What’s Happening with Accuplacer Diagnostics & My Foundations Lab?

Summer Institute 2013

What is ACCUPLACER?

 Placement test suite used by Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU)  Reading Comprehension  Sentence Skills  Arithmetic  Elementary Algebra  Computer-based test

What’s the ABE Interest?

 Poor performance on ACCUPLACER = Developmental Education requirements = High risk for not completing

Placement Tests vs. Diagnostic Tests  Placement Tests – 20 Questions, overall score used to place students  Diagnostic Tests – 40 Questions, scores in 5 content domains, each ranked:  Proficient  Limited Proficiency  Needs Improvement

What is My Foundations Lab?

  Content mapped specifically to ACCUPLACER  Online learning platform  Specifically designed for older teens and adults Unique learning path for each student based on ACCUPLACER Diagnostic test results

My Foundations Lab Reading Exercise

Pilot Project Overview  Funding made available through Joyce Foundation Shifting Gears Initiative for MN FastTRAC   MnSCU partnership required  Open to MN FastTRAC participants and ABE programs with college-prep classes 23 programs applied & accepted

Active Testing Sites          AEOA (Arrowhead) Austin Brainerd Burnsville Central MN – St. Cloud Duluth Fergus Falls & Detroit Lakes Glacial Lakes (Hutchinson/Willmar area) Minneapolis      Robbinsdale Adult Academic Program Rochester Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan Southwest St. Paul

College-Bound ABE Students

Who are we serving?

Test Sessions & Test-Takers by Age Group 51-65 41-50 31-40 21-30 18-20 0 50 # unique test-takers # test sessions 100 150 200 250 300 350

Prior Education  High School Graduates – 59%  GED Graduates – 27%  No HS Diploma or GED – 8%  Still in High School – 2.5%  Did not answer – 3.5%

Gender & Employment Status  Female - 59%  Male - 40.5%  Did not answer - .5%  FT Employed – 20%  PT Employed – 30%  Unemployed – 30%  Not in labor force – 9%  Did not answer – 11%

Racial/Ethnic Group Self-Description  Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander – 13%    American Indian – 3% Black or African American – 25%  Mexican or Mexican American – 11%  Multicultural – 1.5%    Other Hispanic, Latino, or Latin American – 8% White – 34% Other – 1.5% Did not answer – 3%

“What language do you know best?”  English only – 51%  English and another language about the same – 25%  Another language – 22%  Did not answer – 2%

How are they doing?

Testing Data 2012-2013

Mmm… Crunchy Numbers!

 With a partner, review the 2012-2013 testing data.

 For each of the 4 test subjects, identify the domains where students showed the greatest proficiency and the least proficiency.

 Overall, in what area do our students need the most improvement?

 Does anything in the data surprise you?

Finding Success

Promising Practices

Classroom Plus  MFL shows best results for ABE learners in combination with classroom instruction  Greater intensity of service = faster results  More examples  More practice  On-site lab time for those without Internet at home

Online Learning for College-Readiness  Focus on skills required in college coursework  Develop digital literacy skills  Develop independent study skills

Diagnostic Testing = Individualized Learning

Test Score Counseling “Don’t underestimate the value of sitting down for 20 minutes with your students to discuss their test results. Have a conversation about their learning. Give them the chance to practice their metacognitive skills. It takes time but it’s absolutely worth it.”

Teacher – Student = Doctor – Patient Test results need explaining!

The big question

How do we get this?

Become an MN ABE Accuplacer Test Site  Request by the ABE Manager  Identify $$$ - plan for purchasing units  Receive training

Questions?