourse planning. For more detailed information aboutthe ACT Plan program and its role in the ACT Collegeand Career Readiness System, please see AppendixA, pages 12–16 of this Interpretive Guide.

ACT PLAN REPORTING PACKAGEStudent Score Report

Two copies of each Student Score Report areprovided. One copy should be distributed to thestudent, along with a copy of the student planningguide. The second copy can be retained for school use.

Student Score LabelsStudent Score Labels are self-adhesive labels to

be affixed to a student’s permanent records. Twocopies of each Student Score Label are provided.Student List Report

A list of tested students shows test scores, nationalcumulative percent, educational plans, career preferences,and estimated ACT Composite score ranges.

Profile Summary ReportA Profile Summary Report is provided for each

school testing at least one student in the scoring batchwith a valid ACT Plan Composite score who testedunder standard time limits.

Presentation PacketThe Presentation Packet summarizes your school’s

ACT Plan results in charts and graphs for easypresentation to groups. It includes three-year trends inyour school’s average ACT Plan scores when threeyears of ACT Plan data are available.

Early Intervention RostersThe Early Intervention Rosters identify students

who qualify under three categories. This informationcan help you to design intervention strategies to assiststudents to reach their academic and career goals.

School Norms. School norms are provided andadded to the ACT Plan Research Data File. All recordsto be included in a norm group must be submitted toACT for scoring at the same time.

Research Data File. Files are delivered on CD inboth fixed-length and comma-separated text formats toprovide flexibility for local use. This service providescomplete ACT Plan data on every student tested inyour school.

Item-Response Summary Report. This reportprovides tables describing the item-by-itemperformance of your ACT Plan examinees. Item-response results are categorized by test (e.g., English),by subscore (e.g., Usage/Mechanics), and by contentarea (e.g., Punctuation) and provide comparisons toother students taking the same test form.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR ACT PLANSTUDENT SCORE REPORTS

Student identification information, needs, and plansand background information shown on the Student ScoreReport are collected on the ACT Plan answer folder usingthe booklet Instructions for Completing Your AnswerFolder. Students who complete the ACT Plan tests receivefour scores, two subscores in English, two subscores inMathematics, and a Composite score. For students whohave a Composite score, ACT reports an estimated ACTComposite Score Range. Additional information isprovided in the ACT Plan Supervisor’s Manual. Dataelements collected during ACT Plan administration(including test item responses) are included in theResearch Data File.

Further information about ACT Plan test scores and national norms is provided in the ACT PlanSupervisor’s Manual and on the ACT website at www.act.org/plan/norms and www.act.org/plan/pdf/PlanTechnicalManual.pdf. The planning guide,Using Your ACT Plan Results, also providesexplanations and suggestions for using ACT Planresults. ACT has also developed College ReadinessStandards, descriptions of the knowledge and skillsassociated with ACT Plan scores. The CollegeReadiness Standards for ACT Plan are presented onpages 5–10 of this Interpretive Guide.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR ACT PLAN STUDENT LIST REPORT

How did our students perform on the ACT Plantests compared to other students nationally? What aretheir self-reported educational and career plans?

The ACT Plan Student List Report lists all testedstudents in alphabetical order by last name. For eachstudent listed, the roster shows the student identificationnumber, student-reported post–high school educationalplans, student-reported preliminary career preferences,and the student’s estimated ACT Composite score range.

Scale scores and national cumulative percents areprovided for each test score and subscore.

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UNDERSTANDING YOUR PROFILESUMMARY REPORTTables 1a, 1b, and 1c. How do the ACT Plan scores andsubscores of our students compare with those of otherstudents nationally? Are our students On Track to becollege ready when they graduate from high school?

Table 1a provides your local mean and standarddeviation, as well as the distribution of scores for eachtest and the Composite score. Table 1b reports localand national results for English and Mathematicssubscores. You can compare your local results tonational cumulative percents, means, and standarddeviations to determine how your students performedrelative to a nationally representative sample ofstudents. Local cumulative percents are based on testscores available from the scoring batch, except thosewith invalid Composite scores and those achievedunder extended time.

Table 1c reports both the local and nationalpercentages of students that fall within each of theCollege Readiness Standards score ranges and thepercentage of students who are on track to be collegeready when they graduate from high school.

Table 2. Do our students’ ACT Plan scores differ byethnic and gender groups?

This table reports your local mean scores bygender and racial/ethnic background, as reported bystudents on their ACT Plan answer folders, as well asthe percentage of students planning to take a college-preparatory core curriculum. Keep in mind thatsummary results for groups with fewer than 25 studentsshould be interpreted with caution because of theinstability associated with data from small samples.

Table 3. How do our students’ ACT Plan scores relateto the courses they have taken or are currently taking?

This table summarizes students’ self-reportedcoursework taken or currently taking and students’ ACTPlan test scores. Table 3 also contains ACT Planscores for students who are on track for taking theACT-recommended college core coursework versusthose who are not.

Table 4. How do our students’ ACT Plan Compositescores and coursework plans relate to theireducational plans?

This table summarizes students’ self-reportededucational plans after high school, their coursework plans,and their ACT Plan Composite scores. Results include thenumber (frequency) and percentage of your students whoselected each educational level. The table also shows thepercentage of students selecting each educational levelwho also reported plans to complete a college-preparatorycore curriculum in high school, and their average ACT PlanComposite scores. National ACT Plan Composite scorequartiles are reported for all levels. While student plans

may be preliminary, this table provides an overview of yourstudents’ aspirations and understanding of educationalplanning.

Table 5. How do our students’ ACT Plan Compositescores and coursework plans relate to their expressedneeds for help?

This table summarizes your students’ self-reportedneeds for assistance in seven academic and careerareas. Percentages are based on the total number ofstudents responding. The table also shows thepercentage of students by need area who also reportedplans to complete a college-preparatory corecurriculum and their average ACT Plan Compositescore. National ACT Plan Composite score quartilesare also reported for need areas.

Tables 6a and 6b. How do our students’ ACT PlanComposite scores, coursework plans, andpostsecondary plans relate to their career preferencesfrom the Career Area List? How do our students’ ACTPlan Composite scores, coursework plans, andpostsecondary plans relate to their career clusters from the World-of-Work Map?

Table 6a provides information about your students’preferences for occupations in 26 general career areasand six career clusters. The information about careerpreferences comes from students’ answers to Question 9in the Student Information Section of ACT Plan.

Table 6b provides information about your students’interests in six career clusters, based on theirresponses to the Interest Inventory.

Tables 6a and 6b also show the followinginformation for each career area and career cluster,based on your students who have a preferencefor/interest in the career area: 1) the percentage of your students who are planning to complete a college-preparatory core curriculum, 2) your students’educational plans, and 3) your students’ average ACTPlan Composite scores. (For detailed informationabout the World-of-Work Map and the ACT InterestInventory, please see Appendix B, page 17 of thisInterpretive Guide.)

Table 7. How did our students respond to the localsupplemental items in block V?

This table is provided only if you indicated on yourSchool Header that you administered locally developedsupplemental items. Up to twelve items, each with upto five response options (A–E), can be studied.

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Note: National normative data are based on students who took all four academic testswithin standard time limits as part of a nationalstudy. Visit www.act.org/plan/norms for furtherinformation about the national norming sample.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR PRESENTATION PACKET

Your Presentation Packet includes full-page, black-and-white graphics (charts) describing your ACTPlan summary results. The charts are based on localstudents with valid Composite scores who tested understandard time limits.

Keep in mind that results for groups with fewer than25 students should be interpreted with caution becauseof the instability associated with data from smallsamples.

The packet includes the following charts:

Chart 1. How does our students’ performancecompare with that of students in the national normgroup? This chart compares the achievement ofstudents in your schools with that of studentsnationwide by subject area and Composite scores.

Chart 2. Are our students achieving similarlyacross racial/ethnic backgrounds? This chart includesyour local ACT Plan means by race/ethnicitybackgrounds.

Chart 3. Are our students achieving similarlyacross gender groups? This chart includes your localACT Plan means by gender group.

Charts 4a through 4e. How do our students’scores relate to the courses they have taken or arecurrently taking? Charts 4a through 4d provide ACTPlan means and percentages for course sequencesthat your students have taken or are currently taking.Chart 4e provides ACT Plan means and percentagesfor students who intend to take the ACT-recommendedcollege core coursework versus those who do not.

