Student Engagement = Better Retention!

22 Your South Carolina ACT Account Manager… Mike DiNicola Senior Account Manager linkedin.com/in/mikedinicola twitter.com/MikeDiNicola1

3 ACT Engage ® measures behaviors and noncognitive attributes that relate to academic success and persistence. ACT Engage Overview

ACT ENGAGE INTRODUCTION Students’ personal characteristics and behavior development influence their ability to stay in school and be successful. Research suggests early identification of at-risk students is one of the most effective ways to prevent poor performance and reduce chances of dropping out (Beck and Davidson, 2001). © 2015 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved.4

5 Student success depends on three things: Student academic ability Academic behaviors –Motivation –Self-Regulation –Social Engagement Alignment of measured interest with chosen field of study ACT Engage Overview

6 Research Based ACT Engage results are valid predictors –High school performance –High school graduation –College enrollment Helps identify students at risk of poor grades and academic failure ACT Engage Overview

7 ACT Engage Features:

8 ACT Engage Features:

USE CASES © 2015 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved.9  Screening: To improve identification of at-risk students; to help identify areas in which students could benefit from educational intervention  Diagnostic: To help students develop a greater awareness of their academic-related strengths and weaknesses  Prescriptive: To help students develop an action plan for remediation and enrichment  Advising/counseling: To help student-support professionals in assisting students’ development  School-wide: Aggregate data can be used to identify where school-wide resources/interventions may be needed

IMPLEMENTATION  Typically given at start of semester or school year  Takes 30 minutes to complete  Approximately 110 self-report likert-scale questions  Completely online  Easy to set-up and distribute  Distribution link  Distribution Code  Able to identify students who have not completed assessment  Customizable intervention suggestions © 2015 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved.10

LOCAL ITEMS  Users may develop and include up to 30 local items to be answered by their students after regular ENGAGE testing. Local items allow institutions to:  Gather information about student needs, future plans, and potential challenges  Ask students about particular programs or services  Collect other information from the student.  ENGAGE allows institutions to create four different types of local items:  Multiple Choice  Multiple Response  Short Answer  Likert Scale © 2015 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved.11

REPORTS  Student  Capitalize on Your Strengths (>= 76 th percentile)  Continue to Develop Your Skills (26 th – 75 th percentile)  Make Plans for Improvement (<= 25 th percentile)  Advisor  Includes same information as student report  Additionally includes success indices (retention and academic success)  Provides checks for scoring issues and flags usual responses  Roster  Contains information on all ACT Engage assessments scored in any given batch  Includes summary demographics, scale and percentile score, as well as local items  Microsoft Excel format giving flexibility to merge with other school data  School Aggregate  Includes information about all ACT Engage assessments administered by a school for the selected time period up through the time the report is run  Features aggregate summaries at the school level  District Aggregate  Includes information about all ACT Engage assessments administered by a district for the selected time period up through the time the report is run  Features aggregate summaries at the district level © 2015 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved.12

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES: Videos Gives an overview of ACT Engage and demonstrates (high level) how to navigate through various features of the product Webinar (open enrollment) Intended for school, district, and state leaders, secondary teachers, testing coordinators Workshop (3-hour in-person) Intended for school, district, and state leaders, secondary teachers, testing coordinators. Participants will get hands-on experience in developing plans to integrate ACT Engage into their organizations. © 2015 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved.13

 Research on Engage has found that higher scores are associated with:  Higher Course Grades  Higher Cumulative GPA  Higher Retention Rates  Higher College Completion Rates  Research shows that Engage provides additional information regarding a student’s likelihood of future success beyond academic measures  Institution-level results also can used as a part of a larger educational program at your institution (e.g. first-year experience programs). © 2015 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved.14

© 2011 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. PERCENTAGE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING COMMUNITY COLLEGE ELEMENTARY ALGEBRA, BY ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND ENGAGE COLLEGE SCORES

© 2011 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. PERCENTAGE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING COMMUNITY COLLEGE ENGLISH COMPOSITION, BY ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND ENGAGE COLLEGE SCORES

© 2011 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. FIRST-YEAR COLLEGE RETENTION AT 4-YEAR INSTITUTIONS, BY ACT AND ENGAGE COLLEGE SCORES

© 2011 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. PERCENTAGE ATTAINING A TIMELY POSTSECONDARY DEGREE, BY ACT AND ENGAGE COLLEGE SCORES

GROWTH IN BEHAVIORAL SKILLS © 2015 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved.19 The results for the Academic Success Index show for this GEAR UP sample, students from lower quartile experienced the most growth in Engage skills closing the gap between their more affluent peers.

