Quantitative Growth

QUANTITATIVE GROWTH OVERVIEW
The ACT test is one of the most important tests my students will take. The ACT score is a critical component of college admissions, scholarships, and career opportunities. All my 11th grade students will take the official ACT in April and June. In preparation for the official ACT test, my students take previously released, real ACT tests at the end of each quarter of the school year, which KIPP network calls Interim ACTs (IA). The IAs are taken under standardized testing conditions, as students have no prior exposure to the questions, and are proctored by school administration. The purpose of the IAs is assess student mastery of the ACT standards, and project student ACT scores.

Interim ACT data is made available to me within a few weeks after the test date. I find IA data highly valuable because it provides me with a deeper understanding of student strengths, tendencies, and misconceptions. I analyze the data on a whole roster, general versus special education, and individual student level, so that I can push all my students towards earning their highest score on the next IA. My students and families are motivated and invested on the IAs and in our preparation for the ACT, because they can see the real-world opportunities created by higher ACT scores. Currently, my students have achieved 0.9 years of ACT growth within the first semester, and they are on track to achieve 1.9 years of growth by the end of the school year. 

Please scroll down or click on the table of contents below to learn more about how my students achieved quantitative, dramatic academic growth on the ACT test.
​
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Overview of the ACT
ACT Sample Math Questions
ACT Scoring Chart
Data and Analysis
Individual Examples of Dramatic Growth
Teacher Reflection

Overview of the ACT
The ACT is a standardized, multiple-choice test in the areas of English, mathematics, reading, and science, with an optional writing section. The ACT is most commonly used for college admissions, as it is accepted by all four-year undergraduate colleges and universities in the US. The ACT states that its test assesses for college readiness, as the test makers have found there is a strong correlation between a student's ACT score and the likelihood that student will graduate from college (ACT.org, 2018). Over two million students take the ACT each year. Most students take a paper ACT test, as the computerized-version is currently available only within select school districts. In the US, the ACT is offered six times a year, on a set date, at a set time. It is a three hour and 35 minute long exam.

In the mathematics section of the ACT test, students are assessed on standards incorporated from secondary school curriculum across the US. The ACT has created and made public its own College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS), and all questions on the test can be mapped to CCRS. Since achievement on the ACT is critical for my students' success in college and beyond, I align my year-long, unit, and lesson plans with CCRS. I incorporate released ACT questions into my class materials on a daily basis so that students have consistent exposure to the unique structure and wording of the exam. In addition, students are familiar with CCRS, as all my assessments are labelled by CCRS in my grade book. Students and families have online access to my grade book so that they can also track standards-based mastery.

To learn more, visit the ACT website at: https://www.act.org/

ACT Sample Math Questions
On the mathematics section of the ACT, all questions fall in one of the following strands: number and quantity, algebra, functions, geometry, and statistics. After a test is released, the ACT labels each question with its strand and level. Levels, ranging from the 200s to the 700s, indicate difficulty. Students have 60 minutes to answer 60 questions that generally increase in difficulty. Generally, the first 20 questions stem from strands within the 200-400 level, the middle 20 questions from the 400-500 level, and the last 20 questions from the 600-700 level. Students may use four function, scientific, or graphing calculators through the mathematics section; however, they are not provided with any mathematical formulas. The ACT mathematics section challenges students to work efficiently, strategically, and accurately, while students are limited by the testing time.

ACT Scoring Chart
Raw ACT scores are scaled by section to create a scaled score. The scaled score is used by four-year undergraduate admissions committees across the national to compare students on a quantitative basis. Composite and section scaled scores each range from 1 to 36, with the average composite ACT score at 21, and the average mathematics score at 19.5. ​On the mathematics section, a score of 22 is considered as "college readiness", which is reached by students in the 61 percentile and above. In 2017, less than 3,000 students received a full score of 36 (ACT.org, 2018). 
Picture
This scoring chart published by ACT reveals how raw scores are converted to scaled scores. For example, a student who answers 54 out of the 60 questions correctly will earn a 32 on the mathematics section of the ACT.

Data and Analysis
INTERIM ACT MATHEMATICS GROWTH OVERVIEW
Below please find my students' Interim ACT (IA) growth from the beginning through the second quarter of the 2017-2018 school year. My students' IA scores demonstrate quantitative, significant academic growth. On the ACT diagnostic my students took during the first week of school, my students earned an average score of 15.2, which placed them at the 15th percentile. My school administration and I set a high goal for my students to grow three points on the mathematics section of the ACT over the course of the year. At an average score of 18, my students will have made gains up to the 43rd percentile.

