Atkins High School Annual Testing Program 2013-2014

PLAN TEST for 10

th
Graders
Test is designed to prepare students for the ACT test used for college admissions. The
ACT is a standardized test consisting of reading math English science and !riting.
"esults are gi#en to Student Ser#ices and distri$uted $ac% to student test ta%ers.
Counselors help students anal&ze test results to identif& strengths and !ea%nesses in
su$'ect matter reflecti#e of the ACT. This gi#es students insight on !hat the& need to
stud& for the ACT. The PLAN also directs students to particular career fields $ased on
their strengths. Students !ho did !ell in a particular su$'ect are encouraged to e(plore
the career that coincides !ith their strengths.
)istrict Assessments* +iolog& Ci#ics and Economics Earth Science English , -ath 1
.S and /orld 0istor&
These assessments are administered to all students enrolled in the preceding courses
mentioned. The tests are often referred to as 1E2C3s or End of Course tests. +iolog&
English , and -ath 1 are reported to the state as an accounta$ilit& measure. E2Cs are
commonl& used as final or midterm e(ams comprising a certain percentage of the
students4 final grade. These results are displa&ed on the school portal that parents
teachers and students can access through a log5in screen. The role of the counselor is
minimal. 0o!e#er in some cases a counselor might administer or proctor a test. A
counselor ma& discuss results of test !ith student during indi#idual planning.
PSAT Test
The PSAT is administered to all 11
th
graders primaril& as practice for the SAT pro'ecti#e
college admissions test. As !ith the ACT the SAT attempts to predict ho! !ell a student
!ill perform in college. Sections include the su$'ects of critical reading math and
!riting. The PSAT results are gi#en to Student Ser#ices and then distri$uted to students
and parents. The results allo! the student to e(amine strengths and !ea%nesses related to
SAT material. This helps students stud& su$'ect areas. The PSAT also pro#ides 11
th

graders !ith the opportunit& to 6ualif& for the National -erit Scholarship. This is a
prestigious scholarship a!arded to the top performing students of the countr& !ho plan to
attend college. The director of guidance is responsi$le for coordinating and administering
this test. School counselors also meet indi#iduall& !ith students to anal&ze scores.
CTE Testing
CTE is an acron&m for career technical education. These courses are t&picall& outside of
the core curriculum re6uired $& the state. CTE prepares students for a !ide range of
careers and further educational opportunities. These careers ma& re6uire #ar&ing le#els of
education7including industr&5recognized credentials postsecondar& certificates and
t!o5 and four5&ear degrees. E(amples ma& include 0ealth Sciences +iotechnolog&
Engineering and Graphic )esign. CTEs are e6ui#alent to end of course e(ams. The&
count as a specified percentage of the students4 final grade. Counselors might administer
or proctor tests. Counselors !ill also re#ie! these scores during indi#idual planning.
ACCESS Testing
ACCESS for ELLs stands for Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English
State5to5State for English Language Learners. The ACCESS test assesses the four
domains of English language ac6uisition* listening spea%ing reading and !riting.
Students recei#e a score for each domain. ACCESS is a secure large5scale English
language proficienc& assessment gi#en to 8indergarten through 1,th graders !ho ha#e
$een identified as English language learners 9ELLs:. ;t is gi#en annuall& in /;)A
Consortium mem$er states to monitor students< progress in ac6uiring academic English.
The /;)A Consortium stands for /orld5Class ;nstructional )esign and Assessment. ;t
is an educational group of state departments of education. Currentl& == ..S. states
participate in the /;)A Consortium including North Carolina. /;)A designs and
implements proficienc& standards and assessment for grade 851, students !ho
are English language learners as !ell as a set of proficienc& standards and assessments
for Spanish language learners. /;)A also pro#ides professional de#elopment to
educators and conducts research on instructional practices as !ell as the results and use
of the ACCESS and /AP5T English language proficienc& assessments. "esults of
ACCESS testing generate results that ser#e as one criterion to aid in determining !hen
ELLs ha#e attained the language proficienc& needed to participate meaningfull& in
content area classrooms !ithout program support and on state academic content tests
!ithout accommodations. ACCESS pro#ides districts !ith information that !ill aid in
e#aluating the effecti#eness of their ESL>$ilingual programs. ;t also pro#ides information
that can $e used to enhance instruction and learning for ELLs. Counselors might use this
information in consideration of course selection or ;ndi#idual Education Plans.
ACT Testing
The ACT is a standardized pro'ecti#e aptitude test that attempts to measure ho! !ell a
student !ill perform in college. -ost colleges and uni#ersities re6uire the ACT or SAT
for consideration of admission. This test is administered free of charge to all 11
th
graders
in North Carolina. Students can score on a range of 15=?. The minimum score to $e
admitted to a four5&ear college or uni#ersit& is 1@. Sections include reading math
English science and !riting. After completing the ACT students send scores to the
colleges the& !ant to attend. These scores are ta%en into consideration $& the colleges
along !ith factors including GPA class ran% accomplishments a!ards and so on.
Scores are made a#aila$le to students and counselors. Counselors !ill often anal&ze test
scores !ith students during indi#idual planning for college selection. Counselors !ill
often present students !ith college admissions information including a#erage ACT test
scores accepted $& the most recentl& admitted class.
AP Tests
AP stands for Ad#anced Placement. These courses are taught at a college5le#el and meant
to challenge ad#anced high school students. AP tests are final e(ams that determine
students4 final grades in a course and !hether students !ill recei#e college credit. AP
tests are achie#ement tests designed to measure master& in a gi#en course. 0o!e#er the
master& le#el is determined $& comparing the ra! scores of the entire testing population.
The students essential create the ru$ric. The tests are the culmination of &ear5
long Ad#anced Placement 9AP: courses. All $ut one of the AP e(ams com$ine multiple5
choice 6uestions !ith a free5response section in either essa& or pro$lem5sol#ing format.
AP Studio Art the sole e(ception re6uires students to su$mit a portfolio for re#ie!. The
AP Grades that are reported to students high schools colleges and uni#ersities in Aul&
are on AP<s fi#e5point scale*5* E(tremel& !ell 6ualifiedB 4* /ell56ualifiedB3* CualifiedB
2* Possi$l& 6ualifiedB 1* No recommendation. Policies #ar& $& institution $ut most
schools re6uire a score of = or higher on an& gi#en e(am for credit to $e granted or
course prere6uisites to $e !ai#ed 9and some !ill a!ard an DAD grade for a E score.
Colleges ma& also ta%e AP grades into account !hen deciding !hich students to accept
though this is not part of the official AP program. Furthermore AP grades can add
considera$l& to student GPA !hich is an important factor admissions ta%es into
consideration. AP classes are rated , points higher per grade than a traditional grade. For
e(ample a traditional A in a course !ould $e !orth G points !hile an A in an AP course
!ould $e !orth ? points. Counselors ma& proctor these tests. ;nformation a$out these
tests is useful in indi#idual college planning.