WHY BEHAVIORS? Grounded in research –Hundreds of primary studies and several meta-analyses show the value of behavior, personality, and other psychosocial characteristics for predicting: – Academic performance and persistence –(e.g., Richardson et al., 2012; Crede & Kuncel, 2008; Poropat, 2009; Robbins et al., 2004) – Work outcomes: task performance, teamwork, satisfaction –(e.g., Arthur et al., 2003; Barrick & Mount, 1991; Judge & Ilies, 2002; Ones et al., 1993; Salgado, 1998) Behaviors help us obtain a more holistic picture of students –Help to identify students at risk –Provide a profile of relative strengths and needs –Help to connect students with resources and intervention –Help inform institutional and administrative policy © 2015 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved.20

21 ACT Engage Overview ACT Engage provides: Early warning system Data to improve individual and aggregate student behaviors Data about school environment and parent engagement Recommendations to support the development of essential academic behaviors Predictions of success for grades 6–College Ability to customize interventions Opportunity to add up to 30 local questions to gain additional insight on areas relevant to your school

22 Engage is… Low-stakes assessment –Students answer questions about themselves Cost-effective Web-based Easy to administer –30 minutes Student, Aggregate, Roster reports –Available 24/7 ACT Engage Features

23 Student reported (surveys) Student Grade Levels College ACT Engage Grades 6–9 ACT Engage Grades 10–12 ACT Engage Teacher Edition Grades 6–9 ACT Engage Teacher Edition Grades 10–12 Teacher reported (teacher ratings) ACT Engage College ACT Engage Features Academic Behavior Assessment

24 Domain ACT Engage Grades 6–9 ACT Engage Grades 10–12 and College Motivation (Getting work done) Academic Discipline Commitment to School Optimism Academic Discipline Commitment to College Communication Skills General Determination Goal Striving Study Skills Social Engagement (Getting along) Family Attitude toward Education Family Involvement Relationships with School Personnel School Safety Climate Social Activity Social Connection Self-Regulation (Keeping your cool) Managing Feelings Orderly Conduct Thinking before Acting Academic Self-Confidence Steadiness ACT Engage Features

25 Engage Grades 10–12/College Helps predict college academic performance and retention Identifies interventions to help students succeed in their transitions to postsecondary education Provides insight about student behaviors in three domains and ten scales DomainACT Engage Grades 10–12 and College MotivationAcademic Discipline Commitment to College Communication Skills General Determination Goal Striving Study Skills Social EngagementSocial Activity Social Connection Self-RegulationAcademic Self-Confidence Steadiness ACT Engage Features

26 ACT Engage Features

27 ACT Engage Features Interpretive feedback, sorted from strengths to needs Profile of scores Indices only provided on the Advisor’s Report Sample Student Report

28 ACT Engage Features Sample Student Report

29 ACT Engage Features Sample Student Report

30 ACT Engage Features Sample Student Report

31 ACT Engage Features

32 ACT Engage Benefits Students at risk who are identified early and provided with interventions are more likely to succeed. Early identification of students with personal challenges that go unreported in standardized academic tests Directly reach students whose personal challenges may hinder academic success Evaluate a student’s self-reported psychosocial attributes Define a student’s levels of academic risk Use suggested individual interventions to help students improve academic achievement

33 Schools, districts, and universities use ACT Engage to: Improve graduation rates Increase retention Identify institution and system-level needs from Aggregate reports Allocate resources more effectively ACT Engage Benefits

34 ACT Engage Features:

35 ACT Engage Features:

36 ACT Engage Features:

37 ACT Engage Benefits When ACT Engage is combined with scores and results from ACT curriculum-based college and career readiness solutions, educators and parents have a complete view of a student’s abilities, as well as guidance for interventions that help each student reach his or her full potential.

38 ACT Elementary — Career Continuum ACT testing and instructional improvement programs help students improve their college and career readiness.

39 Your South Carolina ACT Account Manager… Mike DiNicola Senior Account Manager linkedin.com/in/mikedinicola twitter.com/MikeDiNicola1