Plan aims to raise test scores

After nearly a point drop in mandated ACT scores last school year, St. Mary Parish public school educators are using a series of pre-tests to devise a plan to raise the scores.
The plan includes targeting some students for higher-level courses, Superintendent Donald Aguillard said.
For the school year beginning in 2012, ACT tests became mandatory for all 11th graders across Louisiana.
Students in grades eight, nine and 10 take pre-ACT tests. The Explore test is given to eighth- and ninth-graders. The Plan test is given to 10th-graders.
The tests help students see where their strengths are as well as helping the district monitor student progress toward mastery of content that will be presented on the ACT, a news release from Aguillard said.
In the 2013-14 school year, a record-setting 564 St. Mary students took part in the national aptitude test used to measure core skills essential for success during a student’s first year of college, Aguillard said previously.
There were 49 more students tested in 2014 when the average score was 18 than in 2013, when the average composite in the parish was 18.8, Aguillard said.
The state average composite was 19.2 in 2014.
ACT historically has been used in Louisiana to determine college and career readiness. It tests four subjects: English, math, science and reading.
Using the pre-test results, parish educators developed a readiness plan that begins with ensuring that the ACT-tested content is emphasized within regular core classes as well as making connections within elective classes, Aguillard said.
Short-term activities in the plan include workbooks that have an average effect of lifting scores by 1.2 points and ACT courses and workshops that are shown to raise scores 1.5 points.
Teachers analyze pre-test results to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their classes in skills tested on the ACT. The analysis takes place within high school department meetings and is especially important in identifying gaps in curriculum needs in core classes of English, math, science and social studies, Aguillard said.
School counselors encourage students to take the ACT-recommended high school classes to maximize scores, he said.
The plan to improve ACT scores indicates taking biology plus chemistry and physics increases the average composite score by 2.6 points versus taking biology alone. Taking math classes beyond trigonometry increases scores by more than 5 points, the news release states.
Adding physics to the curriculum increases scores by an average of 2.6 points on the science content test. Likewise, adding calculus adds an average of 5.3 points on the math test, according to the release.
The plan also includes the opportunity for students to take an ACT prep class, allowing them to become familiar with ACT test-taking strategies. The classes are offered at all high schools.
Aguillard said parents play an important role in increasing ACT scores.
Parents can review pre-test results with their child. Through this review, parents can aid students in understanding their academic strengths and weaknesses, he said.
Reports can be reviewed with the student’s counselor as a measure of fully understanding the report. Parents who missed receiving their child’s Explore or Plan results should contact their child’s high school guidance office.
Students are encouraged to do their part in test preparation. Students need to rely on the guidance provided by their advisory teachers and by their school counselors, Aguillard said.
When confronted with the new expectations, students should ask questions and not shy from learning as much as they can about being college- and career-ready. Students also should access the multiple student resources within the ACT website, Aguillard said.
Students and parents of students who need accommodations should begin inquiring about them.
ACT accommodations differ from allowable state accommodations, and the process of qualifying needs to begin long before the March test, Aguillard said. School counselors are resources in the qualification process.
The St. Mary Parish ACT test preparation plan is available for review at: www.stmary.k12.la.us/ParentPages/Documents/SMP_ACTPlan_2014-15_09092014.pdf