Activity: Using ACT Standards and Benchmarks 1. Get the free ACT College and Career Readiness Standards posters for both STEM and ELA by
visiting www.act.org/aap/resources and clicking on Order Paper Materials. You may also download and review the standards for free at www.act.org/standards. Below is a sample of the Mathematics and English standards documents.
Alphanumeric codes correspond to specific skills. These abbreviations are defined in the standards documents on www.act.org/standards. For example, N is Number and Quantity.
ACT College & Career Readiness Standards
on the mathematics section of the ACT®
likely to know and be able to do.
.
Students who score in the
THE ACT COLLEGE READINESS BENCHMARK FOR MATHEMATICS IS 22.
score on the ACT Mathematics
likely to be demonstrated by students who meet the
SCORERANGE
13–15 N 201. decimals
N 202.
N 203.
N 301.
N 302.
N 303. Locate rational numbers on the number line
Note: A matrix as a representation of data is treated here as a basic table.
N 401.
N 402.
N 403.
N 404.
N 405. Find the distance in the coordinate plane between two points with the same x y
N 406.
16–19
20–2322
MATHEMATICS
7ACT.org...|
Alphanumeric codes correspond to specific skills. These abbreviations are defined in the standards documents on www.act.org/standards. For example, TOD is Topic Development in Terms of Purpose and Focus (TOD).
ACT College & Career Readiness Standards
These Standards describe what students who score in specific score ranges on the English section of the ACT® college readiness assessment are likely to know and be able to do.
Students who score in the 1–12 range are most likely beginning to develop the knowledge and skills assessed in the other ranges
THE ACT COLLEGE READINESS BENCHMARK FOR ENGLISH IS 18. Students who achieve this score on the ACT English Test have a 50% likelihood of achieving a B or better in a first-year English Composition course at a typical college. The knowledge and skills highly likely to be demonstrated by students who meet the Benchmark are shaded.
SCORERANGE
13–15 TOD 201. Delete material because it is obviously irrelevant in terms of the topic of the essay
TOD 301 Delete material because it is obviously irrelevant in terms of the focus of the essay
TOD 302. Identify the purpose of a word or phrase when the purpose is simple (e.g., identifying a person, defining a basic term, using common descriptive adjectives)
TOD 303. Determine whether a simple essay has met a straightforward goal
TOD 401. Determine relevance of material in terms of the focus of the essay
TOD 402. Identify the purpose of a word or phrase when the purpose is straightforward (e.g., describing a person, giving examples)
TOD 403. Use a word, phrase, or sentence to accomplish a straightforward purpose (e.g., conveying a feeling or attitude)
16–19
20–23
ENGLISH
Production of WritingTOPIC DEVELOPMENT IN TERMS OF PURPOSE & FOCUS (TOD)
18
8 | ACT Readiness Workshops 2018
2. Collect ACT Data. Individual and aggregate score reports for the ACT test and PreACT provide you with data, including scores and readiness ranges, on how each student, as well as all of your tested students as a whole, performs in each subject and reporting category.
9ACT.org...|
ACT
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1010
04
100
1110
03
100
110
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100
3635
3198
599
898
599
299
599
3534
1092
698
996
398
699
799
3433
1790
1397
1894
998
898
697
3332
186
794
1591
096
1797
596
3231
2186
2693
3487
2296
2993
1895
3130
2682
887
2580
1991
1987
2991
3029
1476
2786
3375
3087
2683
1785
2928
973
2280
2669
2181
2578
2982
2827
3171
2976
163
2677
3773
3876
2726
1265
3170
2363
2472
3465
2868
2625
3263
4063
2158
2567
2958
3462
2524
3056
4555
3954
5462
2952
4355
2423
2750
2146
2146
4251
2546
3247
2322
3244
2242
3242
4242
2941
2540
2221
2238
937
1935
2833
2535
2635
2120
1933
1935
1431
2028
2530
2630
2019
2029
2731
3928
1623
1725
2024
1918
2025
2626
2420
2420
2821
1820
1817
2121
3221
2515
1915
2416
2716
1716
1717
2714
1610
1611
1911
2911
1615
2213
278
77
188
167
115
1514
189
93
126
84
103
63
1413
65
31
53
43
21
11
1312
74
21
52
32
11
31
1211
12
01
11
01
41
31
1110
52
01
31
21
01
01
109
41
01
11
01
01
01
98
11
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31
01
01
87
11
01
01
11
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01
76
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01
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65
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01
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54
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43
01
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10 | ACT Readiness Workshops 2018
3. Check the benchmarks. Have your students met the benchmarks, indicated by a purple bar on the score report and shaded sections on the profile report? On the poster and document, shaded rows represent the skills needed to meet those benchmarks.
