Test Descriptions in TestView



Test Descriptions in Enrich

ACT College Entrance Exam

The ACT Assessment is administered on six national test dates each year. It consists of four tests designed to assess students' general educational development and their ability to complete college-level work. The multiple-choice tests cover four skill areas:

• English

• Mathematics

• Reading

• Science

• Writing (optional)

The tests emphasize reasoning, analysis, problem solving, and the integration of learning from various sources, as well as the application of these proficiencies to the kinds of tasks college students are expected to perform.

In addition to providing a composite score and scores for each of four skill areas, the ACT Assessment also provides two sub scores in English, three sub scores in mathematics, and two sub scores in reading. Two scores are reported for the optional Writing Test: a Combined English/Writing score and a Writing Test sub score. See for additional information.

AP - Advanced Placement Test

The AP is administered every May to students wishing to qualify for college credit. AP scores follow a five point scale:

1- No Recommendation

2- Possibly qualified

3- Qualified

4- Well Qualified

5- Extremely Well-Qualified

In general, colleges like to see a score of 3 or higher.

CogAT - Cognitive Abilities Test

The CogAT is used to identify students for gifted programs. It is a standardized, norm-referenced, multiple-choice test.

 ELDA – English Language Development Assessment

ELDA is designed to measure annual progress in the acquisition of English language proficiency skills among non-native English speaking students. ELDA measures academic and social language proficiency in four domains: speaking, listening, reading and writing. ELDA uses five levels of proficiency in each domain:

1 = Pre-functional

2 = Beginner

3 = Intermediate

4 = Advanced

5 = Fully English Proficient

EOCEP - End of Course Examination Program

The EOCEP is required by the South Carolina Education Accountability Act of 1998. End of Course exams are required for gateway or benchmark courses and account for 20 percent of the final grade in the course. The following courses require the EOCEP:

• Algebra 1/Math for the Technologies 2

• English 1

• Physical Science

• Biology 1/Applied Biology 2

• U.S. History and Constitution

EXPLORE

EXPLORE is administered to 8th graders as a tool to identify strengths and weaknesses for career planning. It consists of four separate achievement tests for English, Mathematics, Reading and Science. The test results reflect how the students’ scores compare to others in the same school, district and state. A World of Work Map is also provided to show career areas for which the student may be well-suited. The content of the EXPLORE test is closely tied to the content of the PLAN and ACT tests.

HSAP - High School Assessment Program

The HSAP exam meets the requirements of both the South Carolina Education Accountability Act of 1998 and the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. It replaces the BSAP Exit exam. The HSAP assesses selected South Carolina curriculum standards in English language arts and mathematics that students have had opportunity to learn by the end of the tenth grade. Students will be given multiple opportunities to pass the HSAP test(s). Beginning with the graduating class of 2006, students must pass both the ELA and mathematics HSAP tests to graduate.

The English language arts examination consists of multiple-choice and constructed-response items and an extended-response writing item. The mathematics test consists of multiple-choice items and three integrated-response items that require students to show their work to support their answers.

The mathematics and ELA tests each have four achievement-level scores: Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4. A student must score Level 2 or higher on each test in order to meet the graduation requirement.

ITBS - Iowa Test of Basic Skills

The ITBS is a standardized achievement test that assesses student progress in content areas appropriate for specific grades. This is a norm-referenced assessment that allows teachers to compare how their students and school are doing compared to other students at the same grade level across the nation. Students are assessed in the areas of reading and math for gifted and talented placement.

MAP - Measures of Academic Progress

MAP is administered twice a year, once in September and again in March, to grades 2-8 in Reading and Mathematics. Ninth graders take only the Reading test. We began giving the MAP in Spring 2002; therefore not all students have MAP scores.

There are three types of MAP scores:

• The RIT score relates directly to the curriculum scale in each subject area. RIT scores range from about 150 to 300 depending upon the scale and test season.

• The percentile tells us how students are doing compared to other student in the same grade level nationally. For example, if a student is scoring at 76th percentile, it means they are scoring as good as or better than 76% of the students in the national sample of the same grade level taking that test. We consider the 60th percentile or higher to be good.

• The Lexile ranges will be found only in conjunction with Reading scores. A Lexile is assigned to students based on the questions they answered right or wrong on the MAP Reading test. Using the Lexile score, appropriate independent reading materials can be chosen from , under the Search Titles tab.

PACT - Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test

The PACT was administered during the Spring of 2008 to third through eighth graders in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics (Math). PACT was replaced with Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) during the spring of 2009.

There were two types of scores:

• The PACT Level refers to the four criteria levels of PACT: Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, Advanced.

• The Scale Score refers to the three digit number.

PASS - Palmetto Assessment of State Standards

The PASS is administered during the Spring to third through eighth graders in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics (Math).

PLAN

PLAN can be used as a pre-ACT test to help predict success on the ACT Assessment. It can help identify a student's academic strengths and weaknesses and aid in career planning. PLAN is typically administered in the fall of 10th grade.

PLAN consists of the following tests and subtests:

• English (Usage/Mechanics and Rhetorical skills).

• Math (Pre-algebra/Algebra and Geometry)

• Reading

• Science

Test results include scores for each test and subtest, along with a composite (average) score. National percentile rank is also provided for each score.

SAT - Scholastic Assessment Test

The SAT is the nation's most widely used admissions test among colleges and universities. It tests students' knowledge of subjects that are necessary for college success: reading, writing, and mathematics. The SAT assesses the critical thinking skills students need for academic success in college—skills that students learned in high school.

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