Rock Workshop 8 - testing

2. How to Read Your Score
Sheet
 Compare your score to the range of your test on next slide.
 Compare your score to the Benchmark on the fourth slide. It will tell you
how prepared you are likely to be for college.
 Next to that is the percentile which tells you where you rank out of 100
(your percentile means that you scored better than that percentage of the
rest of the test takers nationwide – example: if you’re 95th percentile =
your score is better than 95% of all kids who took that test).
 Composite Score is the average of all four subjects – it’s your overall
score.
 The rest of the score sheet is the details: how many you got right, wrong
and didn’t answer (omit) in each subject, also broken down by type of
question.
Slide 2 of 10

6. Why These Tests Are
Important
 EXPLORE and Plan are almost exactly the same as the ACT
except in length and question difficulty. Same types of
questions, worded the same way in the same format. They
help predict how you will do on the ACT and let you know
where your weaknesses are.
 ACT is the most important single test you will take because it is
a major part of college admissions criteria. You can use the
score sheets to determine how to prepare for the real test.
 Based on your score, you can find out if you would likely be
accepted into your choice of college and whether you would
have a chance at scholarships.
Slide 6 of 10

7. Things to Look For
 Look for trends in types of questions you answered
or left blank and see if there is a certain type that
you didn’t do well on.
 Look to see if you left a bunch blank at the end –
you might have gone too slowly to finish all
questions (you should never leave questions
unanswered on ACT!).
Slide 7 of 10

8. What Now?
 Your teachers will be using this information to gradually include
in your classes the same types of information most of you
missed.
 Make it a goal to review the types of topics you missed (maybe
you did poorly on punctuation and sentence structure) and do
practice questions (easily found on internet – for example:
http://quizlet.com/1022309/college-board-top-100-common-satact-
vocabulary-words-flash-cards/- this is a great
resource with many of the words you’ll need to know).
 Buy a test prep book.
 Read as much as possible.
Slide 8 of 10

9. Reminder!
 ACT is NOT the ONLY part of college admissions.
Also very important are:
 GPA
 Leadership and involvement in extra-curricular
activities
 Recommendations from faculty
 Essays
Slide 9 of 10

10. Testing Secrets
 Often just ONE POINT on the test can mean the difference
between getting into your college and not, between a scholarship
to college and not.
 Often just getting one or two more questions correct can mean
one or two more points on your score.
 60-70% of the test is based on skills that you probably learned (or
will learn) in the 8th grade! This means most of what you got
wrong is something you forgot rather than don’t know.
 Your problem also may not be one of not knowing the content; it
could be that you are reading the question wrong or taking too
long.
 Two best ways to improve score: READ and PRACTICE.
Slide 10 of 10