However, my students are incredibly hardworking, and with standards-based and data-driven instructional planning and delivery, we have exceeded all expectations. With only half of the year completed, my students are only 0.2 points away from meeting our year-long growth goal of three points. My students made consistent gains, growing 1.3 points over the first quarter of the school year, and 1.5 points over the second. At our current average growth of 1.4 points each quarter, my students will be able to score an average of 20.8 on the mathematics section of the ACT by year end. This means they would have grown from being in the 15th percentile of test takers to the 58th percentile, which is equivalent to 1.9 years of growth. On average, my students' ACT scores will be high enough to support their admissions into selective colleges and universities. 
INTERIM ACT MATHEMATICS GROWTH BY STRAND
All ACT mathematics questions are classified by a strand of mathematical topics. The current strands are number and quantity, algebra, functions, geometry, and statistics. Even though I am an Algebra II teacher, I use high impact teaching methods to teach geometry and statistics skills, as both are common strands on the ACT. I create rigorous, multi-skill questions that blend algebra and functions with geometry, statistics, and number and quantity, so that my students have daily exposure to multiple ACT mathematics strands. On average, student mastery of each strand grew from 30% on the diagnostic ACT to 47% on Interim ACT 2 (IA 2), which students took at the end of the second quarter.

After each IA, I analyze my students' growth by strand because I want to know with which strands they need the most practice. On the diagnostic ACT, student mastery was the lowest on the functions strand. In response, I designed an Algebra II curriculum that heavily incorporated lessons on linear, quadratic, polynomial, radical, rational, and logarithmic functions. From the diagnostic ACT to IA 2, my students grew from 20% to 35% mastery of ACT function standards. In addition, recent content that I explicitly taught shows significant growth by strand. Right before my students took IA 2, we were in the middle of our probability and statistics unit. Therefore, on IA 2, my students answered about 68% of all ACT statistics questions correctly, a significant improvement from their 21% average on the diagnostic ACT. Below please find my students' ACT growth by strand, over the first two quarters of the 2017-2018 school year. 

Individual Examples of Dramatic Growth
INDIVIDUAL STUDENT ANALYSIS OVERVIEW
Analyzing IA data on a whole class basis provide me with only a general understanding of my students' learning needs. Whole class analysis is helpful for whole class instruction; however, individual student analysis helps me target my teaching methods during small group and individual instruction. Therefore, I create individual IA data reports that illustrate student mastery by mathematics strand. I group students by their weakest strand in station learning groups, and collaborate with my co-teachers on creating skills-based lessons for each station learning group. By differentiating instruction through individual IA data analysis, I prepare all my students to earn their highest ACT score. 

Student and family investment in the ACT is essential, because my students need motivation and purpose to persist in the hard work of raising their ACT score. Within a few weeks after an IA, I share individual reports with students and their families. During class, my students reflect on their strengths and growth opportunities on the ACT. My students set goals for their mathematics score on the next IA, and target the ACT mathematics strands they need to practice. I teach three general education Algebra II classes, and one inclusion Algebra II class. Across genders and abilities, students have experienced dramatic academic growth this year. Below are select, individual examples of student reports from the diagnostic ACT through IA 2.
INDIVIDUAL STUDENT REPORTS FROM THE ACT DIAGNOSTIC
On the ACT mathematics diagnostic, my general education students, Student #1 and #2, showed no mastery of any strand. Student #1 earned a score of 14, and Student #2 earned a score of 15. Student #2 did show mastery of 300-level ACT problems, which were the most basic skilled problems on the test. My special education students, Student #3 and #4, also did not show mastery of any strand, and their scores were on average several points lower than that of general education students. Student #3 earned a score of 8, and Student #4 earned a score of 12.
INDIVIDUAL STUDENT REPORTS FROM INTERIM ACT 2
​These four select students all showed significant growth over the first semester of the 2017-2018 school year. My general education students, Student #1 and #2, achieved dramatic academic growth, as they gained three years of ACT growth within one semester. Student #1 grew from a score of 14 to 24, thereby increasing her ACT mathematics percentile rank from 21 to 74. She grew four points between the diagnostic ACT and IA 1, and then six points between IA 1 and IA 2. Student #2 grew from a score of 15 to 24, thereby increasing his ACT mathematics percentile rank from 27 to 74. He grew three points between the diagnostic ACT and IA 1, and then six points between IA 1 and IA 2. Both Students #1 and Student #2 now show mastery of algebra, functions, and statistics. 

My special education students, Student #3 and #4, also achieved dramatic academic growth, as they gained over two years of ACT growth within one semester. Student #3 grew from a score of 8 to 16, thereby increasing her ACT mathematics percentile rank from 2 to 32. She grew six points between the diagnostic ACT and IA 1, and then two points between IA 1 and IA 2. Student #4 grew from a score of 12 to 17, thereby increasing his ACT mathematics percentile rank from 13 to 36. He grew two points between the diagnostic ACT and IA 1, and then three points between IA 1 and IA 2. In addition, Student #4 now shows mastery of algebra and statistics.

Teacher Reflection
Each quarter my students take a real, previously released ACT test, administered by the KIPP network under standardized testing conditions. After my students take each Interim, I create a student score report that shows their growth over the year. Students and I analyze composite growth, mathematics section growth, mastery by mathematical topic, and mastery of specific CCRS. I communicate ACT growth with families, as students share their score report and set future score goals with their families. Currently, my students have achieved 0.9 years of ACT growth within the first semester, and they are on track to achieve 1.9 years of growth by the end of the school year. I look forward to cheering them through the doors of their official April and June ACTs because of their tremendous hard work and growth this year.