ACT Updates 2016

2 April Hansen Your ACT Contact in MInnesota

3 August 26 th —Deadline for Feb. 28 th test date Make-up test date: March 21 st Online testing window: Feb 28 th – March 14 th Oct. 28 th —Deadline for April 19 th test date Make-up test date: May 3 rd Online testing window: April 19 th – May 3 rd No more organization files or establishment process 360 districts already signed up for next spring Contracts will arrive the week of Aug. 22 Billing for April testing will arrive by Aug. 19 th Profile Report and Data CD will arrive by Aug. 19th District Testing Updates

4 Your District Testing License Agreement

5 Contains all your milestone dates and report deliverables

testing/April-Administration.html Manuals and Materials Shipments Training Contact information Forms and Directions Schedule of Events/Milestones PA Next Info. for students Your District Testing Web site:

7 Redesigned Paper Score Reports The following paper reports will have a new design and format: The ACT student score report The ACT high school score report The ACT college score report File layout for 2016 updateswww.act.org What’s Next for the ACT—September 2016

8 Why we changed reports and how we went about doing that… Reports have been enhanced to allow student and educators to better navigate results and gain meaningful insights Reports are more visually engaging Reports will introduce reporting categories to replace subscore categories Easier for students to determine if they are meeting levels of college and career readiness More than 3,400 students, parents and educators were involved in the research that guided the design of the enhanced reports Reporting Updates Overview

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11 Redesigned Paper Score Reports

12 ACT has a long-standing commitment to STEM education and skill measurement The ACT is the only college admission exam featuring a science test Indicates the scores required for a high probability of success in credit-bearing STEM college courses Related to achieving longer-term outcomes, including: Earning a cumulative 3.0 GPA or higher Persisting in a STEM major Earning a STEM-related bachelor’s degree Achieving a STEM-related career path STEM Benchmark is 26 STEM Math Benchmark is a 25 (Calculus) STEM Science Benchmark is a 27 (Physics) STEM Benchmark

13 What’s Next for the ACT New Reporting Categories Introduction of a comprehensive set of reporting categories for each subject test (English, mathematics, reading, and science) that will replace the current subject test subscores (e.g., rhetorical skills, arts/literature) Based on the ACT College Readiness Standards as well as other sets of standards that target college and career readiness Easier to understand the makeup of any subject test score to better understand a student’s strengths and areas for improvement States and districts will receive better aggregate information regarding student achievement

14 New Reporting Categories and ACT Readiness Ranges Each reporting category will show: Total points possible Total points achieved Percent correct The ACT Readiness Ranges The ACT Readiness Range shows where a student who has met the ACT College Readiness Benchmark on the subject test would typically perform on that skill grouping (reporting category) Combination of reporting category scores and the ACT Readiness Ranges will better highlight student areas that require the most additional assistance

15 New Reporting Categories and ACT Readiness Ranges

16 Students Help strengthen or reconsider their current plans Provide opportunity for further college exploration Counselors Starting point for discussing transition to college Conversations with students can vary based on level of alignment Alignment: facilitate discussion of coursework and occupations related to the major Out of alignment: opportunity to discuss the results and suggest alternative majors or educational pathways that help the student achieve their career goals Colleges Better customize admission communication efforts Interest-Major Fit

17 Career Connector The Career Connector visually summarizes a student’s work-relevant interests. The compass points are the four basic work tasks shown to underlie the work activities of occupations across the work world: working with people, data, things, and ideas. The Career Connector summarizes the pattern of results from the scales on the ACT Interest Inventory and visually displays it as one or two directions with respect to these compass points. The Career Connector also provides a personalized list of five potential occupations that involve work tasks in this same direction.

18 Background In fall 2015, ACT introduced enhancements to the design of the ACT writing test. The enhancements provided additional insight on student writing, including four domain scores and an overall ACT writing subject score on a 1–36 scale. Ideas and Analysis Development and support Organization Language Use and Conventions We heard from customers that the 1–36 scale caused confusion because users attempted to interpret the writing scores alongside scores earned on other ACT subject tests. A 25 in math doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing as a score of 25 in English. Writing Test Score Update

19 To reduce confusion, ACT is taking the following steps with writing scores beginning in September 2016: Score reports for test events administered on or after September 2016 will no longer report writing scores on the 1–36 scale, which caused the confusion. For test events beginning in September 2016, the overall reported writing score will change to be the rounded average of the four writing domain scores having a score range of 2–12. We will be providing additional clarity to the writing task instructions. However, the task itself will not change. Writing Test Score Update

20 We are not changing the following: The four writing domain 2–12 scores (sum of 1–6 raw scores from 2 raters) will continue to be reported as they are now. The English Language Arts (ELA) score, which combines the student’s achievement on the English, reading, and writing tests, will remain on a 1–36 scale. The writing test task will not be changed. Students are asked to analyze and evaluate multiple perspectives. The scoring rubric will not be changed. Writing Test Score Update

21 Important to note: Although the writing test score was reported on a 2–12 range prior to September 2015, it is NOT reverting back to the same 2–12 range because the score will be calculated differently than the pre- September 2015 writing test score. When referring to the new 2–12 score range, it is important to call it a score range and not a score scale. Writing Test Score Update

22 Writing Test Score Update

23 Stay Informed

24 Counselor/Educator Resources Preparing for the ACT Why Take The ACT? Using Your ACT Results ACT User Handbook Test dates and deadlines Sample Score Reports ACT Online Prep ™ — school version ACT sample test booklets/retired tests Forms—fee waiver eligibility, paper registration, accommodated testing Order materials The ACT Features

A New Way to Prepare

26 PreACT Overview Taking PreACT is one of the first actionable steps a student will take to practice for The ACT test.

27  10th grade multiple-choice paper assessment  Provides actionable insights for students, parents, and educators  Shorter in length than the ACT  Flexible test administration dates  Rapid reporting means earlier and more effective intervention and planning PreACT Overview

28 Time Limit Item Counts English30 45 Mathematics40 36 Reading30 25 Science30 25 Total Testing Times and Item Counts Operational Time Limits (in minutes)

29  PreACT scores and predicted ACT score ranges for composite and subject test on ACT 1–36 scale  PreACT reporting category scores  Student’s college and career planning results, including their results on Interest-Career Fit  STEM and text complexity scores  Student level item response and improvement skills PreACT Overview—Reporting

30  Early practice for taking the ACT test  Provides PreACT score and predicted ACT score ranges on the ACT 1–36 scale  Students may opt to share their information with colleges and scholarship agencies  Results of the ACT Interest Inventory provides students a personalized view of interests with college and career alignment PreACT Key Benefits for Students

31  Understand student’s potential performance on the ACT  Understand general academic strengths and weaknesses as well as specific areas of need for academic intervention  Understand if student’s interests and career goals are aligned with their academic performance  Assist in early postsecondary planning and career investigation  Helps to have informed conversations about academics, interests, college, and career choices PreACT Key Benefits for Parents

32  Flexible administration (Sept 1–June1)  Provides a snapshot of how students are performing across academic standards  Reporting categories provide insights to inform classroom and educator intervention  Enables counselors to have college and career planning conversations  Quick access to individual student data and patterns of performance  Technical Guides PreACT Key Benefits for Educators

33 Student Reports Making the Connection

34 Student Reports Making the Connection

35 Student Reports Making the Connection