FAQ List of Questions for Teachers in Carbon TIME about ACT Suite of Assessments

General Questions

  1. Will the ACT assessments take a lot of time?
  2. No. The pre-test and post-test both take about 30 minutes. The Behavioral Index and the Interest inventory take about 15 minutes each.
  3. Are the ACT assessments a required part of Carbon TIME?
  4. No, but they can provide valuable additional information about your students achievement, behavior, and goals.

Questions Regarding the Achievement Domain

  1. What is on the assessments?
  2. The ACT Science Summative assessments focus on science practices through questions on interpreting data, understanding scientific investigations, and evaluating models and inferences.
  3. How will the students take the assessments?
  4. The assessment will be delivered through the same testing portal as the other Carbon TIME assessments. Unlike other Carbon TIME assessments, these must be completed in one sitting (35 minutes for middle school, 30 minutes for high school). There is a pre-test (fall) and a post-test (spring) available.
  5. What is on the assessments?
  6. The assessments are based on the ACT College and Career Readiness Standards for science. They focus on the scientific practices that are predictive of success in Freshman Biology in college. Free test prep materials and information can be found at http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/ .
  7. How will the scores be reported?
  8. Teachers will receive a class report with the percentile score for the student on the Science Summative section. When students take the post-test, a report can compare student improvement to the typical score trajectory from the original score earned. These percentile ranks can then be used to compare to other ACT measures such as the Career and College Readiness Benchmarks.
  9. Is the assessment age appropriate?
  10. Yes. There are separate assessments for Middle School (Grades 6-8) and High School (9-11) that have been validated as being appropriate for the target age group by expert panels.
  11. Will the results show the impact of good PD and instruction?
  12. ACT research has shown that students who take more science classes that focus on scientific practices show higher scores at the end of high school. The data from these assessments may be used to show the positive impact of the Carbon TIME project on student achievement.

Questions about the Behavioral Index

  1. What is measured?
  2. The Behavioral Index reports scores in key non-cognitive areas that are correlated to student academic achievement: Motivation, Social Engagement, and Self-Regulation.
  3. What do you mean by Motivation?
  4. These are characteristics that help students to succeed academically by focusing and maintaining energies on goal-directed activities. These are computed from sub-scores in Academic Discipline, Commitment to School, and Optimism.
  5. What do you mean by Social Engagement?
  6. These are interpersonal factors that influence students’ success at interacting with their environment. These are computed from sub-scores in Family Attitude (toward education), Family Involvement, Relationships with School Personnel, and School Safety Climate.
  7. What do you mean by Self-Regulation?
  8. These are cognitive and affective processes used to monitor, regulate, and control behavior related to learning. These are computed from sub-scores in Manage Feelings, Orderly Conduct, and Thinking before Acting.
  9. How much time does the Behavioral Index take?
  10. The Behavioral Index should take about 15 minutes and can be saved and finished later through the Carbon TIME portal.
  11. What is the value in this for me as a teacher?
  12. This can give you information about behaviors, attitudes, and resources that can impact student learning like the amount of family support for education as well as the educational goals of both the student and his/her family. Students who are at-risk to struggle academically because of these non-cognitive indicators can be identified.
  13. When will the Behavioral Index be available?
  14. It will be available throughout the school year; however, the insights it provides could be leveraged more effectively if it is delivered earlier in the year.

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