ACT Readiness Powerpoint

8/3/2019 ACT Readiness Powerpoint

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ACT ASSESSMENT

READINESS

WORKSHOP


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The ACT The

Facts

Its a curriculum-basedbut not necessarily a content-basedtest

It requires baseline knowledge and high-order thinking skills on ACTsCollege Readiness Standards and the National Curriculum Survey . Ifyou teach to the standards, youre teaching to the test

The test is more about interpretation, analysis and process than content

memorization especially in the Science section E.g., a tester is not required to memorize the the periodic table but is

required to understand the role of its elements

This said, you do need to know some baseline content. E.g., it doesntgive you an algebraic function like youmay see on a SAT but expectsthe tester to have this knowledge at his or her disposal


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The ACT Rigor Means

Ready

There is no question that the best way to prepare for theACT assessment is through rigorous courseworkbased onthe College Readiness Standards and a solid ACT scorecorrelates to a successful college freshman experience.

For this reason, preparation for an ACT is not justpreparation for a college entrance exambut rather forcollege coursework itself since its tied to CollegeReadiness and your ability to succeed as a freshman incollege


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Take Rigorous Core

CoursesEnglish - 4 years

English 9, English 10, English 11, English 12

Math - 3 years +

Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, Trigonometry,Calculus (no calculus on the ACT but the high-order skills required significantly impact the ACTmath score.

Natural Sciences - 3 years +

General/Physical/Earth Science, Biology,Chemistry, and Physics

Social Sciences - 3 years +

American History, World History, AmericanGovernment, Economics, Geography, Psychology


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Take the right courses, get the right score


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Take the right courses, get the right score


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Using your score to improve skills and understanding

16-19 Score Range

Solve routine one-step

arithmetic problems,

such as single-step

percent, and calculate a

simple average of whole

numbers

Perform computations on

data from tables and

graphs

Activities that may benefit

students:

Do multistep

computations withrational numbers

Gather, organize, display,

and analyze data in a

variety of ways

Skill-building20-23 Score Range

Solve routine two-step or three-step

arithmetic problems involving

concepts, such as rate and proportion,

tax added, percentage off, computingan average with negative integers,

and computing with a given average

Translate from one representation of

data to another (e.g., a bar graph to a

circle graph)

Describes the skills

within a score range

that a student

is likely to know

Suggestions tostrengthen skills and

understanding

College Readiness Standards


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And statements thatprovide suggestions toprogress to a higher level

of achievement

Statementsthat describewhatstudentsare likely to

know andbe able todo...

ACTs Standards for Transition helps students improve scoresACTs Standards for Transition helps students improve scores


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The Goal of the ACT

To enable a student to truly illustrate his/hercollege and career readiness and mastery of corecontent unencumbered by the barriers inherent

to standardized tests, inclu

ding tim

e sensitivity,test management, fatigue, pressure, andunfamiliarity with the exam

Fortunately, there are non-cognitive strategies

that are system

ic to standardized tests that canenable testers to better illustrate their trueabilities so they can turn their poor testing intoa positive


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The Ultimate Goal of this

Preparation

To put the test-taker in a position tocontrol the test rather than letting the testcontrol the test-taker

Its all about tester control


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GENERAL TEST-TAKING

STRATEGIES


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Since its Curriculum-Based, it

is Somewhat Predictable

Since the exam draws from a body

of knowledge that doesntsubstantially change over time, it is

limited in the variety of questions it

can ask. Therefore, knowledge of

the College Readiness Standards isthe tests best preparation


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Predictability = Points

Since the test only changes in subtle ways you can

determine your strengths, weaknesses and patterns

MATH

33 algebra questions 14 pre-algebra

10 elementary algebra 9 intermediate algebra

23 geometry questions:

14 plane geometry

9 coordinate geometry

4 Trigonometry questions

Know what to study and what to invest your time in


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Punctuation 10 ques.Grammar and Usage 12 ques.Sentence Structure 18 ques.

Rhetorical

Strategy 12 ques.Organization 11 ques.Style 12 ques.

