Subject: English Language Arts
Grade Level(s): 10
Measures Growth: No
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PLAN® contains four curriculum-based assessments: English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science. The assessment is based on the major areas of high school and postsecondary instructional programs and measures the skills and knowledge needed for college success. Additionally, PLAN includes a career exploration component that stimulates students' thinking about future plans and relates personal characteristics to career options. PLAN is designed to be aligned to the Common Core, and results are returned within two to four weeks.
Pros: Assesses higher-order thinking • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level
Cons: Takes students too long to complete
Pros: Helps me track my students' learning gains over the course of the school year • Data is presented clearly
Cons: Difficult to administer • Results are not returned quickly
Plan is great for preparing students for ACT but it takes forever to get the results and it is a very long assessment.
Submitted by Brittany in Tennessee on January 24, 2012
Pros: Aligned to the standards I teach • Assesses a range of students, including those from far below to far above grade level • Takes students a reasonable amount of time to complete
Cons: Does not assess higher-order thinking
Cons: Difficult to administer • Results are not returned quickly • Doesn't help me track my students' learning gains over time • It is hard to use the data • Is not helpful to my professional growth as a teacher
The strengths and weaknesses of the EPAS tests are well-known to high school teachers in the Midwest. Schools give one test in the fall, but it is difficult to give a similar test in the spring to measure growth. The results take at least a month to get, and it can be difficult for a teacher to use the data to zero in on individual student problems. On the other hand, since the tests come directly from ACT, there is a high level of reliability, and good scores on the Explore and Plan tests generally lead to good scores on the ACT.
At the end of the day, this is a great test for students to get an early idea of where they stand in terms of college admissions tests, but the tests offer very little in terms of teacher evaluation.
Submitted by Alex in Illinois on January 22, 2012
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