4. Review the skills. On the standards poster or document, find your students’ scores (as noted on their score reports and profile report) in the far left column. Moving right across the rows, review the skills your students need to learn to earn a score within that range.
5. Identify skills gaps. Compare the “Detailed Results” on the student score report and reporting categories in the profile report with the skills listed on the poster. Which skill areas need the most focus or improvement?
6. Increase student scores. Look at the next score range down on the poster. Which skills should your students learn to reach the next score level and increase their scores?
ACT College Readiness Benchmarks
The ACT College Readiness Benchmarks are the minimum scores required on each subject test of the ACT test for students to have a high probability of success (50% chance of obtaining a B or higher or about a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher) in credit-bearing, entry-level college courses in that subject area.
ACT COLLEGE READINESS BENCHMARKS
Subject The ACT 1st Year College Course
English 18 English Composition
Mathematics 22 College Algebra
Reading 22 Social Sciences
Science 23 Biology
ELA 20 English Composition and Social Sciences
STEM 26 Calculus, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Engineering
Check out The Condition of College and Career Readiness every year for statistics on how many students meet the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks in your state and across the nation. Compare these results to the information found in your ACT High School Profile Report.
PreACT College Readiness Indicators can also be used to evaluate student readiness. Because students’ achievement is expected to grow between grades 10 to 11, students who score below the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks on PreACT in grade 10 may very well be on target to meet the benchmarks in grade 11. When using the indicators, it is important to remember that these are statistical predictions based on typical student growth.
12 | ACT Readiness Workshops 2018
Activity: Making Data Make Sense1. Open your ACT Profile Report to Table 3.1 Percent of Students in College and Career Readiness
Standards (CCRS) Score Ranges and take note of the percentage of students for each of the score ranges.
2. Open the ACT College and Career Readiness Standards at www.act.org/standards. Now, overlay data from the ACT Profile Report onto the standards by either writing on a printed copy of the standards or electronically on your computer. In the example below, 8% of students scored in the 13–15 range, 23% in the 16–19 range, and so on.
3. Ask questions. Where do most of my students score? In the example above, an area of improvement we would note is that close to a quarter of our students are in the score band range below the benchmark. However, on a positive note we celebrate that 54% of students are scoring in the score band range above the benchmark. What are the skills for that score range? What skills should they work on to reach the next score range? Checking the Ideas for Progress at the bottom of the electronic version of the standards can assist in answering that question.
19ACT.org...|
Creating a Comprehensive Assessment PlanWhat Is a Comprehensive Assessment Plan (CAP)?
A comprehensive assessment plan is a well-defined schedule and system of assessments designed to provide information that supports and enhances whole student learning from elementary through career. A successful comprehensive assessment plan should:
• Set students up for success; get them on track from the start
• Keep students on track and indicate when to intervene
• Predict college readiness scores and help students improve where needed
• Measure students’ college readiness, indicate career readiness, and inform steps for improvement
• Include social and emotional learning measures for factors that most affect success
The assessments in your CAP should measure your content standards and desired outcomes using data that can be reliably linked together. A CAP includes both formative and summative assessments.
• Formative: Assessment for learning. How is a student progressing toward a learning or skills goal? How do we course correct and get them on track?
• Summative: Assessment of learning. Did the student meet the learning or skills objective?
Activity: Create a CAP
STEP 11. Start by listing all of the assessments you administer at each grade level. 2. Next to each of the assessments you listed, check the holistic framework domain (core academic
skills, cross-cutting capabilities, behavioral skills, education and career navigation) fulfilled by the assessment.
3. Finally, describe the purpose of each assessment. For example, “Summative assessment to measure student achievement in E, M, R, S, W; year over year growth; college and career readiness measure.”