75 items, 45 minutes

ACT English TestContent


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Bubble in Blocks

Answer the questions in blocks of ten on your test and then

transfer to the bubble sheet in one action this shaves off

about 8 seconds per question, which may translate into a

testers ability to answer an additional TWO questions per

section, which may translate to time for an additional two

questions Start answering one-to-one at the five minute mark

Reserve the last couple ofminutes to make sure all your

bubbles are filled in (no penalty for guessing)


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Letter-of-the-Day

No guessing penalty

Go into the test with a Letter-of-the-Day already determined. No

letter is more correct than any other (no Ouija Board guessing)

Dont guess yourself right out of your guaranteed 20% to 25%

If youve used Process-of-Elimination (POE) to eliminate your

Letter-of-the-day then randomly guess from whats left (now

you have a 24.5% to 33.3% chance)


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SACRIFICE TO

SUCCEED

215 questions on the test. Answer 125 correctly and you achieve the

nationalmean. On most tests, 55% correct equals a fail. On the ACT,

55% represents the national mean. The key is determining the right

questions to spend your time on

Therefore, its important to recognize and answer the easier questions

correctly while saving the most difficult questions for last. Test

questions basically and slightly goe from easiest to hardest although

this can be personal and there are exception that well discuss

In other words, you sometimes need tosacrifice to succeed. Recognize

the difficult questions, save them, guess ifunsure, and live to fight

another, more winnable battle


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Three Pass SystemNow-Later-Never: TRIAGE

Do NOT necessarily answer the questions in order

Do the questions you know that you know first, even if their supposed to bemore difficult

Bubble in your letter-of-the-day for the ones you KNOW youDONT know

Circle questions that youre not sure about but want to leave some time for at thend to give another try. Dont get stubborn and try to work tough questions outon your first pass

If you get stuckmidstream on a question,DONT get stubborn. Youre probablnot going to have an Ah Ha moment but youmight on a second pass with freseyes.

By answering the easy questions on your first pass, youll have more confidenceduringyour second pass


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Process of Elimination (POE)

Incorrect answersmay be easier to spotand eliminate than your ability to

work out the correct answer

Which of the following alternatives to the underlinedportion is LEAST acceptable?

A. Similar to

B. Closely related to

C. Separate from

D. Resembling

A,B and D are too similar and subjective

Answers that too close cant be correct


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More POE The test does have some distracter answers,

so when you think youre making a good

guess, youmay be picking the exact wrong

answer they want you toBased on the passage, what does the authormean by the word

diorama?

A. Dramatic

B. Miniature

C. EqualD. Theatrical

A and Dmay be distracters since they could could

both be related to logical conclusions you could draw

fromDiorama.


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MATH STRATEGIES


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Math Timing

Questions tend to proceed from easier to more difficult

althou

gh this distinction canb

e largely personal. You

mu

strecognize whats easier or harder for YOU regardless of itsnumber

The test will typically throw in one REALLY difficult

question/s early to slow you down and cause frustration

Typically, you can judge difficulty by how many steps areinvolved: one or two; vs. two or three; vs. three or more


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Hard Question41.Four carpenters each built an average of42 chairs last week. If no

chairs were left uncompleted, and if Peter, who built 50 chairs, builtthe greatest number of chairs, what is the least number of chairs oneof the carpenters could have built, if no carpenter built a fractional

number of chairs?

Question 22 has two steps whereas question 41 has four steps.Therefore, question 41 might be a good one to save

Medium Question22.Four carpenters built an average of42 chairs

each last week. If Cynthia built 36 chairs, Nancbuilt 74 chairs, and Kevin built 13 chairs, how

many chairs did Peter build?


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Bypass the Bogs - Math

Skip the questions (on your first pass) that youknow are tough for YOU. Whats tough variesfrom person to person

Dont spend five-minutes to miss number seven,

leaving you

rself less tim

e to devote to numb

ers 28,29, and 30, which may be appreciably easier

Determine question difficulty early (i.e., is it a one-step, two-step or three step problem)

Know you

r natu

ral strengths and weaknesses. I.e.,youmight be great at geometric slope questions butvery poor at cosmic algebra, where youre notnecessarily solving for x


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Math: Now, Later, Never

First Pass: Youre sure you know how to do it

Second Pass: You think you know how to do it so

you give it a quick try but you probably circle it

and wait until a second pass

Third pass: Youre sure you dont know the

answer, so yoububble in the letter-of-the-day and

you might take another shot, time allowing By doing all the easier questions on the first pass,

you gain confidence going into the second pass


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What Calculator to Use

Ideally, use a TI-83

TI-89 and TI-92s are not allowed


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Plugging in and

Backsolving

When asked to solve for x, then try working

backwards from your answers choices (assuming

you dont know the equation) always starting with

the middle answer choice, this way youll never

have to plug in more than two choices

When not asked to solve for a particular variable

you can plug-in reasonable numbers


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2. If $600 was deposited in a bank account for one year and earned interest of

$42, what was the interest rate?

