2. 2
• Purpose of the ACT Aspire
• Aspire test overview
• Reading test results
• Using test results
Overview
3. 3
• Student
– Increased familiarity and comfort with a
standardized test
– Allows the student to see where they are
strong and where there are growth
opportunities
• School
– Data on complete cohort
– Inform classroom instruction
Purpose of the ACT Aspire
4. 4
• ACT Readiness Benchmark
– “Level” used to determine if a student is on
track for 11th grade ACT College Readiness
Benchmark
• In Need of Support, Close, Ready, Exceeding
• Predicted Path
– Projection based on “normal” growth/progress
• National Percentile Rank
– Scoring at or better than other national test
takers
Glossary – Cutting through the Jargon
5. 5
Aspire Test Overview
• Current Progress – page 1 of 2 (front)
- Overall composite score
- Composite scores in all four content areas
- English, Science, Reading, and Math
- Includes predicted PreACT (for 9th graders
only) & ACT Score range
- ELA and STEM composite scores
- ELA = English, reading, and writing
- STEM = Science and Math
9. 9
Aspire Test Overview
• Detailed ACT Aspire Results – page 2 of 2 (back)
• Subcategories within each content area
• Scores and percent correct included
• Dark blue bar into bracket shows “readiness”
• Improvement ideas
• Explanation of each subcategory
• Suggestions
12. 12
• Keep in mind...
– The test is a snapshot of your child’s
performance
– Students only score as well as they are
feeling that day
– Student scores are a suggestion – they aren’t
locked in to those scores
Reading Test Results
13. 13
Aspire Goals
• Measures student growth towards college and
career readiness throughout grades 3-10
• Identifies early learning gaps to help all students
graduate from high school ready for college and
career opportunities
Remember: One plot on a graph does not define a child.
14. 14
• English, math, reading, science, and writing assessments
• Grades 3–8 and Early High School (grades 9–10)
• Computer-based and paper testing
• Connected to ACT College and Career Readiness Standards
and Benchmarks
• Longitudinal reporting
on a vertical scale
linked to the ACT®
ACT Aspire Overview
Summative Assessments
Required Optional
15. 15
ACT Aspire Features
Multiple Item Types -
• Selected Response
Items can accurately distinguish students who grasp a basic concept from those who
do not. As one component of our assessments, selected-response items can help
measure a large amount of content in a brief time.
• Constructed Response
Require learners to use creativity, organizational skills, logic, and content knowledge
to demonstrate understanding.
16. 17
• Split up over two half-days of testing
– English – 45 minutes
– Writing – 40 minutes
– Reading – 65 minutes
– Math – 75 minutes
– Science – 60 minutes
Aspire Test - Times
18. 19
• Evaluate: Where do I stand right now?
– View strengths and weaknesses in general/overall AND in
specific subject areas
• How can I make goals that impact my future?
– Set goals about areas where you need more support
– Look at careers that highlight your strengths
• Am I on target for college and career?
– ACT readiness benchmarks and career readiness
indicators
Using scores
22. 23
• Class selection
– Classes that challenge, yet help your child grow
• ACT Academy
– https://academy.act.org/
• Khan Academy
https://www.khanacademy.org/
Working on skills
28. 29
• Next year – PSAT (required)
– PSAT
• pre SAT test; required
• Qualifying test for National Merit Scholarship Competition
• Aligned with College Board scholarships
– ASVAB – all juniors take the test
• Career exploration test
• Developed by the military
• Used in high schools across the nation
• Free!
– ACT/SAT – 1st test offered in early Sept
• Have to register in early August
• February or April test dates may be more suitable for Juniors
Sophomore parents (parents of Rising Juniors)
31. 32
• Self-evaluation
• Freshmen and Sophomore schedules
– challenges
• Finding the “time”
– Creativity is a must
• Establishing rapport with each and every
student
• Student emails and their importance
My ask of you…
32. 33
• PSEO
• AP Coordinator
• Testing Days potentially changing
New responsibilities… potential changes
33. 34
• Questions???