Chart 5. How do our students differ in their careerpreferences? This chart shows the percentages of yourstudents who indicated a preference for one of sixpossible career areas by their plans to attend either atwo-year or a four-year college.

Chart 6. What percentage of our students reportedneeding help in particular areas? This chart shows thepercentages of your students who indicated a need forhelp in up to seven possible areas.

Chart 7. Is the academic achievement of ourstudents for the past three years improving comparedto that of the national norm group? This chart providesyour local mean ACT Plan scores for the most recentthree years, compared to the current ACT Plan nationalnorms.

Chart 8. Are our students adequately preparingthemselves to be successful? This chart provides yourACT Plan means by planned college core courseworkfor the most recent three years.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR EARLYINTERVENTION ROSTERS

Early Intervention Rosters include lists of studentsfrom your school who qualify under three possiblecategories. The three rosters include the following:

Roster 1. Early Identification. Which of ourstudents reported that they do not plan to finish highschool or have no post–high school educationalplans? Students in this category are listedalphabetically by name with their ACT Plan scores,their coursework plans, and their educational plans.

Roster 2a and 2b. Coursework Intervention.Which of our students earned a ACT Plan Compositescore of 16 or higher, but reported that they have noplans to attend college? Which of our students reportedthat they plan to attend college, but earned a ACT PlanComposite score of 15 or lower, or do not plan to takecollege core coursework? Students are listedalphabetically by name with their ACT Plan scores, theircoursework plans, and their educational plans.

Roster 3. Need For Assistance. Which of our students expressed a need for help in one or more areas? Students in this category are listedalphabetically by name with their ACT Plan scores andselected area(s) for which they indicated needing help.

COLLEGE READINESS STANDARDSFOR ACT PLAN

You just received the Student and School Reportsfor ACT Plan, and you may be wondering what the testresults really mean. In other words, what do the testscores on ACT Plan tell you about what students arelikely to know and to be able to do?

To help answer these questions, ACT providesinformation in the form of College ReadinessStandards. The Standards describe the types of skillsand knowledge typically demonstrated by students whoscore in particular score ranges on each test of ACTPlan. The comments about a student’s academicachievement on the Student Score Report are basedon these Standards.

What Are College Readiness Standards?College Readiness Standards are sets of

statements that represent widely held learning goals orexpectations of what students have learned up to10th grade that are important for success in high schooland beyond. The Standards show how students’ skillscan progress, becoming increasingly sophisticated fromscore range to score range. As you review theStandards on pages 7–10, you will note that theyaddress all four academic areas measured in ACT Plan:English, mathematics, reading, and science. Standardsare provided for five score ranges along the ACT Planscore scale (13–15, 16–19, 20–23, 24–27, and 28–32).

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If students in your school obtain a score between 1 and12, they are most likely beginning to develop theknowledge and skills described in the 13–15 scorerange for that particular ACT Plan test.

Why Are College Readiness Standards Needed?The purpose of the Standards is to help high

school counselors, classroom teachers, andadministrators, as well as students and their parents, tobetter understand how the scores relate to the kinds ofskills needed for success in high school and beyond.

ACT Plan is a curriculum-based assessment, whichmeans that it measures what students can do with whatthey have learned. ACT Plan is designed to measurestudents’ development of knowledge and skills in thesame four academic areas as ACT Explore and theACT (ACT’s 8th-/9th- and 11th-/12th-grade assessments,respectively). The knowledge and skills measured bythese assessments differ in sophistication andcomplexity from grade 8 to grade 12. So, the Standardsserve as a direct link between what students havelearned and what is being taught in the classroom.

How Should the College and Career ReadinessStandards Be Interpreted and Used?

The Standards provide a list of statements thatdescribe what students are likely to know and to be ableto do if they score in specific score ranges. TheStandards are cumulative, which means that if studentsscore, for example, in the 16–19 range on the EnglishTest, they are likely to demonstrate most or all of theskills and understandings in the 13–15 and 16–19 scoreranges. Students can use the Standards to help selectcourses to take in high school based on the types ofknowledge and skills they will need to develop to beprepared for the future.

Because no one test form measures all of theknowledge and skills included in any particular Standard,the Standards must be interpreted as skills andknowledge that most students who score in a particularscore range are likely to be able to demonstrate. Sincethere were very few items in the lowest range that wereanswered by 80% or more of the students, the Standardsin this range should be interpreted cautiously. Studentswho obtain scaled scores of 12 or below are in theprocess of developing the knowledge and skills describedin the 13–15 score range, but they may not as yet be ableto demonstrate consistent achievement of them.

It is important to remember that ACT Plan does notmeasure everything students have learned in middleschool/junior high and high school, nor does any particularform of this test measure everything necessary forstudents to know to be successful in high school. ACT Planincludes a wide range of knowledge and skills that hasbeen judged to be important for success in high school andbeyond. So, the College and Career Readiness Standardsshould be interpreted in a responsible way and be usedtogether with other information about students’ knowledgeand skills to better understand what they will need to besuccessful in high school and beyond.

COLLEGE READINESS BENCHMARKSCORES

ACT has identified scores for each of the four ACTPlan tests—English, Mathematics, Reading, andScience—that indicate students’ probable readiness forcollege-level work by the time they graduate from highschool. Below is a set of benchmark scores forstudents who take ACT Plan in grade 10 (see table).This information can be used to help students improvetheir academic readiness for college-level work.

Tenth-grade students now scoring at or above theACT Plan English benchmark score (15) are likely ontrack to develop the skills necessary to succeed in acollege English composition course; 10th-gradestudents scoring at or above the ACT PlanMathematics benchmark score (19) similarly are likelyon track to develop the skills necessary to succeed inan entry-level college algebra course; and 10th-gradestudents scoring at or above the ACT Plan Readingbenchmark score (18) are likely on track to develop theskills necessary to succeed in college social sciencecourses. Tenth-grade students scoring at or above theACT Plan Science benchmark score (20) are likely ontrack to develop the skills necessary to succeed in anintroductory college-level biology course. Thispredictability assumes the student will continue todemonstrate the same level of academic achievementthat has been exhibited up to this point. CollegeReadiness Benchmark Scores are also available forACT Explore and the ACT.

College Readiness Benchmark Scores are basedon the actual performance of ACT-tested students infirst-year college courses (English Composition,College Algebra, Social Science courses, and CollegeBiology). ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scoreswere established to correspond to a 50 percentlikelihood that students attaining these scores wouldachieve a grade of B or better in these courses. Then, ACT Explore College Readiness BenchmarkScores were identified at grades 8 and 9, and ACTPlan College Readiness Benchmark Scores wereidentified at grade 10, that reflected a strong likelihoodthat students would meet the ACT benchmark scoresby the time they graduated from high school.

TESTACT PLAN

BENCHMARK SCORE

Grade 10

English 15

Mathematics 19

Reading 18

Science 20

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College and Career Readiness Standards for ACT PlanCollege and Career Readiness Standards — English

ScoreRange

Topic Development inTerms of Purpose andFocus

Organization, Unity, andCoherence

Word Choice in Terms ofStyle, Tone, Clarity, andEconomy

Sentence Structure andFormation Conventions of Usage

Conventions ofPunctuation

13–15 Use conjunctive adverbs orphrases to show time relationships in simple narrative essays (e.g., then,this time)

Revise sentences to correctawkward and confusingarrangements of sentenceelements

Revise vague nouns and pronouns that create obviouslogic problems

Use conjunctions or punctuation to join simpleclauses

Revise shifts in verb tensebetween simple clauses in asentence or between simpleadjoining sentences

Solve such basic grammaticalproblems as how to form thepast and past participle ofirregular but commonly usedverbs and how to form comparative and superlativeadjectives

Delete commas that createbasic sense problems (e.g., between verb and directobject)

16–19 Identify the basic purpose orrole of a specified phrase orsentence

Delete a clause or sentencebecause it is obviously irrelevant to the essay

Select the most logical placeto add a sentence in a paragraph

Delete obviously synonymousand wordy material in a sentence

Revise expressions that deviate from the style of anessay

Determine the need for punctuation and conjunctionsto avoid awkward-sounding sentence fragments and fusedsentences

Decide the appropriate verbtense and voice by considering the meaning ofthe entire sentence

Solve such grammatical problems as whether to usean adverb or adjective form,how to ensure straightforwardsubject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement, and which preposition to use in simplecontexts

Recognize and use the appropriate word in frequentlyconfused pairs such as thereand their, past and passed,and led and lead