F. 6.26%

G. 7.00%

H. 8.00%

I. 9.00%

K. 9.50%

If you know the equation, use it. If you dont know the equation, then

backsolve from the answers

Start with H so depending on the answer you only have to work in one direction

Does 8% of 600 = $42? No it equals 48 so youll want to move down to 7%

Does 7% of 600 = $42? Yes it does equal 42 so you have your answer

Backsolving


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READING STRATEGIES


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Prose Fiction 25%Social Sciences 25%Humanities 25%

Natural Science 25%


ACT Reading TestContent


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Testers typically find that one type ofpassage is consistently more difficult forthem than the other three, typically by upto 20%. Save this difficult passage for last

The toughest passages are usually either

prose fictions (sub-text, metaphor,allegory, etc.) or natural science(unfamiliar terminology) but, again, this isvery personal

Know Your Strengths


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Skip to Score

Testers have approximately 9 minutes per passage if theyre going toattempt all four. With this time pressure and the existence of atough passage, testers will typicallymake several careless errors

while ru

shing throu

gh easier passages ju

st to get to the tou

gh passage,which theyll typically do very poorly on regardless of the amount oftime they invest

If testers choose to concentrate on three passages, they have almost 12minutes per passage, thus theyll probablymake fewer careless errors.Assuming the tester guesses into 25% on the tough passage, this tester

will achieve a score in the top 10 percentile of the country by onlyconcentrating on three passages and guessing on the fourth

Of course, this strategy must be used with discretion dependent uponthe testers realistic target score


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The Loop

1. Find the critical words and phrases in the

questions (dont actually read the question)2. Find those same critical words and phrases

in the passage so you know to slow down

3. Skim the passage and note the main idea of

each paragraph. Youre not reading fordiscrete information but rather formain ide

4. Practice the loop.


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Extremes are Inexcusable

ACT is careful to avoid correct answers thatrepresent extreme views

Preferred Answer Choice words:

may, can, should, usually, some

Questionable Answer Choice Words:

always, never, will, must, unquestionably


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18. Based on the passage, how does the author feel about thework of Langston Hughes?

A. He was the greatestblack author of his timeB. His appeal was universal

C. He was one ofthe greatest authors of the 20th century

D. His workonly appealed to Americans


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ENGLISH STRATEGIES


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Punctuation 13%

Grammar and Usage 16%Sentence Structure 24%

RhetoricStrategy 16%

Organization 15%Style 16%


ACT English TestContent


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Do the questions in order leaving the

Rhetorical qu

estions for last (if for no otherreason than rhetorical questions aretypically more time consuming than theother types of questions)

Refrain from Rhetoric


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Look for comma splicing. I.e.,

linking two independent

clauses without any

punctuation

Pay very close attention if a

verb or adverb is in the answer

choice. Odds are that the

answer is based on their proper

usage

Some of Their Favorite Kinds of Questions


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Science Section


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Drawn from Biology, Chemistry,

Physics, and Physical Science:

Data Representation 38%Research Summaries 45%Conflicting Viewpoints 17%


ACT Science TestContent


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Know Whats in the Section

Charts and Graphs

15 questions: 3 passages

Experiments (aka Research Summaries)

18 questions: 3 passages

Fighting Scientists (aka Conflicting Viewpoints)

7 questions: 1 passage


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Charts and Graphs

They do not have summaries or experiments Scan and look for trends

Use guesstimation and POE


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Higher Order Thinking Skills

(HOTS)

Answers are rarely based on questions that

areb

ased on rotem

em

orization, discreteknowledge, and basic skills

Answers tend to require analysis,

interpretation, assessments


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General Testing Considerations


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Analyze a three-hour test for six hoursrather than spend nine hours taking three

tests. You need to know exactlywhy you gotevery question right as well as wrong

Perfect Practice out

Performs Persistent

Practice


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Test Information Release

You Can take the real test and get back the

all the test questions, with a key and your

answers

Best possible preparation is to review this

Only available in December, April and June

Costs and extra $17 at time of test

registration


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Test Registration

Recommendations Even though you can send 4 score reports to schools free of

charge, this may not be advisable

Even though you can tell schools which test you want themto look at, theyll still see all of your test score submissions

Its safer to spend the extra money and send your scoresonce you know what they are

Try to take your first test on a Test Information Releasedate where you can get your test and the correct answersback (it costs $18) so you can have some real review


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The ACT is for grades 11 & 12

11th is the best time!

The ACT is actually 4 tests:English, Math, Reading & Science

and an optional Writing Test

The ACT includes:

Career Interest Inventory A Student Profile

HS Course & Grade Information

Other ACT FACTS


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Colleges use this information forscholarship, advising, and courseplacement

Checking yes on the EOS box getsstudents into colleges scholarship andrecruitment pools!