• If you would like a copy of this PowerPoint:
– Email me at tjsmith@mvlhs.org
Editor's Notes
Now I would like to talk with you about ACT Aspire…
As you saw in the previous slide, ACT Aspire is a longitudinal assessment system that measures student growth towards college and career readiness from the elementary grades, beginning in grade 3, through early high school. Given that we know that learning gaps emerge early and that it becomes harder to remediate students as they approach middle school and high school, the importance of being “on target to college and career readiness” beginning in Grade 3 is critical to having all students graduate from high school ready for college and other post-secondary learning opportunities. ACT Aspire offers the exciting opportunity to provide information to help all students get on track early.
Empirically based benchmarks linked to the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks
Used with ACT Aspire (grades 3-10)
As you release scores, please make sure that your co-workers, parents, and students understand that one plot on a graph does not define a child.
ACT Aspire Summative windows:
Same subjects as E/P but now including Writing
CBT & P&P for schools in varying states of technology readiness
Linking to the ACT scale and benchmarks is key value proposition
ACT Aspire Summative windows:
Fall ’14 - September 15 – November 13
Spring ‘15 – April 6-May 29
The ACT has long been a valued measure of students’ college and career readiness and is typically taken by students in their 11th or 12th grade years as they prepare to apply to post-secondary opportunities.
The ACT college entrance test anchors ACT Aspire to ensure that it provides an accurate picture of student readiness in prior grades leading up to the ACT.
The standards were backmapped from Post-Secondary all the way down to 3rd grade.
ACT Aspire’s battery of five achievement tests assesses the same areas as the ACT: English, Mathematics, Reading, Science and Writing.
Regardless of the path a student might choose following graduation, ACT Aspire provides valuable information on student readiness for both college and career options.
In each subject, the empirically-based ACT College Readiness Benchmarks indicate whether students are on track for success in first-year college courses. Likewise, the ACT Readiness Benchmarks indicate whether students are on track for readiness and educational advancement at each grade level. (Remember: the trajectory is from grade to grade. If a child does not meet the benchmark at grade 3, that means work is needed for the student to be successful at the grade 4 benchmark. We have to be careful that we don’t let a student or parent (or teacher) believe that not meeting the benchmark at one of the early grades means that student will not be successful in college. We want to emphasize that this information will be used for intervention to improve the student’s chances of being successful.
In addition to measuring academic college readiness, ACT Aspire also provides information on career readiness linked to the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate. ACT Aspire scores in grades 8 and 10 include a Progress toward Career Readiness Indicator, which shows if students are on track to developing the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the workforce.
To provide early insight into college readiness, ACT Aspire results in grades 9 and 10 also include a predicted ACT score.
Between the ACT Readiness Benchmarks in early grades and the enriched indicators in later grades, ACT Aspire provides a rich and aligned picture of students’ growth toward college and career readiness.
Research shows that the earlier we measure progress toward meeting educational standards, the more we can strengthen a student’s chances to stay on target to succeed. Interventions in high school are too late. (Think of a little league baseball player who is learning to pitch. He throws using a form that feels natural to him and that may emulate a professional that he has observed. That child may practice hours every day, and he may get better on his own and be a successful player; however, if, while he is still young, he has a coach that knows the fundamentals of pitching and can observe him and help him adjust his form, he will probably be a more successful player than he would be if he receives no intervention until he is a teenager.)
Resources for the various facets of implementation are provided on our landing page.
The ACT Aspire Assessment Landing Page, accessible at actaspire.pearson.com, provides easy access to information and tools to administer the ACT Aspire tests; everything from Training and Manuals, to Technology Resources, to Support options can be found here.
There are a handful (15-25) of exemplar (sample) questions at each grade level and subject. Each sample question has an explanation of the question and an explanation of the standard. Within each set of approximately 15 questions, there will be one item per reporting category.
USES:
Become familiar with ACT Aspire question types
See what typical questions in each ACT Aspire reporting category look like
Help reinforce or adjust teaching and learning objectives
Use improvement idea statements to help identify key skills not yet mastered