26 | ACT Readiness Workshops 2018
CURRENT ASSESSMENTSG
RA
DE
LEV
ELS
ASSESSMENT/TOOLSHOLISTIC
FRAMEWORK DOMAIN
PURPOSE OF ASSESSMENT
Core academic skills Cross-cutting capabilities Behavioral skills Education and career navigation skills
Core academic skills Cross-cutting capabilities Behavioral skills Education and career navigation skills
Core academic skills Cross-cutting capabilities Behavioral skills Education and career navigation skills
Core academic skills Cross-cutting capabilities Behavioral skills Education and career navigation skills
Core academic skills Cross-cutting capabilities Behavioral skills Education and career navigation skills
Core academic skills Cross-cutting capabilities Behavioral skills Education and career navigation skills
Core academic skills Cross-cutting capabilities Behavioral skills Education and career navigation skills
Core academic skills Cross-cutting capabilities Behavioral skills Education and career navigation skills
Core academic skills Cross-cutting capabilities Behavioral skills Education and career navigation skills
Core academic skills Cross-cutting capabilities Behavioral skills Education and career navigation skills
27ACT.org...|
STEP 2
Now, let’s organize them and look for overlap, redundancies, and gaps. While you organize your assessments, keep these questions in mind:
• How many sources of data do you have?
• Are there overlapping purposes of these assessments?
• What data do you really need?
• What data are you using or should you be using?
• Do you have a systematic plan for administering assessments and using the data?
• Are you giving too many assessments on one subject and not enough on another?
• Have you communicated the purpose of the assessments to your stakeholders?
• Can you answer the ultimate question: Who is making progress and what are you doing about those who are not?
• Do you have all of the assessments you need?
STEP 3
Once needs and goals are matched, justify each assessment. Look to eliminate redundant assessments and look to choose assessments that can fill more than one need and serve more meaningful purposes. Eliminating unneeded assessments not only helps your teachers respect the data more, it also makes life easier for all. Assessment data that goes unused indicates an assessment that can probably be eliminated.
STEP 4
Now you can begin to build a more meaningful assessment plan. Using your organized list, you can begin to cross off the redundant assessments. In the following blank chart you can enter the assessments you need, what grade(s) they are needed in, and their purpose. A sample of the high school section of a comprehensive assessment plan can be found on the next page. A full comprehensive assessment plan spans all grade levels and is connected.
28 | ACT Readiness Workshops 2018
EXAMPLE PLANG
RA
DE
LEV
ELS
ASSESSMENT/TOOLSHOLISTIC
FRAMEWORK DOMAIN
PURPOSE OF ASSESSMENT
9 1. ACT Aspire Summative
2. ACT Aspire Interim3. State Assessment4. ACT Tessera
1. Core Academic Skills 2. Core Academic Skills 3. Core Academic Skills 4. Behavioral Skills
1. Summative assessment to measure student achievement in E, M, R, S, W; year-over-year growth; college and career readiness measure
2. Student progress, intra-year growth measure
3. Summative accountability measure, required
4. Character Education and Leadership goals
10 1. PreACT2. State Assessment
1. Core Academic Skills and Education and Career Navigation
2. Core Academic Skills
1. Measure student achievement in E, M, R, and S, practice for ACT in setting, content and skills.
2. Summative accountability measure, required
11 1. The ACT Test2. ACT Tessera
1. Core Academic Skills and Education and Career Navigation
2. Behavioral Skills
1. Summative assessment to measure student achievement in E, M, R, S, W, college entrance exam, college and career navigation
2. Character Education and Leadership goals
12 1. The ACT Test 2. ACT WorkKeys
1. Core Academic Skills2. Education and
Career Navigation
1. Summative assessment to measure student achievement in E, M, R, S, W, college entrance exam, college and career navigation
2. Career readiness assessment and opportunity to earn NCRC (career credential)
29ACT.org...|
NEW COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT PLANG
RA
DE
LEV
ELS
ASSESSMENT/TOOLSHOLISTIC
FRAMEWORK DOMAIN
PURPOSE OF ASSESSMENT
30 | ACT Readiness Workshops 2018
Curriculum ReviewCurriculum review worksheets help you identify potential gaps among state standards, your curriculum, and the ACT. Worksheets include all of the standards that are assessed for that subject on the ACT test. Codes in the left-hand column correspond to specific skills. These abbreviations are defined in the standards documents on www.act.org/standards. For example, N is Number and Quantity, A is Algebra, and F is Functions.
Can all of these standards be found in your curriculum?
Activity: Curriculum Review 1
Use your ACT Profile Report and the Curriculum Review Worksheets to examine the efficacy of your curriculum:
1. Open your ACT Profile Report to Section II, Academic Achievement. Figures 2.2–2.5 provide aggregate data on student performance in each reporting category for each subject.
2. In the Curriculum Review Worksheet, read the standards for each subject and reporting category where students underperformed—as indicated by the data in the ACT Profile Report.
