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Texas Offers Test Options to Boost College Preparation Efforts
Patrick Guerra
Patrick Guerra knew that taking the ACT was important to his future, but worried about how he’d pay the test fee.
Thanks to the Texas Legislature, he took the test at no cost. Guerra, now a senior at Stratford High School in Houston, was one of approximately 14,500 Texas high school eleventh graders who took the ACT® this past spring and summer at state expense.
Earlier this year, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) partnered with ACT to offer EXPLORE®, PLAN®, and the ACT tests to public school, charter school, and home-schooled students. There are 1,030 independent school districts in Texas, representing 7,944 individual public schools.
Students work on assignments at Stratford High School in Houston.
The free assessments are part of the legislature’s goal to increase college preparation efforts and to expand access to college entrance exams to all students, said Kelly Callaway, foundation curriculum director, Division of Curriculum for TEA.
“We want to create a culture of college-going expectations for all students, especially those from families where college may not have been an option in the past because of the lack of access,” she said. “Texas is focused on making sure all of our students are ready to pursue postsecondary opportunities when they graduate from high school.”
The passage of this legislation and subsequent funding were the culmination of a six-year endeavor. Texas lawmakers have long been involved in education issues and the college readiness of the state’s students. They have made college preparation assessment legislation a priority.
Students look over a project during a class at Stratford High School.
EXPLORE, PLAN, and the ACT are components of ACT’s College and Career Readiness System. Each is a grade-appropriate, curriculum-based assessment that measures what students have learned in school. EXPLORE is for eighth and ninth graders, PLAN for tenth graders, and the ACT for eleventh and twelfth graders. The system helps students build a solid foundation for future academic and career success by assessing their current skills and encouraging them to plan effectively for the future.
Students like Guerra appreciate the state’s efforts. He took the ACT on June 12 and plans to attend a Texas college and major in elementary education. “I want to help elementary students develop the skills they need to move into a middle school program.”
A Houston high school student uses a calculator to figure out a math problem.
State funding also covered EXPLORE testing for eighth graders this past spring at 125 school districts. In addition, state funding will allow schools to offer EXPLORE assessments to eighth graders and PLAN assessments to tenth graders in the 2010–11 school year. ACT will provide professional development to participating districts to help educators make the best use of the results to improve instruction and raise student achievement.
With the no-cost test options, the state is providing a “great opportunity” for students, said Pat Waldrop, director of guidance and counseling at Spring Branch Independent School District in Houston. Her district has been administering EXPLORE and PLAN for the past two years and uses the results to track students’ academic progress.
“We all talk about wanting to do what’s best for kids. Opening up access to college readiness assessments for all students will help them get on the right track and better prepare them for postsecondary success,” she said.