Test strategies and item practice are not effective mechanisms for raising ACT scores; improvements are smaller the more class time goes to test preparation¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2008 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? PLAN-to-ACT improvements are smaller the more time teachers spend on test preparation and the more they use test preparation materials. → Elaine Allensworth 2008 q2 i? There is some modest benefit to timed full practice tests and English practice, but effects diminish once students have initial familiarity with the test. → Elaine Allensworth 2008 (2)

Evidence¶

Elaine Allensworth 2008¶

Elaine Allensworth, Macarena Correa, Steve Ponisciak. (2008). From High School to the Future: ACT Preparation–Too Much, Too Late. Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/high-school-future-act-preparation-too-much-too-late

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Survey- and score-based analysis of eleventh graders and their teachers finds a negative association between class time spent on test preparation and PLAN-to-ACT improvement; the report finds no evidence that testing strategies raise scores.

"improvements from the PLAN to the ACT are smaller the more time teachers spend on test preparation in their classes and the more they use test preparation materials."

Elaine Allensworth 2008 (2)¶

Elaine Allensworth, Macarena Correa, Steve Ponisciak. (2008). From High School to the Future: ACT Preparation–Too Much, Too Late. Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/high-school-future-act-preparation-too-much-too-late

q2 · i? · associational · r2

The report's summary of its practice-effect analyses: benefits exist for timed practice and English practice but are modest and fade after initial familiarity; no benefit was found for practicing test questions outside full timed tests.

"While we find there is some benefit to timed test practice and practice on the English subject test, the effects of practice are modest and diminish once students have initial familiarity with the test."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Schools with stronger college-going cultures have higher student ACT scores, regardless of student backgrounds — related
• CPS students make smaller improvements on sequential EPAS tests from grade to grade than students nationally with the same prior scores — related
• Low-income US schools focus most on testing and have the fewest resources for interest-driven activities — related
• Strong school academic culture (academic press and college-going culture) raises ACT scores by about 0.6 points after controlling for prior PLAN scores — related
• Embedding test-taking strategies and ACT practice items in algebra improved practice ACT mathematics scores (McMann, 1994; effect size 0.34) — reports the opposite