by Matt Hughes
J-E News Editor
The following is the second in a series of monthly articles from Webster County High School regarding efforts to help students earn the distinction of College and/or Career Ready, which is a key component of the Kentucky Department of Education’s “Unbridled Learning” accountability initiative aimed at producing graduates that are better prepared for the rigor of college-level coursework and the increasing demands of the world of work and a global economy. This month’s focus is on PLAN/ACT score reports.
Article prepared by Curriculum Coordinator, Amy Hill, and WCHS principal, Tim Roy. For those in our community who have children and grandchildren in middle or high school, you probably have heard a significant amount of talk regarding EXPLORE, PLAN, and ACT testing. These are the assessments that help to measure college readiness and are given at the 8th, 10th, and 11th grade levels.
During the fall or spring semester, each school in the Commonwealth is given what is called a “testing window,” during which these assessments must be given to students. The EXPLORE (8th grade) and PLAN (10th grade) are administered during the month of September, while the ACT (11th grade) is administered in March. In addition to counting toward school accountability, these assessments are important tools for students and families. The results from these assessments will help to determine where a student might be able to attend college, what programs he/she might be able to enter once there, and what academic steps must be taken in order to point that student onto a path for success at the post-secondary level.
Each of these assessments has what is called benchmark scores, which (as explained in the September article) is a minimum score on each section of the test that can reasonably predict academic success in college-level courses. For the ACT, the Council for Post-secondary Education has determined those to be 18 for English, 19 for Math, and 20 for Reading in Kentucky. Our goal at WCHS is to try to help each student reach these benchmark scores, regardless of plans for after high school, so that he/she at least has options after graduation. We believe that every student should have that option, whether or not they choose to take that particular path.
At the high school-level, our students in grades 9, 10, and 11 took either the PLAN or ACT on September 18. While the 10th graders took the state-mandated PLAN, our 9th and 11th graders took a practice PLAN or ACT that were purchased by the school district from Cambridge Education
Services. Our goal in giving these practice assessments was to provide students, parents, and educators with an informed idea of where our students stand in relation to the benchmark scores. The results will provide all of us an opportunity to better serve our students in helping them to achieve the scores they will need.
While we wait for our results to arrive during the month of October, we believe it is important to provide families and the community with information that will assist you in making sense of the score reports you will receive. This will allow you to have informed conversations with students and colleges and to be able to ask questions to educators at WCHS.
The PLAN/ACT score report contains information about a student’s skills, interests, plans, and goals. Using the score report, you can look at the different sections to better understand the scores and how they all work together to help prepare students for life after high school. ACT offers the following suggestions to help the reader understand the PLAN/ACT score report:
1.Score range
The student receives a score for each section of the test (English, Math, Reading, and Science). These scores fall between a range of 1 to 32 (PLAN) or 1 to 36 (ACT). The score
report takes the number of questions correct on each section and translates it into a number on the 1 to 32 or 1 to 36 scale. The higher the score, the better the student performed on that section.
2.Subscores and Overall Composite score
The Composite Score is the average of the English, Math, Reading, and Science test scores. The two subscores under the English score will range from 1 to 16 (PLAN) or 1 to 18 (ACT). These scores tell how well the student performed in two specific areas:
Usage/Mechanics (punctuation, grammar and usage, and sentence structure) and Rhetorical Skills (understanding of the use of strategy, organization, and style in writing). The two subscores under the Math score on the PLAN are for two specific areas: Pre-Algebra/Algebra and Geometry. On the ACT, there are three subscores: Pre-Algebra/Elementary Algebra, Algebra/Coordinate Geometry, and Plane Geometry/Trigonometry. The subscores added together will not necessarily equal the English or Math test scores because they are scaled independently from the total score.
3.ACT Score Range
PLAN scores can be used to predict how well a student might do when he/she takes the ACT as an 11th or 12th grader. Scores can be used to estimate score ranges to see if he/she
is on track to achieve the desired scores when the ACT is taken. Remember: This is just a reasonable prediction. The actual ACT score will depend on how the student keeps learning and practicing.
4.Your Career Possibilities
The PLAN and ACT score reports help students start focusing on career areas. The World-of-Work Map shows how career areas differ in their involvement with 4 basic work tasks: People, Data, Things, and Ideas. All of these are specifically related to careers that a student might pursue. Look for similarities/differences between career areas on the World-of-Work Map. Each career area has occupations listed where people do the kinds of work tasks the student said he/she enjoyed the most. This information can be used as a way of exploring careers.
5.Building Your Skills
The score report will also include the skills and knowledge the student has probably already developed. The descriptions and suggestions are based on the student’s own scores and are intended to guide him/her in strengthening his/her skills.
While the PLAN is typically only taken during the sophomore year, the ACT can be taken several times throughout high school in order to help students achieve the scores they want. For accountability purposes, our juniors take the ACT in March; however, we strongly encourage students/parents to start early. We would prefer for students to already have one or more ACT assessments under their belt by the time they take it at school during March of their junior year. To help you with planning, the following ACT test dates are available (to register, visit www.actstudent.org):
Test DateRegistration Deadline
December 14 November 8
February 8 January 10
April 12 March 7
June 14 May 9
As always, if you have any questions about your student’s score report, please do not hesitate to contact the WCHS guidance office or one of the school administrators. We will be glad to assist you with understanding your student’s scores.
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