Provide appropriate punctuation in straightforwardsituations (e.g., items in aseries)

Delete commas that disturbthe sentence flow (e.g., between modifier andmodified element)

20–23 Identify the central idea ormain topic of a straightforwardpiece of writing

Determine relevancy whenpresented with a variety ofsentence-level details

Use conjunctive adverbs orphrases to express straightforward logical relationships (e.g., first, afterward, in response)

Decide the most logical placeto add a sentence in an essay

Add a sentence that introduces a simple paragraph

Delete redundant materialwhen information is repeatedin different parts of speech(e.g., “alarmingly startled”)

Use the word or phrase mostconsistent with the style andtone of a fairly straightforwardessay

Determine the clearest andmost logical conjunction tolink clauses

Recognize and correctmarked disturbances of sentence flow and structure(e.g., participial phrase fragments, missing or incorrect relative pronouns,dangling or misplaced modifiers)

Use idiomatically appropriateprepositions, especially incombination with verbs (e.g., long for, appeal to)

Ensure that a verb agreeswith its subject when there issome text between the two

Use commas to set off simpleparenthetical phrases

Delete unnecessary commaswhen an incorrect reading ofthe sentence suggests apause that should be punctuated (e.g., betweenverb and direct object clause)

24–27 Identify the focus of a simpleessay, applying that knowledge to add a sentencethat sharpens that focus or todetermine if an essay has meta specified goal

Delete material primarilybecause it disturbs the flowand development of the paragraph

Add a sentence to accomplisha fairly straightforward purpose such as illustrating agiven statement

Determine the need for conjunctive adverbs or phrases to create subtle logical connections betweensentences (e.g., therefore,however, in addition)

Rearrange the sentences in a fairly uncomplicated paragraph for the sake oflogic

Add a sentence to introduceor conclude the essay or toprovide a transition betweenparagraphs when the essay isfairly straightforward

Revise a phrase that is redundant in terms of themeaning and logic of theentire sentence

Identify and correct ambiguous pronoun references

Use the word or phrase mostappropriate in terms of thecontent of the sentence andtone of the essay

Revise to avoid faulty placement of phrases andfaulty coordination and subordination of clauses insentences with subtle structural problems

Maintain consistent verbtense and pronoun person onthe basis of the precedingclause or sentence

Ensure that a pronoun agreeswith its antecedent when thetwo occur in separate clausesor sentences

Identify the correct past andpast participle forms of irregular and infrequentlyused verbs and form present-perfect verbs by usinghave rather than of

Use punctuation to set offcomplex parenthetical phrases

Recognize and delete unnecessary commas basedon a careful reading of a complicated sentence (e.g., between the elements of a compound subject orcompound verb joined byand )

Use apostrophes to indicatesimple possessive nouns

Recognize inappropriate usesof colons and semicolons

28–32 Apply an awareness of thefocus and purpose of a fairlyinvolved essay to determinethe rhetorical effect and suitability of an existingphrase or sentence, or todetermine the need to deleteplausible but irrelevant material

Add a sentence to accomplisha subtle rhetorical purposesuch as to emphasize, to addsupporting detail, or toexpress meaning throughconnotation

Make sophisticated distinctions concerning thelogical use of conjunctiveadverbs or phrases, particularly when signaling ashift between paragraphs

Rearrange sentences toimprove the logic and coherence of a complex paragraph

Add a sentence to introduceor conclude a fairly complexparagraph

Correct redundant materialthat involves sophisticatedvocabulary and soundsacceptable as conversationalEnglish (e.g., “an aestheticviewpoint” versus “the outlookof an aesthetic viewpoint”)

Correct vague and wordy orclumsy and confusing writingcontaining sophisticated language

Use sentence-combiningtechniques, effectively avoiding problematic commasplices, run-on sentences,and sentence fragments,especially in sentences containing compound subjectsor verbs

Maintain a consistent and logical use of verb tense andpronoun person on the basisof information in the paragraph or essay as awhole

Correctly use reflexive pronouns, the possessive pronouns its and your, andthe relative pronouns who andwhom

Ensure that a verb agreeswith its subject in unusual situations (e.g., when the subject-verb order is invertedor when the subject is anindefinite pronoun)

Use commas to set off anonessential/nonrestrictiveappositive or clause

Deal with multiple punctuationproblems (e.g., compoundsentences containing unnecessary commas andphrases that may or may notbe parenthetical)

Use an apostrophe to showpossession, especially withirregular plural nouns

Use a semicolon to indicate arelationship between closelyrelated independent clauses

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College and Career Readiness Standards — Mathematics

ScoreRange

Basic Operations &Applications

Probability, Statistics,& Data Analysis

Numbers: Concepts &Properties

Expressions,Equations, &Inequalities

GraphicalRepresentations

Properties of PlaneFigures Measurement

13–15 Perform one-operationcomputation with wholenumbers and decimals

Solve problems in one ortwo steps using wholenumbers

Perform common conversions (e.g., inchesto feet or hours to minutes)

Calculate the average ofa list of positive wholenumbers

Perform a single computation using information from a tableor chart

Recognize equivalent fractions and fractions inlowest terms

Exhibit knowledge ofbasic expressions (e.g., identify an expression for a total asb + g)

Solve equations in theform x + a = b, where aand b are whole numbersor decimals

Identify the location of apoint with a positive coordinate on the numberline

Estimate or calculate thelength of a line segmentbased on other lengthsgiven on a geometric figure

16–19 Solve routine one-step arithmetic problems(using whole numbers,fractions, and decimals)such as single-step percent

Solve some routine two-step arithmetic problems

Calculate the average ofa list of numbers

Calculate the average,given the number of datavalues and the sum ofthe data values

Read tables and graphs

Perform computations ondata from tables andgraphs

Use the relationshipbetween the probability ofan event and the probability of its complement

Recognize one-digit factors of a number

Identify a digit’s placevalue

Substitute whole numbers for unknownquantities to evaluateexpressions

Solve one-step equationshaving integer or decimalanswers

Combine like terms (e.g., 2x + 5x )

Locate points on thenumber line and in thefirst quadrant

Exhibit some knowledgeof the angles associatedwith parallel lines

Compute the perimeter ofpolygons when all sidelengths are given

Compute the area of rectangles when wholenumber dimensions aregiven

20–23 Solve routine two-step orthree-step arithmeticproblems involving concepts such as rateand proportion, taxadded, percentage off,and computing with agiven average

Calculate the missingdata value, given theaverage and all data values but one

Translate from one representation of data toanother (e.g., a bar graph to a circle graph)

Determine the probabilityof a simple event

Exhibit knowledge of simple counting techniques

Exhibit knowledge of elementary number concepts including rounding, the ordering ofdecimals, pattern identification, absolutevalue, primes, and greatest common factor

Evaluate algebraicexpressions by substituting integers forunknown quantities

Add and subtract simplealgebraic expressions

Solve routine first-degreeequations

Perform straightforwardword-to-symbol translations

Multiply two binomials

Locate points in the coordinate plane

Comprehend the conceptof length on the numberline

Exhibit knowledge ofslope

Find the measure of anangle using properties ofparallel lines

Exhibit knowledge ofbasic angle propertiesand special sums ofangle measures (e.g., 90°, 180°, and 360°)

Compute the area andperimeter of triangles andrectangles in simpleproblems

Use geometric formulaswhen all necessary information is given

24–27 Solve multistep arithmeticproblems that involveplanning or convertingunits of measure (e.g., feet per second tomiles per hour)

Calculate the average,given the frequencycounts of all the data values

Manipulate data fromtables and graphs

Compute straightforwardprobabilities for commonsituations

Use Venn diagrams incounting

Find and use the leastcommon multiple

Order fractions

Work with numerical factors

Work with scientific notation

Work with squares andsquare roots of numbers

Work problems involvingpositive integer exponents

Work with cubes andcube roots of numbers

Determine when anexpression is undefined

Solve real-world problems using first-degree equations

Write expressions, equations, or inequalitieswith a single variable forcommon pre-algebra settings (e.g., rate anddistance problems andproblems that can besolved by using proportions)

Identify solutions to simplequadratic equations

Add, subtract, and multiply polynomials

Factor simple quadratics(e.g., the difference ofsquares and perfectsquare trinomials)

