The EXPLORE Test PowerPoint Presentation

1. THE EXPLORE TEST
WHAT YOU NEED
TO KNOW!

2. EXPLORE includes
Four multiple-choice tests:
Subject Number of Questions How long it takes
English 40 30 minutes
Math 30 30 minutes
Reading 30 30 minutes
Science 28 30 minutes
• Your skills in these subjects will make a big difference -
in school and, eventually, in your career.
• Once you know what each test covers, your EXPLORE
test results can show you where you're strong or weak.

3. The English Test
• The EXPLORE English Test measures your
understanding of standard written English—
punctuation, grammar and usage, and sentence
structure (Usage/Mechanics)—and your
understanding of the use of strategy,
organization, and style in writing (Rhetorical
Skills).
• You receive a total score for the English test and
separate scores (called "subscores") for Usage/
Mechanics and Rhetorical Skills.

4. The Math Test
• The EXPLORE Math Test measures your
mathematical reasoning. The test focuses on
your ability to reason in math rather than on how
well you have memorized formulas or can do
involved computations.
• Questions on the test cover four areas—
knowledge and skills, direct application,
understanding concepts, and integrating your
understanding of concepts—in pre-algebra,
elementary algebra, geometry, and statistics and
probability.

5. The Reading Test
• The EXPLORE Reading Test measures
your ability to understand written material
from different school subjects. The skills
measured include referring to details in the
passage, drawing conclusions, and
making comparisons and generalizations.
The test does not cover information
outside the passages, vocabulary taken
out of context, or formal logic.

6. The passages are typical of materials
you might read in school, including:
• Prose Fiction
– Short stories or excerpts from short stories or novels
• Humanities
– Excerpts from memoirs and personal essays, and from works on
architecture, art, dance, ethics, film, language, literary criticism,
music, philosophy, radio, religion, television, and theater
• Social Sciences
– Excerpts from works on anthropology, archaeology, biography,
business, economics, education, geography, history, political
science, psychology, and sociology

7. The Science Test
• The EXPLORE Science Test measures
your scientific reasoning skills and your
ability to understand scientific information
and draw conclusions from it.

8. Six sets of scientific information are
presented in one of three formats:
• data representation (graphs, tables, and
other forms)
• research summaries (descriptions of
several related experiments)
• or conflicting viewpoints (two or more
hypotheses that are inconsistent with one
another)

9. • Materials for this test are drawn from the
life sciences, Earth/space sciences (e.g.,
geology, astronomy, and meteorology),
and physical sciences. The test
emphasizes your scientific reasoning skills
rather than how well you can recall
scientific facts, or your skills in
mathematics or in reading

10. EXPLORE, PLAN, and the ACT
• EXPLORE is the first part of a testing
system that goes on to include PLAN and
the ACT.
• Typically, students take EXPLORE in the
8th or 9th grade, PLAN as 10th graders,
and the ACT as juniors or seniors.
• All three test you in English, math,
reading, and science.

11. What Your
Score Report Tells You!
• The EXPLORE Student Score Report
gives information about your knowledge,
skills, interests, and plans. You can use
this information as you plan your high
school coursework and begin thinking
about college and work.

12. • Your report tells you how you did on the
EXPLORE tests and how your scores
compare to those of other students across
the nation.
• It contains information about your
educational and career plans, interests,
high school coursework plans, and the
amount of help you think you need in
seven areas.

13. What Do My Scores Mean?
• Your scores are between 1 (the lowest
score you can receive) and 25 (the
highest score you can receive) even
though you answered a lot more than
25 questions on the EXPLORE test!

14. Your Composite Score is simply the average of your test scores in
English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science (rounded to a whole
number).

15. The two scores directly under English tell you
how well you did in these two areas of English:
• Usage/Mechanics—
punctuation, grammar
and usage, and sentence
structure
• Rhetorical Skills—your
understanding of the use
of strategy, organization,
and style in writing
• These scores only range
from 1 to 12. Added
together they do NOT
necessarily equal your
English Test score.

16. How Do My Scores Compare with Those of
Other Students Who Took EXPLORE?
• Next to your
scores, you'll find
the percent of
students scoring
at or below your
score. This shows
you how your
scores compare to
those of students
across the country
who took
EXPLORE.

17. • The example above shows 74% next to the student's
English score. This means she scored as high as or
higher than 74% of students in her grade across the U.S.
who took EXPLORE at about the same time.
• The other percents show how you scored relative to
other students who took EXPLORE in your school, your
school district, and your state.

18. How Can I Improve?
• The back of your Score Report describes
the skills and knowledge you already
probably have.
• You'll also see some ideas for improving
even more in the different subject areas.
The suggestions are based on your
scores and can help you do better.

19. You will definitely want to discuss these ideas with your counselors,
teachers, and parents so that you can work together to get the most from
your courses and be "college ready."

20. Your Future
• When you took EXPLORE, you answered
questions about your educational and
career plans.
• This information can help you learn more
about careers, clarify your goals, and
begin to plan your future—including your
high school courses and, perhaps, a
college education.

22. Your Plans for High School
• Compare Your Courses to "Core"
College Prep Courses
• When you took EXPLORE, you were
asked about the courses you plan to take
in high school. This section of your Score
Report compares your plans to our
recommendations for
"core" college prep courses.

24. In this example,
the student should
take at least one
more year of math,
one more year of
social studies, and
one more year of
science.
See your
counselor if your
high school course
plans fall short of
our "core" college
prep course
recommendations.

25. Thinking about College?
• Your EXPLORE results give you an early
clue as to whether you will be ready for
college-level work if you keep doing the
same things in school.
• ACT has also developed College
Readiness Benchmark Scores. If you
meet these benchmark scores, you are on
your way to having the skills you will need
by the time you finish high school.

27. The checkmarks show whether you scored
above, at, or below the benchmark scores.
•Students who score at or
above the College
Readiness Benchmark
Scores for EXPLORE in
English, math, and science
will probably do well in these
subjects in high school and
college if they keep up with
their coursework.
•Students scoring at or
above the reading
benchmark are on their way
to having the reading skills
they will need in all of their
high school and college
courses.

28. Your Career Possibilities
• It's not too soon to begin exploring
possible careers!
• Your EXPLORE Score Report helps you
start by focusing on a few career areas.

30. Exploring careers is easier if you have a good map. Launch the
World-of-Work Map at http://actstudent.org/wwm/explore_world.html
to begin exploring careers and occupations that might be right for you.

32. Small Learning Communities
• In high school you will choose a “Small Learning
Community” (SLC)
• The Explore Test helps you to identify the kinds
of careers you might want to pursue.
• Small Learning Communities are pathways to
help you prepare yourself with specific
knowledge related to that career.
• You will take specific classes related to your
SLC to help you be better prepared for College.

33. SLC Choices
• Arts & Technology
• Business & Finance
• Health Occupations
• Engineering & Design
• Social Justice & Law
• International Studies
• and more…

34. This is just the BEGINNING!
• Once you have completed 8th grade, you will be
entering the next part of your education to get
you closer to a successful education at a
College or University.
• Then you WILL be on your way towards a
successful future & chosen career.
• REMEMBER:
BELIEVE! (IN YOURSELF)
ACHIEVE! (YOUR GOALS)
SUCCEED! (IN LIFE)