Michigan Provides EXPLORE^® and PLAN^® As Part of Statewide Pilot

Offering ACT’s EXPLORE and PLAN programs statewide came naturally to Michigan.

The state already has been administering the ACT^®, the ACT Writing Test, and three WorkKeys^® assessments annually to approximately 115,000 eleventh graders as part of its mandatory Michigan Merit Examination (MME).

Now, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) is also funding ACT’s EXPLORE and PLAN programs as part of a two-year pilot project available to all of the state’s local and intermediate school districts at no cost. Prior to the pilot, about 65 percent of Michigan students had participated in the two programs at school, district, or student expense.

Approximately 97,000 (about 81 percent) eighth-grade students were registered to participate in EXPLORE, and 96,000 (approximately 73 percent) tenth-grade students were registered to take PLAN during the first year of the pilot. It is anticipated that even more students will participate in spring 2013.

Vincent Dean

“We had talked for a long time about providing EXPLORE and PLAN to our districts to help them make sure students are on track in regard to college and career readiness,” said Vincent Dean, director of MDE’s Office of Standards and Assessment. “Through efficiencies at the MDE, we are finally able to support these programs for two years and give participating districts robust data that will help them track student growth.”

The connection of EXPLORE and PLAN to each other and to the ACT made them a logical choice for the state, he said. “A key factor for us was the research and standards alignment information from ACT that support EXPLORE and PLAN as predictive of success on the ACT.”

EXPLORE and PLAN results will help districts meet the state’s education reform initiatives. Student progress in core subjects will help determine if these efforts are successful in improving readiness for postsecondary experiences and closing achievement gaps.

Each year across the country, more than one million eighth and ninth graders take EXPLORE, and more than one million tenth graders take PLAN. Both programs include four curriculum-based assessments in English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science. These standardized multiple-choice tests, which are based on the major areas of high school and postsecondary instructional programs, measure the skills and knowledge needed for college success. Both programs include a career exploration component that stimulates students’ thinking about future plans and relates personal characteristics to career options.

Wendy Zdeb-Roper

Wendy Zdeb-Roper has long advocated for statewide adoption of EXPLORE and PLAN. As a former Michigan high school principal, she used data from the two programs extensively to track academic progress, develop interventions, and make curriculum and instruction improvements. She also met regularly with students and parents to discuss test results.

“The earlier we can help our students increase their level of college and career readiness, the more likely they are to succeed in high school and beyond,” she said. “EXPLORE and PLAN help validate the work students have done up to that point and give them and their parents the information they need to move forward.”

Now as executive director of the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP), Zdeb-Roper helps administrators learn to use EXPLORE and PLAN data for student support, curriculum review, school improvement planning, and teacher evaluation. She also partners with ACT representatives to present related workshops for principals and teachers.

She is particularly excited about the statewide administration of EXPLORE and PLAN.

“Most of the time, schools just need to know how to interpret and use the data. Once we point them in the right direction, they’re off and running. The MDE has taken a very important step for education in Michigan.”