Solve first-degreeinequalities that do notrequire reversing theinequality sign

Identify the graph of a linear inequality on thenumber line

Determine the slope of aline from points or equations

Match linear graphs withtheir equations

Find the midpoint of aline segment

Use several angle properties to find anunknown angle measure

Recognize Pythagoreantriples

Use properties of isosceles triangles

Compute the area of triangles and rectangleswhen one or more additional simple stepsare required

Compute the area andcircumference of circlesafter identifying necessary information

Compute the perimeter of simple composite geometric figures withunknown side lengths

28–32 Solve word problemscontaining several rates,proportions, or percentages

Calculate or use aweighted average

Interpret and use information from figures,tables, and graphs

Apply counting techniques

Compute a probabilitywhen the event and/orsample space are notgiven or obvious

Apply number propertiesinvolving prime factorization

Apply number propertiesinvolving even/odd numbers and factors/multiples

Apply number propertiesinvolving positive/negative numbers

Apply rules of exponents

Manipulate expressionsand equations

Write expressions, equations, and inequalities for commonalgebra settings

Solve linear inequalitiesthat require reversing theinequality sign

Solve absolute valueequations

Solve quadratic equations

Find solutions to systemsof linear equations

Interpret and use information from graphsin the coordinate plane

Match number linegraphs with solution setsof linear inequalities

Use the distance formula

Use properties of paralleland perpendicular linesto determine an equationof a line or coordinates ofa point

Apply properties of 30°-60°-90°, 45°-45°-90°,similar, and congruent triangles

Use the Pythagorean theorem

Use relationships involving area, perimeter, and volume ofgeometric figures to compute another measure

9

Uncomplicated Literary Narratives refers to excerpts from essays, short stories, and novels thattend to use simple language and structure, have a clear purpose and a familiar style, presentstraightforward interactions between characters, and employ only a limited number of literarydevices such as metaphor, simile, or hyperbole.

More Challenging Literary Narratives refers to excerpts from essays, short stories, and novelsthat tend to make moderate use of figurative language, have a more intricate structure and messages conveyed with some subtlety, and may feature somewhat complex interactions betweencharacters.

Complex Literary Narratives refers to excerpts from essays, short stories, and novels that tend tomake generous use of ambiguous language and literary devices, feature complex and subtle interactions between characters, often contain challenging context-dependent vocabulary, and typically contain messages and/or meanings that are not explicit but are embedded in the passage.

Uncomplicated Informational Passages refers to materials that tend to contain a limited amountof data, address basic concepts using familiar language and conventional organizational patterns,have a clear purpose, and are written to be accessible.

More Challenging Informational Passages refers to materials that tend to present concepts thatare not always stated explicitly and that are accompanied or illustrated by more—and moredetailed—supporting data, include some difficult context-dependent words, and are written in asomewhat more demanding and less accessible style.

Complex Informational Passages refers to materials that tend to include a sizable amount ofdata, present difficult concepts that are embedded (not explicit) in the text, use demanding wordsand phrases whose meaning must be determined from context, and are likely to include intricateexplanations of processes or events.

Descriptions of the Plan Reading Passages

College and Career Readiness Standards — Reading

ScoreRange

Main Ideas and Author'sApproach Supporting Details

Sequential, Comparative, andCause-Effect Relationships Meanings of Words

Generalizations andConclusions

13–15 Recognize a clear intent of an authoror narrator in uncomplicated literarynarratives

Locate basic facts (e.g., names,dates, events) clearly stated in apassage

Determine when (e.g., first, last,before, after) or if an event occurredin uncomplicated passages

Recognize clear cause-effect relationships described within a single sentence in a passage

Understand the implication of afamiliar word or phrase and of simpledescriptive language

Draw simple generalizations andconclusions about the main characters in uncomplicated literarynarratives

16–19 Identify a clear main idea or purposeof straightforward paragraphs inuncomplicated literary narratives

Locate simple details at the sentence and paragraph level inuncomplicated passages

Recognize a clear function of a partof an uncomplicated passage

Identify relationships between maincharacters in uncomplicated literarynarratives

Recognize clear cause-effect relationships within a single paragraph in uncomplicated literarynarratives

Use context to understand basic figurative language

Draw simple generalizations andconclusions about people, ideas,and so on in uncomplicated passages

20–23 Infer the main idea or purpose ofstraightforward paragraphs inuncomplicated literary narratives

Understand the overall approachtaken by an author or narrator (e.g., point of view, kinds of evidenceused) in uncomplicated passages

Locate important details in uncomplicated passages

Make simple inferences about howdetails are used in passages

Order simple sequences of events inuncomplicated literary narratives

Identify clear relationships betweenpeople, ideas, and so on in uncomplicated passages

Identify clear cause-effect relationships in uncomplicated passages

Use context to determine the appropriate meaning of some figurative and nonfigurative words,phrases, and statements in uncomplicated passages

Draw generalizations and conclusions about people, ideas,and so on in uncomplicated passages

Draw simple generalizations andconclusions using details that support the main points of morechallenging passages

24–27 Identify a clear main idea or purposeof any paragraph or paragraphs inuncomplicated passages

Infer the main idea or purpose ofstraightforward paragraphs in morechallenging passages

Summarize basic events and ideasin more challenging passages

Understand the overall approachtaken by an author or narrator (e.g., point of view, kinds of evidenceused) in more challenging passages

Locate important details in morechallenging passages

Locate and interpret minor or subtlystated details in uncomplicated passages

Discern which details, though theymay appear in different sectionsthroughout a passage, supportimportant points in more challengingpassages

Order sequences of events inuncomplicated passages

Understand relationships betweenpeople, ideas, and so on in uncomplicated passages

Identify clear relationships betweencharacters, ideas, and so on in morechallenging literary narratives

Understand implied or subtly statedcause-effect relationships in uncomplicated passages

Identify clear cause-effect relationships in more challengingpassages

Use context to determine the appropriate meaning of virtually anyword, phrase, or statement inuncomplicated passages

Use context to determine the appropriate meaning of some figurative and nonfigurative words,phrases, and statements in morechallenging passages

Draw subtle generalizations andconclusions about characters, ideas,and so on in uncomplicated literarynarratives

Draw generalizations and conclusions about people, ideas,and so on in more challenging passages

28–32 Infer the main idea or purpose ofmore challenging passages or theirparagraphs

Summarize events and ideas in virtually any passage

Understand the overall approachtaken by an author or narrator (e.g., point of view, kinds of evidenceused) in virtually any passage

Locate and interpret minor or subtlystated details in more challengingpassages

Use details from different sections ofsome complex informational passages to support a specific pointor argument

Order sequences of events in morechallenging passages

Understand the dynamics betweenpeople, ideas, and so on in morechallenging passages

Understand implied or subtly statedcause-effect relationships in morechallenging passages

Determine the appropriate meaningof words, phrases, or statementsfrom figurative or somewhat technical contexts

Use information from one or moresections of a more challenging passage to draw generalizations andconclusions about people, ideas,and so on

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College and Career Readiness Standards — Science

ScoreRange Interpretation of Data Scientific Investigation

Evaluation of Models, Inferences, and ExperimentalResults

13–15 Select a single piece of data (numerical or nonnumerical) froma simple data presentation (e.g., a table or graph with two orthree variables; a food web diagram)

Identify basic features of a table, graph, or diagram (e.g., headings, units of measurement, axis labels)

16–19 Select two or more pieces of data from a simple data presentation

Understand basic scientific terminology

Find basic information in a brief body of text

Determine how the value of one variable changes as the valueof another variable changes in a simple data presentation

Understand the methods and tools used in a simple experiment

20–23 Select data from a complex data presentation (e.g., a table orgraph with more than three variables; a phase diagram)

Compare or combine data from a simple data presentation(e.g., order or sum data from a table)

Translate information into a table, graph, or diagram

Understand the methods and tools used in a moderately complex experiment

Understand a simple experimental design

Identify a control in an experiment

Identify similarities and differences between experiments

Select a simple hypothesis, prediction, or conclusion that issupported by a data presentation or a model

Identify key issues or assumptions in a model

24–27 Compare or combine data from two or more simple data presentations (e.g., categorize data from a table using a scalefrom another table)

Compare or combine data from a complex data presentation

Interpolate between data points in a table or graph

Determine how the value of one variable changes as the valueof another variable changes in a complex data presentation

Identify and/or use a simple (e.g., linear) mathematical relationship between data