3. Answer the question in each column for every standard (row):
• Is it included in your curriculum?
• At what grade level (or in which course) are students first introduced to it?
• At what grade level (or in which course) are students expected to demonstrate proficiency?
HOW WILL WE RESPONDIF THEY DON’T LEARN IT?
44 | ACT Readiness Workshops 2018
Mathematics Curriculum Review Worksheets
Table 1. ACT Mathematics College and Career Readiness Standards for Score Range 13-15
Mathematics College and Career Readiness Standards
For each skill, knowledge, or process:
Is it included in your Mathematics
curriculum?
At what grade level (or in which course) are students first introduced to it?
At what grade level (or in which course)
are students expected to demonstrate
proficiency?
N 201 Perform one-operation computation withwhole numbers and decimals
N 202 Recognize equivalent fractions and fractions in lowest terms
N 203
Locate positive rational numbers (expressed as whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and mixed numbers) on the number line
AF 201Solve problems in one or two steps using whole numbers and using decimals in the context of money
A 201Exhibit knowledge of basic expressions (e.g., identify an expression for a total as b + g)
A 202Solve equations in the form x + a = b, where a and b are whole numbers or decimals
F 201Extend a given pattern by a few terms for patterns that have a constant increase or decrease between terms
G 201Estimate the length of a line segment based on other lengths in a geometric figure
G 202
Calculate the length of a line segment based on the lengths of other line segments that go in the same direction (e.g., overlapping line segments and parallel sides of polygons with only right angles)
G 203
Perform common conversions of money and of length, weight, mass, and time within a measurement system (e.g., dollars to dimes, inches to feet, and hours to minutes)
S 201 Calculate the average of a list of positive whole numbers
S 202Extract one relevant number from a basic table or chart, and use it in a single computation
Activity: Curriculum Review 2
Another activity that these worksheets can be used for is vertical articulation across the middle and high school levels. While divided into subject area and school level teams:
1. Each teacher completes the curriculum review worksheets for his/her subject. 2. Bring the MS teachers together by subject area and the HS teachers together by subject area to
discuss their results in their individual buildings. For example—have all the MS math teachers discuss together and have all the HS math teachers discuss in a separate group.
3. Bring the subject area groups back together for both MS and HS to discuss their results to see where there are redundancies and gaps across grade levels and across buildings. For example—combine the middle and high school math teachers together for a discussion of math standards across middle and high school.
46 | ACT Readiness Workshops 2018
SAMPLE TEAMWORK ACTIVITY
Activity: All Oranges Are Alike
(15–20 minutes)A. This activity will allow students to explore diversity issues within themselves. They will become
aware of how easily stereotyping can occur, despite the vast amount of diversity within cultural and racial reference groups.
B. Materials Needed: Oranges (one per person, or as many as demonstrating), large basket or container to put them in.
C. Hand out oranges to students. Give them a moment to observe the orange, and then tell them you need them back. Collect all of the oranges back from students and mix them up in the basket.
D. Tell the students they are to find their original orange. You can do this by passing around the basket, or calling students up in small groups. This will be difficult, but give them a moment to try.
E. When they all have an orange, segue into discussion questions that will allow them to process the activity.
• Was it hard to find your original orange? Why or why not?
• Are all oranges alike?
• Even though the oranges are all the same color, are there distinguishing characteristics on individual oranges?
• Have you ever made comments about a certain race, faith, gender, ability level, sexual preference, or culture, using a statement like, “All __________ look or act this way?”
• What have you learned about making generalizations?F. Variation: Have another basket of mixed fruit that is hidden at the beginning of the activity. Bring
it out at the end of the activity and add one orange.
• Ask: If you only saw this one orange, would you assume all oranges looked the same? How can you relate this activity to a school or a neighborhood?
Throughout the Playbook, various tasks are embedded which afford students the opportunity to grow and demonstrate their strengths, and a rubric is provided by which teachers can assess student growth and proficiency as desired or required.
When working with students:1. Check for student understanding of the five constructs2. Emphasize that these scores are not describing fixed or universal personality traits3. Promote a growth mindset and invite reflection about scores4. Set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely) goals5. Consider the value of grouping students working on the same skills to work in teams6. Use the resources and strategies in the Playbook to prepare a plan and execute it over time7. Monitor student progress
Tessera provides extremely valuable information for teachers, counselors, and administrators to reach and connect with students. One school has already seen the benefits of measuring SEL with Tessera.
50 | ACT Readiness Workshops 2018