Transcript Mission(our purpose, function, value) The mission of the

A Peach of A Test – The New
ACCUPLACER® Diagnostics
Presenters:
Dr. Ron Gordon
Gordon Associates
Jonell Sanchez
The College Board
Dot McGinnes
Santa Fe College, FL
Goals and Objectives
 Increase number and percentage of students who are
“college-ready” in math and language arts
 Increase diversity, number and percentage of high school
graduates who:
 graduate from high school with a Standard Diploma,
 enroll in postsecondary education,
 earn a certificate or a degree at a community college
or career center,
 enroll in and complete upper division programs
How Can ACCUPLACER® Help?
 Administer ACCUPLACER® Placement tests to
high school sophomores and juniors - students
interested in attending college but not
academically ready
 Administer ACCUPLACER® Diagnostics to students
who fall below college-level cut-scores
 Assist high schools in remediating those students
Why Diagnostics…..
 To serve a growing demand for solutions to the need for
student remediation now provided by colleges.
 To provide an analysis of a student’s strengths and
weaknesses in English and math so that targeted study can
be prescribed.
 To provide support to high schools in remediating those
students.
 To provide information for curriculum analysis.
.
How can a Diagnostic Test Help?
 Improve College Readiness
 Provide opportunities for remediation targeted to
specific deficiencies prior to graduation
 Increase percentage of “Standard” Diplomas versus
Certificates of Completion or Special Diplomas
 Improve passing rates on GED
 Identify deficiencies in remedial students at
community college level
Administer ACCUPLACER® Diagnostics to:
 students in the 11th grade who score below collegelevel on ACCUPLACER® Placement,
 students enrolled in academic intervention programs,
 i.e., excess prep attempts
 students who wish to prepare for placement tests,
 prepare or evaluate students for dual-enrollment
courses,
 students in GEAR UP (Upward Bound, CAP)
programs.
 students in ABE, GED, or ESL programs
Item Development
 College Board Test Development staff developed about 992
new items
 248 new items in each test
 Approximately 50 items written for each domain (5 domains
per test)
 Every item was reviewed by three in-house content experts
 Testing process was reviewed thoroughly by 5 expert users to
validate performance and stability.
ACCUPLACER® Diagnostic Test Summary
Tests:
Reading Comprehension
Sentence Skills
Arithmetic
Elementary Algebra
Items:
40 items per test – broken into 5 domains of 8 items each
administered consecutively
Time:
Untimed (designed for less than 1 hour)
Design:
Computer Adaptive
Results:
Diagnostic analysis is assigned according to attributes within each
subject
Functionality:
Integrated into the ACCUPLACER suite of tests
ACCUPLACER®
Reading
Comprehension
•Passage-Based Reading: Main
Idea
•Passage-Based Reading:
Supporting Detail
•Passage-Based Reading:
Inference
•Passage-Based Reading:
Author's Purpose/Rhetorical
Strategies
•Sentence Relationships
ACCUPLACER®
Sentence Skills
•Sentence Structure
•Sentence Boundaries
•Modifiers
•Diction/Logic
•Agreement
ACCUPLACER®
Arithmetic
•Computation--fractions
•Computation--decimal numbers
•Problems involving percent
•Estimation, ordering, & number
sense
•Word problems & applications
ACCUPLACER®
Elementary Algebra
•Real Numbers
•Linear equations, inequalities,
and systems
•Quadratic expressions &
equations
•Algebraic expressions &
equations (other than linear and
quadratic)
•Word problems & applications
How Do We Know it Works?
• Five expert users provided test data for
analysis.
– Took each test 24 times, using a variety of answer
schemes (all correct, all incorrect, all A answers,
all B answers, etc. four times each.)
– Attempted to “break it down” by using the system
in branching profiles, adding background
information, etc.
It Works!
• Pearson responded quickly to any flaws
discovered, such as misspellings, bad
punctuation, mismatched titles, etc.
• The system functioned nearly perfectly right
from the “git-go.”
How to Use It
• ACCUPLACER® Diagnostics is built into the
standard ACCUPLACER® suite of tests.
• Engage diagnostics from a stand-alone
branching profile which only administers the
Diagnostics
• Use background information and regular test
scores to branch to Diagnostics.
Example
• BGQ in a group administered only if a test
score is below standards: “Some of your
scores indicate that you could benefit from one
or more diagnostic test(s) to help determine
where your weaknesses are. Each diagnostic
test could take up to an hour to complete.
Would you like to take those diagnostic tests
now? If not, you may wish to make an
appointment to come back and take them at a
later time.”
Example--continued
• If answer to BGQ is Yes, and if the score of
Arithmetic is less than 70, administer
Arithmetic Diagnostic.
• If the answer to BGQ is Yes, and if the score of
Elementary Algebra is less than 70, administer
Algebra Diagnostic.
Using The Results
• Develop short-term remedial courses, open
entry/open exit, to prepare students for placement
at a higher level.
• Guide students in career planning and major
selection.
• Get students ready for college-level work with
only the remediation necessary, not full-term
courses.
SUCCESS!!!
Our goal and yours is to help
students achieve their
academic and career goals.
Questions – Comments?