Analyze given information when presented with new, simpleinformation

Understand the methods and tools used in a complex experiment

Understand a complex experimental design

Predict the results of an additional trial or measurement in anexperiment

Determine the experimental conditions that would producespecified results

Select a simple hypothesis, prediction, or conclusion that issupported by two or more data presentations or models

Determine whether given information supports or contradicts asimple hypothesis or conclusion, and why

Identify strengths and weaknesses in one or more models

Identify similarities and differences between models

Determine which model(s) is(are) supported or weakened bynew information

Select a data presentation or a model that supports or contradicts a hypothesis, prediction, or conclusion

28–32 Compare or combine data from a simple data presentation withdata from a complex data presentation

Identify and/or use a complex (e.g., nonlinear) mathematicalrelationship between data

Extrapolate from data points in a table or graph

Determine the hypothesis for an experiment

Identify an alternate method for testing a hypothesis

Select a complex hypothesis, prediction, or conclusion that issupported by a data presentation or model

Determine whether new information supports or weakens amodel, and why

Use new information to make a prediction based on a model

Science College and Career Readiness Standards are measured in the context of science topics students encounter in science courses.These topics may include:

Life Science/Biology Physical Science/Chemistry, Physics Earth & Space Science

• Animal behavior • Atomic structure • Earthquakes and volcanoes• Animal development and growth • Chemical bonding, equations, nomenclature, reactions • Earth’s atmosphere• Body systems • Electrical circuits • Earth’s resources• Cell structure and processes • Elements, compounds, mixtures • Fossils and geological time• Ecology • Force and motions • Geochemical cycles• Evolution • Gravitation • Groundwater• Genetics • Heat and work • Lakes, rivers, oceans• Homeostasis • Kinetic and potential energy • Mass movements• Life cycles • Magnetism • Plate tectonics• Molecular basis of heredity • Momentum • Rocks, minerals• Origin of life • The Periodic Table • Solar system• Photosynthesis • Properties of solutions • Stars, galaxies, and the universe• Plant development, growth, structure • Sound and light • Water cycle• Populations • States, classes, and properties of matter • Weather and climate• Taxonomy • Waves • Weathering and erosion

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GLOSSARY OF TERMSAbbreviations— (dash) Data not availableAlg Pre-Algebra/AlgebraCOMP Composite score—the

average of the four Plan testscores

CP Cumulative PercentEng EnglishFor Lang Foreign LanguageFreq FrequenciesGeom GeometryL or Local School, district, or other group

for which data is reportedMath MathematicsN (Roster) National norm groupN (Summary Report) Number of studentsNA Information not availableNat Sci Natural SciencesNat’l National norm groupRead ReadingRhet Skills Rhetorical SkillsSci Science SD Standard deviationSoc Std Social StudiesTotal N Total number of examinees

in groupU/M Usage/Mechanics

GENERAL TERMSCore: A typical college-preparatory curriculumincluding a minimum number of years of study in thesubject areas listed below. Similar preparation may behelpful to students entering other training orpreparation programs after high school.

• English—4 years or more• Mathematics—3 years or more• Social Studies—3 years or more• Natural Sciences—3 years or more

STATISTICAL TERMSMean (Average): The arithmetical sum of a set ofscores divided by the total number of scores.

N, N-Count: Number of students. Typically, this refersto the number of student records on which a particulartable or data element is based.

Percent: The number of students who gave a certainresponse, or who obtained a certain scale score,divided by the total number of students, multiplied by 100.

Cumulative Percent (CP): A number used to describethe standing of an individual relative to a defined group.If an examinee with a score of 16 has a CP of 73, itmeans that 73% of the examinees in the norm groupreceived a score of 16 or lower, or that the studentscored the same as or better than 73% of the studentsin the norm group.

Standard Deviation (SD): The amount of variability(spread) of scores present in a specified group. Thegreater the spread in scores, the larger the standarddeviation.

Scale Scores: Scores equated across test forms toadjust for differences in test difficulty and to ensurecomparability of scores across different forms of theACT Plan tests. An examinee’s raw score is obtainedby counting the number of items he/she answeredcorrectly. The raw score is then converted to a scalescore.

The ACT Plan ProgramThe ACT Plan® program is a curriculum-based,

nationally normed assessment program designed tohelp 10th-grade students explore the world ofpossibilities open to them, make the most of theiropportunities in high school and beyond, and guidethem as they start thinking about future educationaland career planning. Like all the assessment programsoffered by ACT, ACT Plan is based on the belief thatyoung people—and their parents, teachers, counselors,and school administrators—will make more productiveplans and decisions if they have organized, relevantinformation available when they need it most.

ACT Plan assesses academic progress, providesan early indicator of college readiness, helps studentsunderstand and explore the wide range of careeroptions open to them, and assists them in enhancing ahigh school coursework plan that prepares them toachieve their post-high school goals. ACT Planfunctions as an independent program or as themidpoint measure of academic progress in the series oflongitudinal assessments that constitute a componentof the ACT College and Career Readiness System.

The ACT Plan tests are normed for 10th-grade andfall 11th-grade students who complete the tests understandardized conditions.

ACT Plan and the ACT College and CareerReadiness System

The ACT College and Career Readiness System ofintegrated assessment programs is designed to helpyou improve students’ readiness for college. The ACT

College and Career Readiness System providesinformation about students’ academic progress,interests, and career plans at key transition points intheir journey to graduation. The ACT College andCareer Readiness System longitudinal assessmentdata enable you to systematically monitor individualand group performance of students over time andevaluate the effectiveness of your curriculum andinstruction.

ACT Plan is the midpoint of the three curriculum-based longitudinal testing programs that constitute acomponent of the ACT College Readiness System.Each program measures knowledge and skills in thesame four core content areas: English, mathematics,reading, and science. • ACT Explore®, for 8th and 9th graders, providesbaseline academic information for students at ornear the entry point into high school. Exploreinformation can be used to help ensure thatstudents select high school courses that willprepare them for college.

• ACT Plan, for 10th graders, provides a midpointreview of academic progress in high school whilethere is still time to make any necessaryinterventions to keep students on track toward theireducational and career goals.

• The ACT® college readiness assessment,typically taken in 11th or 12th grade, measuresacademic readiness to make successful transitionsto college. Figure 1 shows the relationship amongthe components of these three programs.

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COMPONENT GRADES 8/9 GRADE 10 GRADES 11/12

Career andEducationalPlanning

ACT Explore:Course TakingInterest InventoryNeeds Assessment

ACT Plan:Course TakingInterest InventoryNeeds Assessment

The ACT:Course Taking andGradesInterest InventoryNeeds Assessment

ObjectiveAssessments

ACT Explore:EnglishMathematicsReadingScience

ACT Plan:EnglishMathematicsReadingScience

The ACT:EnglishMathematicsReadingScienceWriting (optional)

InstructionalSupport

Connecting CollegeReadiness Standardsto the Classroom

College ReadinessStandards

Connecting CollegeReadiness Standardsto the Classroom

College ReadinessStandards

Connecting CollegeReadiness Standardsto the Classroom

College ReadinessStandards

Evaluation Summary ReportsACT Explore/ACT PlanLinkage Report

Summary ReportsACT Explore/ACT PlanLinkage ReportACT Plan/ACT LinkageReport

Summary ReportsACT Plan/ACT LinkageReport

Figure 1. ACT Explore, ACT Plan, and the ACT Components

APPENDIX A

These three longitudinal assessments supportattainment of college readiness standards for allstudents. With 75 percent of today’s high schoolgraduates enrolling in college within two years ofgraduation, and the fact that the skills needed in theworkplace are very similar to those needed to succeedin college, it is imperative that students leave highschool academically prepared for college. ACTresearch confirms that if students take rigorous collegepreparatory courses, they are more likely to be readyfor college-level academic work and to need fewer non-credit developmental courses. Students who useinformation from ACT’s three longitudinal assessmentsof the ACT College and Career Readiness System intheir educational planning are more likely to developthe knowledge and skills needed for success in lifeafter high school.

Integrating ACT Plan With the ACTThe experience of taking the ACT Plan tests,

combined with the selection of rigorous high schoolcourses, will help students perform their best whenthey take the ACT. For those students who will go fromhigh school to a vocational school or directly into acareer, ACT Plan provides information that will beuseful in the selection of courses to be taken in theirjunior and senior years in preparation for their career ofchoice.