Step 2:

Complete All The RegistrationInformation!


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Many colleges begin contacting prospective

students as early as the 10th grade - using

PLANs EOS information.

If you are a junior and do not score as well as

youbelieve you can, there will be

opportu

nities to retake the ACT du

ring thefall of your senior year.

More on Admission...

How do the tests compare?


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How do the tests compare?

ACT SAT

English, math, reading,science

Curriculum-based

Writing Essay: Optional

Writing Essay: 30 min.

Basic Fee: $33 ($48.00 with essay)

No penalty for guessing

Perfect score = 36

Students choose best score to

report to colleges Accepted nationally (Ivy

Leagues included)

Pre-ACT: PLAN (10th)

Career Interest Inventory

Critical reading, math,writing

Reasoning

Writing Essay: Mandatory

Writing Essay: 25 min.

Basic Fee: $45.00 Penalty for wrong answers

Perfect score = 2400

All scores reported to colleges

Accepted nationally (Ivy

Leagues included)

Pre-SAT: PSAT (11th)

2010 11 ACT National Test Dates


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2010-11 ACT National Test Dates

* September test dates is now available nationwide.

Test Date Registration Late Reg

Deadline Deadline

April 10, 2010 March 5, 2010 Mar 6-19, 2010

June 12, 2010 May 7, 2010 May 8-21, 2010

Sept. 11, 2010Oct. 23, 2010

Dec. 11, 2010

Feb. 12, 2011

April 9, 2011

June 11, 2011

Registration deadlines for 2010-

2011 will be posted on the Web

www.actstudent.org in March 2010.


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Take the Writing test only if your college(s)

of choice requires it.

Why spendm

ore tim

e and take a test that isnt necessary?Cost difference:

ACT $33.00

ACT Plus Writing $48.00

ACT strongly recommends that you contact college admissionoffices for their current Writing policy, although you can go to

www.actstudent.org for a list of what most schools require.

To Write, or Not to Write?


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Format:

30m

inu

tes Administered after The ACT

Scored by two well-trained, qualified readers

Standards-based interpretation

Narrative included

More About the Optional Writing Test


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Check out ACTs website at:

www

.actstudent.org

Where Can You Get MoreInformation on The ACT?


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The ACT is a national college

admission test, accepted by

colleges and universities across

the United States!


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ACT Score Scale

1 - 36


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Open Up to 17

All HS grads until school capacity is reached

Liberal 18-19

Some from lower 1/2 of HS grad class

Traditional 20-22

Top 50% of HS grad class

Selective 23-26


Highly Selective 27-36


Estimated National Admission Selectivity Ranges


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Test Day Report to your test center/school no

later than 8am(unless told otherwise by school) Check in

Acceptable ID

Admission ticket (only required for nationaltest dates)


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Test Day Schedule English 45 min.

(no break)

Mathematics 60 min.

(15 min. break)

Reading 35 min.

(no break)

Science 35 min.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Writing (if taken) 30 min.


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How Do I Register for a

National ACTTest?

Registration Packet--available in

your high school counseling office Online at www.actstudent.org

Telephone Registration at

(319) 337-1270 Standby Testing


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ACT $33.00

ACT Plus Optional Writing $48.00*

Late registration additional $21.00

Standby testing additional $41.00

Additional Score Reports $9.00

Early Scores on the Web No charge

* The $15.00 Optional Writing Test fee is refundable if a student is absent or the

test option is changed before the test begins.

Fee waivers are available forThe ACTandThe ACT Plus Writing

How Much Does the ACTCost?

NEW


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When Will I Get My Scores?

Your score report will arrive

three to sevenweeks after youvetaken the ACT exam.


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Itsu

p to you

!Nationwide, about 1/3 of studentswho take the ACT also retest. Of

those, 55% increased their composite

score, 22% had no change, and 23%

decreased their composite score.

Should I Retest?


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If I retest, can I choose whichresults to send to colleges?

YES! Youmay select which ACT test tosend to colleges. However, youmust send the

entire student report which includes subscores

andyour composite score, and the Writing Testscore (if you take the Writing Test).


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What OtherTest Prep Resources

Are Available? Preparing For The ACT

free booklet available in your high school

www.actstudent.org

The Real ACT Prep Guide$25.00 (includes shipping & handling)

ACT Online Preppersonal version for$19.95


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www.actstudent.org


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Rem

emb

er!An An ACT score is only one itemthat colleges consider for

admission, so

Put YourBestFootPut YourBestFootForward!Forward!

ACT Readiness Powerpoint

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