ERIC Number: ED613521
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Jan
Pages: 12
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
How ACT's Future Policies Inform Students' Preparation for the ACT Test. ACT Research & Policy. Issue Brief
Sanchez, Edgar; Moore, Raeal
ACT, Inc.
Studies have investigated contextual factors such as family, school, and peer support for test preparation, and results generally indicate that students with a stronger support system are more successful at increasing their scores by the use of test preparation. One important contextual factor, often overlooked in the literature, is how a testing company's policies for test administration and score reporting might inform whether students prepare for the test, and if so, how that test preparation might take shape. Therefore, this study seeks to understand students' perceptions of and reactions to future ACT testing policies. In June 2020, the authors reached out to rising high school seniors and received responses from 2,965 students. The aim was to better understand how, if at all, providing students with a superscore on their score report and offering a remote proctored testing option would change the way students prepared for the ACT. Students were asked how familiar they were with each of these policies, whether they planned to participate in the options these policies provide in the future, and whether they believed the new options would change the way they prepared for the test. Those who said their test preparation strategies might change were asked to explain how, in their own words. This brief shares what was learned from the students' responses to the survey questions, including their comments made in response to an open-ended question.
Descriptors: Test Preparation, Scores, Context Effect, Testing, Student Attitudes, Student Reaction, High School Seniors, Reports, Futures (of Society), Policy Analysis, Familiarity, College Entrance Examinations, Test Anxiety
ACT, Inc. 500 ACT Drive, P.O. Box 168, Iowa City, IA 52243-0168. Tel: 319-337-1270; Web site: http://www.act.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: ACT, Inc.
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: ACT Assessment
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A