ACT Plan and the ACT have a common purpose—to support students at key decision points in theiracademic preparation and planning. The programsencourage students to plan and act for their goals anddreams—thus increasing their chances of succeedingin life. ACT Plan and the ACT also provide informationhelpful to educators guiding students through theseimportant educational and career decisions.

ACT Plan and the ACT have a commonpurpose—to support students at key decisionpoints in their academic preparation andplanning.

The English, Mathematics, Reading, and Sciencetests in ACT Explore, ACT Plan, and the ACTprograms are designed with developmentallyarticulated test specifications, ensuring that the contentmeasured follows a logical developmental sequenceacross the high school experience. The programs alsoshare common item formats and follow consistentreporting procedures.

Additionally, ACT Plan and the ACT share acommon set of noncognitive components: • a career interest inventory • biographical data • a student needs assessment • high school course information

Despite having different upper score ranges, ACTPlan, with a range of 1–32, and the ACT, with a rangeof 1–36, are on approximately the same score scale.

This allows comparison of a student’s scores on thetwo assessment programs. A score increase from ACTPlan to the ACT can be interpreted as academicdevelopment within the limitations of measurementerror. When including results from ACT Explore testingof 8th- or 9th-grade students, a comprehensivemeasurement of academic development is visible.

Using ACT Explore, ACT Plan, and the ACT withthe same group of students enables a school or districtto measure and report students’ academicachievement over time and gives students solidinformation to make decisions for the future.

Tests of Educational DevelopmentACT Plan contains four tests—English,

Mathematics, Reading, and Science (see Figure 2 onpage 14). These tests are designed to measurestudents’ curriculum-related knowledge and thecomplex cognitive skills important for future educationand careers. ACT Plan results provide students withinformation that can help them begin making plans forbeyond high school.

The fundamental idea underlying the developmentand use of these tests is that the best way to determinehow well prepared students are for further educationand for work is to measure as directly as possible theknowledge and skills needed in those settings.

ACT conducted a detailed analysis of three sourcesof information to determine which knowledge and skillswould be measured by ACT Plan: objectives forinstruction in grades 7 through 12 (for all states withpublished objectives), textbooks on state-approved listsfor courses in grades 7 through 12, and input fromeducators regarding the knowledge and skills taught ingrades 7 through 12 that are prerequisite to successfulperformance in high school and later years. Informationfrom these sources helped to define a scope andsequence for each of the areas measured by ACT Plan.

ACT periodically conducts the ACT NationalCurriculum Survey® to ensure the continuedappropriateness of the content on ACT Explore, ACTPlan, and the ACT tests. In 2009, for example, ACT • reviewed state educational standards from all 49 states that had published such standards;

• surveyed 31,000 middle school/junior high and high school teachers and 24,062 postsecondaryentry-level-course faculty; and

• summarized the findings in Content ValidityEvidence in Support of ACT’s EducationalAchievement Tests: ACT National CurriculumSurvey 2009, published by ACT in 2009. The studyis the only one of its kind in the United States. Itsresults have a direct and significant impact on thedevelopment of the tests in ACT Explore, ACTPlan, and the ACT. This publication is alsoavailable as a PDF file by logging on towww.act.org, selecting Research and Policy, andlocating National Curriculum Survey.

13

The ACT Plan tests are designed to be developmentally and conceptually linked to those of ACTExplore and the ACT. To reflect that continuity, names of the tests (English, Mathematics, Reading, andScience) are the same across the three programs. The programs are similar in their focus on higher-orderthinking skills and in their common curriculum base. Specifications for the ACT Plan program are consistentwith, and should be seen as logical precursors to, the content and skills measured in the ACT.

Figure 2. ACT Plan Tests at a Glance

ENGLISH TEST (50 items, 30 minutes testing time)CONTENT/SKILLS NUMBER COVERED BY TEST OF ITEMS Usage/Mechanics 30Punctuation 7Grammar and Usage 9Sentence Structure 14

Rhetorical Skills 20Strategy 6Organization 7Style 7

TOTAL 50

MATHEMATICS TEST(40 items, 40 minutes testing time)CONTENT/SKILLS NUMBER COVERED BY TEST OF ITEMSPre-Algebra/Algebra 22Pre-Algebra 14Elementary Algebra 8

Geometry 18Coordinate Geometry 7Plane Geometry 11

TOTAL 40

READING TEST(25 items, 20 minutes testing time)CONTENT/SKILLS NUMBER COVERED BY TEST OF ITEMSProse Fiction 8Humanities 9Social Sciences 8TOTAL 25

SCIENCE TEST(30 items, 25 minutes testing time)CONTENT/SKILLS NUMBER COVERED BY TEST OF ITEMSData Representation 10Research Summaries 14Conflicting Viewpoints 6TOTAL 30

Note: Four content areas (Earth/Space Sciences,Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) are representedin the Science Test. The content areas aredistributed over the different formats in such away that at least one unit, and no more than two units, represent each content area.

Total number of Plan test items = 145 Total testing time for four tests = 115 minutes

14

Other Key ACT Plan Components• Estimated ACT Composite Score Range—estimated range within which a student may beexpected to score when taking the ACT in the fallof the senior year

• Needs Assessment—highlights students’ perceivedneeds for help

• High School Course/Grade Information—helpsevaluate course-taking patterns in light ofrecommended core

• UNIACT Interest Inventory—helps students explorepersonally relevant career options

• Educational Opportunity Service (EOS)—linksstudents with relevant college and scholarshipinformation based on ACT Plan information

English TestThe ACT Plan English Test measures the student’s

understanding of the conventions of standard writtenEnglish (punctuation, grammar and usage, andsentence structure) and of rhetorical skills (strategy,organization, and style). The test stresses the analysisof the kinds of prose that students are required to readand write in most early high school programs, ratherthan the rote recall of rules of grammar. The testconsists of four essays, or passages, eachaccompanied by a number of multiple-choice testitems. Different passage types are employed to providea variety of rhetorical situations.

Some items refer to underlined portions of the textby offering several alternatives to the portionunderlined. The student must decide which choice ismost appropriate in the context of the passage. Someitems ask about an underlined portion, a section of thetext, or the passage as a whole. The student mustdecide which alternative best answers the questionposed. Many items offer as one alternative response“NO CHANGE” from the text.

Two subscores are reported for this test,Usage/Mechanics and Rhetorical Skills.

The six elements of effective writing included in theEnglish Test are described below.

USAGE/MECHANICS Punctuation: Knowledge of the conventions of

internal and end-of-sentence punctuation, withemphasis on the relationship of punctuation to meaning(e.g., avoiding ambiguity, identifying appositives).

Grammar and Usage: Understanding ofagreement between subject and verb, betweenpronoun and antecedent, and between modifiers andthe words modified; verb formation; pronoun case;formation of compar ative and superlative adjectivesand adverbs; and idiomatic usage.

Sentence Structure: Understanding ofrelationships between and among clauses, placementof modifiers, and shifts in construction.

RHETORICAL SKILLSStrategy: Ability to develop a given topic by

choosing expressions appropriate to an essay’saudience and purpose; judging the effect of adding,revising, or deleting supporting material; and judgingthe relevance of statements in context.

Organization: Ability to organize ideas and tomake decisions about cohesion devices: openings,transitions, and closings.

Style: Ability to select precise and appropriatewords and images, to maintain the level of style andtone in an essay, to manage sentence elements forrhetorical effectiveness, and to avoid ambiguouspronoun references, wordiness, and redundancy.

Mathematics TestThe ACT Plan Mathematics Test measures the

student’s level of mathematical achievement. Itemphasizes quantitative reasoning rather thanmemorization of formulas or computational skills. Inparticular, it emphasizes the ability to solve practicalquantitative problems that require skills encountered inmany first- and second-year high school courses (pre-algebra, first-year algebra, and plane geometry). Whilesome material from second-year courses is included onthe test, most items, including the geometry items,emphasize content presented before the second yearof high school.

The items included in the Mathematics Test coverfour cognitive domains: knowledge and skills, directapplication, understanding concepts, and integratingconceptual understanding.

“Knowledge and skills” items require the studentto use one or more facts, definitions, formulas, orprocedures to solve problems that are presented inpurely mathematical terms.

“Direct application” items require the student touse one or more facts, definitions, formulas, orprocedures to solve straightforward problems that areset in real-world situations.

“Understanding concepts” items test thestudent’s depth of understanding of major concepts byrequiring reasoning from a concept to reach aninference or a conclusion.

“Integrating conceptual understanding” itemstest the student’s ability to achieve an integratedunderstanding of two or more major concepts so as tosolve nonroutine problems.

Students are permitted but not required to usecalculators when taking this test. If they do so, theyshould use the calculator they are most familiar with.All of the problems can be solved without a calculator.See the ACT Plan Supervisor’s Manual for specificlimitations on calculators.

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The items in the Mathematics Test are classifiedaccording to four content categories:

Pre-Algebra: Operations using whole numbers,decimals, fractions, and integers; place value; squareroots and approximations; the concept of exponents;scientific notation; factors; ratio, proportion, andpercent; linear equations in one variable; absolutevalue and ordering numbers by value; elementarycounting techniques and simple probability; datacollection, representation, and interpretation; andunderstanding simple descriptive statistics.

Elementary Algebra: Properties of exponents andsquare roots; evaluation of algebraic expressionsthrough substitution; simplification of algebraicexpressions; addition, subtraction, and multiplication ofpolynomials; factorization of polynomials; and solvingquadratic equations by factoring.

Coordinate Geometry: Graphing and the relationsbetween equations and graphs, including points andlines; graphing inequalities; slope; parallel andperpendicular lines; distance; and midpoints.

Plane Geometry: Properties and relations of planefigures, including angles and relations amongperpendicular and parallel lines; properties of circles,triangles, rectangles, parallelograms, and trapezoids;transformations; and volume.

Two subscores are reported for this test: Pre-Algebra/Algebra, based on the Pre-Algebra andElementary Algebra items; and Geometry, based onthe Coordinate Geometry and Plane Geometry items.

Reading TestThe ACT Plan Reading Test measures the

student’s level of reading comprehension. The testquestions ask students to derive meaning from threereading passages by (1) referring to what is explicitlystated and (2) reasoning to determine impliedmeanings. Specifically, questions ask students to usereferring and reasoning skills to determine main ideas;locate and interpret significant details; understandsequences of events; make comparisons; comprehendcause-effect relationships; determine the meaning ofcontext-dependent words, phrases, and statements;draw generalizations; and analyze the author’s ornarrator’s voice and method. Each passage ispreceded by a heading that identifies what type ofpassage it is (for example, “Prose Fiction”), names theauthor, and may include a brief note that helps inunderstanding the passage. Each passage, whoselines are numbered for reference, is followed by severalmultiple-choice test items. The test focuses on thekinds of skills readers must use in studying writtenmaterials across a range of subject areas, rather thanon information from outside the passage, rote recall offacts, isolated vocabulary items, or rules of formal logic.

The test includes prose passages that arerepresentative of the kinds of texts commonlyencountered in early high school curricula.

Prose Fiction: Short stories or excerpts from shortstories or novels.

Humanities: Excerpts from memoirs and personalessays, and from works on architecture, art, dance,ethics, film, language, literary criticism, music,philosophy, radio, religion, television, and theater.

Social Sciences: Excerpts from works onanthropology, archaeology, biography, business,economics, education, geography, history, politicalscience, psychology, and sociology.

Science TestThe ACT Plan Science Test measures scientific

reasoning skills acquired in general introductorycourses in the natural sciences. The test presents five sets of scientific information, each followed by anumber of multiple-choice test items. The scientificinformation is conveyed in one of three differentformats: data representation (graphs, tables, and otherschematic forms), research summaries (descriptions ofseveral related experiments), or conflicting viewpoints(expressions of several related hypotheses or viewsthat are inconsistent with one another). The itemsrequire students to recognize and understand the basicfeatures of, and concepts related to, the providedinformation; to examine critically the relationshipsbetween the information provided and the conclusionsdrawn or hypotheses developed; and to generalizefrom given information to gain new information, drawconclusions, or make predictions.

The Science Test is based on the type of contenttypically covered in early high school science courses.Materials are drawn from biology, chemistry, theEarth/space sciences, and physics. Advancedknowledge in these subjects is not required, butbackground knowledge that is typically covered in earlyhigh school general science courses is needed toanswer some of the questions. The test emphasizesscientific reasoning skills over recall of scientificcontent, skill in mathematics, or skill in reading.Students are not permitted to use calculators on theScience Test.

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APPENDIX BCareer Exploration with ACT Plan

Most students in high school are in the early stagesof career development. If they have career goals theyare often vague or unrealistic. Without a broad set ofwork-related life experiences, how can students beginthe process of making informed career plans?

Administration of ACT Plan typically includes theACT Interest Inventory. This inventory is intended foruse by persons who are in the early stages of careerplanning or re-planning. The primary purpose of theinventory is to stimulate and facilitate exploration of selfin relation to careers and provide a focus to careerexploration. The focus is not on a single “right”occupation, but rather a range of options that studentsmay want to explore. In the process of exploration, theymay discover things about themselves, as well aseducational and occupational options, that they had notpreviously considered.

To facilitate career exploration, ACT InterestInventory results are reported on the ACT Plan StudentScore Report. The inventory assesses six types ofinterests paralleling the six occupational and interesttypes in Holland’s (1997) well-known theory of careers.The inventory contains 12 items for each of six scalesand uses a three-choice response format (like, dislike,indifferent). Items emphasize work-relevant activities(e.g., build a picture frame, conduct a meeting, helpsettle an argument between friends) that are likely tobe familiar to individuals, either through participation orobservation. Scale titles, corresponding Holland type(in parentheses), and example activities, are:

Science & Technology (Investigative):Investigating and attempting to understand phenomenain the natural sciences through reading, research, anddiscussion.

Arts (Artistic): Expressing oneself through activitiessuch as painting, designing, singing, dancing, andwriting; artistic appreciation of such activities (e.g.,listening to music).

Social Service (Social): Helping, enlightening, orserving others through activities such as teaching,counseling, and working in service-orientedorganizations.

Administration & Sales (Enterprising):Persuading, influencing, directing, or motivating othersthrough activities such as sales, supervision, andaspects of business management.

Business Operations (Conventional): Developingand/or maintaining accurate and orderly files, records,etc.; designing and/or following systematic proceduresfor performing business activities.

Technical (Realistic):Working with tools,instruments, and mechanical or electrical equipment.Activities include designing, building, repairingmachinery, and raising crops/animals.

Scores by themselves are of little use to students incareer exploration—a bridge to occupational options isneeded. The ACT World-of-Work Map (Figure 3)provides a simple yet comprehensive overview of theworld of work, as well as a visual means for linkingACT Interest Inventory scores to occupational options.Rather than mapping specific occupations, the World-of-Work Map maps 26 “career areas” (groups of relatedoccupations). The career areas have easily understoodtitles (Marketing & Sales, Construction & Maintenance,etc.) drawn from the work world, and occupations in acareer area share similar work tasks, work settings,and purpose of work. The use of career areas isparticularly important in the early stages of careerplanning. Groups of similar occupations can beconsidered before zeroing in on specific occupations.The 26 career areas are organized into 12 map“regions” to facilitate career exploration.

The compass points on the map are basic worktasks: working with data, ideas, people, and things (seeFigure 4). The map shows locations of the 26 careerareas in terms of their involvement with these fourbasic work tasks. Extensive research shows that twodimensions, data/ideas and people/things, underlieboth occupations and interests (ACT, 2009). Thismeans that interest inventory results can be expressedas preferences for data, ideas, people, and things—and can thus be visually represented on the map,permitting students to see occupations in line with theirinterests.

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Figure 3. World-of-Work Map

The location of a career area on the Map shows how much it involves working with DATA,IDEAS, PEOPLE, and THINGS. Although each career area is shown as a single point, theoccupations in a career area vary in their locations. Most occupations, however, are located near the point shown for the career area.

World-of-Work Map

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All occupations involve some work with data, ideas, things, and people. The examples listed abovewere chosen with an emphasis on the primary purpose or focus of the job activities. For example, ascientist may work with data, but the primary purpose is not to produce or handle data, rather it is tocreate or apply scientific knowledge. Likewise, an accountant may work with ideas, but the ultimategoal is not to create ideas, rather it is to organize, record, and verify data in a systematic manner.

Figure 4. Definitions of the Data/Ideas and Things/People Work Task Dimensions

DATA/IDEAS DIMENSION THINGS/PEOPLE DIMENSION

Data (facts, records, files, numbers).“Data activities” involve impersonalprocesses such as recording, verifying,transmitting, and organizing facts ordata representing goods and services.Purchasing agents, accountants, and airtraffic controllers work mainly with data.

Things (machines, mechanisms, materials, tools, physical and biologicalprocesses). “Things activities” involvenon-personal processes such as producing, transporting, servicing, andrepairing. Bricklayers, farmers, and engineers work mainly with things.

Ideas (abstractions, theories, knowledge, insights). “Ideas activities”involve intrapersonal processes such asdiscovering, interpreting, and creatingnew ways of expressing something—for example, with words, equations, or music. Scientists, musicians, andphilosophers work mainly with ideas.

People (no alternative terms). “Peopleactivities” involve interpersonal processes such as helping, informing, servicing, persuading, entertaining,motivating, and directing—in general,producing a change in human behavior.Teachers, salespersons, and nurses workmainly with people.

ACT Plan Student Score ReportThe Your Career Possibilities section of the student

score report guides students through a series of stepsto identify their career-related interests, andencourages them to follow-up with career exploration atwww.planstudent.org. Students are encouraged toconsider both measured interests (via ACT InterestInventory results) and expressed interests (a CareerArea chosen by the student when they completed theiranswer folder).

Your Career Possibilities

The first two steps in Your Career Possibilitiesdescribe the map and introduce the results of the ACTInterest Inventory. If the student completed the ACTInterest Inventory the results are expressed as regionsof the World-of-Work Map. To clarify the nature of eachcareer area, example occupations are listed in theCareer Area List. In addition, the career areas in linewith the student’s measured and expressed interestsare shaded on the Career Area List. The last step inYour Career Possibilities directs students towww.planstudent.org, featuring information on over550 occupations organized by career area. In sum, theinformation on the student score report is designed tohelp students focus their career exploration onpersonally relevant possibilities by exploringoccupations in career areas that align with theirinterests.

Information for Counselors

As noted earlier, the six scores on the ACT InterestInventory parallel Holland’s (1997) six types of interestsand occupations. In order to conserve space and focusstudents on their map results, the six ACT InterestInventory scores are not interpreted on the PlanStudent Score Report. Instead, the six scores are listednear the bottom of side 1 in the box called Informationfor Counselors. The scores are expressed as stanines,having a range from 1–9, a mean of 5, and a standarddeviation of 2 based on a nationally representativesample of students.

As shown in Figure 5, stanine scores are reportedbeside a single letter representing the Holland type. In this example the Holland type and score areRealistic = 5, Investigative = 4, Artistic = 3, Social = 4,Enterprising = 7, and Conventional = 6. Counselorsfamiliar with Holland’s career theory may choose to usethese scores to offer a clinical interpretation of thestudent’s interests, and use the student’s “3-lettercode” (in this example ECR) to identify occupations forexploration.

Figure 5 also shows the percentage of like,indifferent, and dislike responses to the ACT InterestInventory. The pattern of these responses reflects thestudent’s response style as they completed theinventory and can alert counselors to unusual responsepatterns. For example, responding dislike to all items islikely due to systematic responding and may call theinterest inventory results into question. This unusualpattern would, at a minimum, explain a low andundifferentiated score profile.

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Interpreting ACT Interest Inventory ResultsA student's ACT Interest Inventory scores are used

to locate the student on the World-of-Work Map. Thestudent's location is reported in terms of two or threemap regions (not an exact coordinate point) to facilitateexploration. Reported map regions reflect the relationbetween the inventory scales and the underlying work-task dimensions. For example, a high-ranking score forthe Arts or Science & Technology scale indicates aninterest in ideas-related work tasks. Reported mapregions reflect the pattern of the person's interestscores.

The procedure for converting ACT InterestInventory results to World-of-Work Map locationstypically results in a set of three adjacent map regions.However, when diverse interests are tied for highest,students may be referred to two nonadjacent regions.For example, consider a student scoring highest onboth the Social Service and Technical scales, with theirthird-highest score on the Administration & Sales scale.This student would be referred to map regions 1 and 6(see Figure 3), indicating a preference for people andthings work tasks, with some degree of involvement indata.

Why Some Students Do Not Have World-of-Work MapRegion Results

There are two reasons why some students will nothave World-of-Work Map regions reported on theirstudent score report. First, when a student does notcomplete enough items for scoring, no interest resultsare reported. This will be evident in the Information forCounselors box below the map. That box will containthe message “Interest inventory not reported due toinsufficient number of responses.” Second, when astudent’s interest score profile is undifferentiated (“flat”)the center of the map (“Region 99”) is shaded. Region99 indicates that the student’s scores do not show aclear pattern and no direction (regions) can besuggested at this time.

Interest Inventory Interpretation: Questions andAnswers

Question: How can we help students with Region 99results?Answer: Some students may obtain a flat interestscore profile because they have had a limited range ofwork-related experiences. Counselors may be able tohelp these students by suggesting how they can obtainexperiences involving work-related activities.Counselors may also choose to review the student’sscore profile (found in the Information for Counselorsbox) and provide a clinical interpretation of the results,drawing upon professional training and experience.The relationships between the six interest inventoryscales and Career Areas are shown on the World-of-Work Map in Figure 3. Counselors can use that map tosuggest groups of occupations based on the student’sinterests.

Question:What if the student’s measured andexpressed interests don’t agree? For example, theyhave selected the Engineering & Technologies CareerArea but their interests are way over in map regions 1,2, and 3?Answer: At this age there is no reason to expect thatmeasured interests will agree with a tentative choice.Each provides a different source of information aboutthe student and both deserve attention.

Question:We use the 16 national career clusters asan organizing structure at our school. What is therelationship between the ACT Career Areas and the 16 national career clusters?Answer: ACT has developed linkages between our 26 Career Areas to the 16 national career clusters.(See Figure 6).

Question:Why are some dots on the World-of-WorkMap closer to the center than others?Answer: Career area locations are empirical andbased on extensive data. Career areas further out atthe edge of the map are being “pulled” mostly in justone or two work task directions. For example, manyoccupations in Creative & Performing Arts have a lot ofinvolvement with ideas and people, and relatively littleinvolvement with data and things. So it is empirically“pulled” further out toward the edge of the map. Careerareas closer to the center of the map containoccupations that involve a greater balance of data,ideas, people, and things work tasks.

Figure 5. Example Counselor Information

Information forCounselors

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Figure 6. Converting ACT Career Areas to 16 National Career Clusters

ACT Career Areas National Career Clusters

A. Employment-Related Services Business Management & Administration

B. Marketing & Sales FinanceMarketing

C. Management Business Management & AdministrationGovernment and Public AdministrationHospitality & Tourism

D. Regulation & Protection Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security

E. Communications & Records Business Management & Administration

F. Financial Transactions Business Management & AdministrationFinance

G. Distribution & Dispatching Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

H. Transport Operation & Related Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

I. Agriculture, Forestry & Related Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources

J. Computer & Information Specialties Information Technology

K. Construction & Maintenance Architecture & Construction

L. Crafts & Related Hospitality & TourismManufacturing

M. Manufacturing & Processing ManufacturingTransportation, Distribution & Logistics

N. Mechanical & Electrical Specialties ManufacturingTransportation, Distribution & Logistics

O. Engineering & Technologies Architecture & ConstructionScience, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

P. Natural Science & Technologies Agriculture, Food & Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

Q. Medical Technologies Health Science

R. Medical Diagnosis & Treatment Health Science

S. Social Science Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

T. Applied Arts (Visual) Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications

U. Creative & Performing Arts Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications

V. Applied Arts (Written & Spoken) Arts, Audio/Video Technology & Communications

W. Health Care Health Science

X. Education Education & Training

Y. Community Services Human Services

Z. Personal Services Hospitality & TourismHuman Services

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ReferencesHolland, J. L. (1997). Making vocational choices: Atheory of vocational personalities and workenvironments (3rd ed.). Lutz, FL: PsychologicalAssessment Resources.

ACT (2009). The ACT Interest Inventory TechnicalManual. Available from www.act.org/research-policy/research-reports

PO Box 168Iowa City, IA 52243-0168

© 2014 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. 1458 *023060150* Rev 1

Visit ACT’s website at www.act.org.

ACT endorses the Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education andthe Code of Professional Responsibilities in Educational Measurement,guides to the conduct of those involved in educational testing. ACT iscommitted to ensuring that each of its testing programs upholds theguidelines in each Code. A copy of each Code may be obtained free ofcharge from ACT Customer Services (70), PO Box 1008, Iowa City, IA52243-1008, 319.337.1429.