College Readiness and the ReadiStep Assessment

Coppell ISD 2010

• State mandated testing.
• Required for all 8 th and 10 th graders.
• Purpose:
Provide formative assessment, feedback
regarding the student’s progress toward
college readiness.

• Provide feedback while there is still time to
make necessary adjustments.
• Time to target academic areas that need
attention.
• Students who are not on target by the end of
8 th grade often do not achieve college
readiness.

• ReadiStep is designed by College Board, the
same company that creates the PSAT and the
SAT.
• ReadiStep is designed to provide a predictor
of a student’s PSAT and/or SAT score.
• CISD students will take the PSAT in 10 th grade
and likely the SAT in 11 th or 12 th grade.

• College readiness is defined as the level of
preparation a student needs to enroll and
succeed—without remediation—in a creditbearing
general education course at a
postsecondary institution.
• Historical, descriptive research help us
understand what scores are needed to be
college ready.

• Roughly 85% of CISD graduates enter college
within one year of high school graduation.
• One in three U.S. college students are
required to take one or more remedial classes
because entry scores did not meet the college
readiness standard.

• College Board and ACT have developed
college readiness standards and they are
measured on the SAT and ACT.
• ReadiStep is the College Board 8 th grade
assessment and Explore is the ACT 8 th grade
assessment.

• Achievement of academic content
knowledge, evidenced by completion of a
rigorous high school core curriculum aligned
to college readiness standards
• Attainment of advanced academic skills,
developed through an instructional focus on
critical thinking, reasoning, problem solving,
writing, and strong study skills

• Successful completion of college-level and
other advanced courses taken in high school
• Acquisition of college planning skills,
demonstrated by an understanding of college
and career options and the college admission
and financing process

2010

• Score range of 2.0 – 8.0
• Mean score of 5.5
• Target score for college readiness is 5.0

• Score range of 2.0 – 8.0
• Mean score of 5.8
• Target score for college readiness is 5.0

• Score range of 2.0 – 8.0
• Mean score of 6.0
• Target score for college readiness is 5.0

Sections Mean NPR
Critical Reading 5.5 62
Writing 5.8 75
Mathematics 6.0 83

• CISD students are generally more prepared
for college in the area of mathematics than in
the areas of language arts.
• ReadiStep scores for our 8 th graders mirror
the patterns we see in our graduating seniors
on the SAT.

• Why do CISD students score very well on
TAKS Reading and Writing but not so well on
the SAT, PSAT, and ReadiStep Reading and
Writing?
• Weak state curriculum
• Poor alignment of state standards to college
readiness standards

What next?

• 9 th Grade: Practice PSAT (Knowsys)
• 10 th Grade: PSAT (College Board)
• 11 th Grade: PSAT (College Board)
• Practice SAT and ACT sponsored by Project
Graduation and Knowsys Test Prep.

College Readiness

• Take rigorous courses
• Pre-AP
• Advanced Placement (AP)
• International Baccalaureate (IB)
• Dual Credit (College Courses in high school)
• Read and write, read and write, read and
write. Read, read, read. Write, write, write.

• Start making a potential college list
• By the end of 8 th grade
• Make a potential list of 30 to 40
• U.S. News and World Report resources
• Talk about college and career interests
• Begin to make college visits early
• Identify what is import in a college choice
• Seek best fit rather than best bumper sticker

• www.readistep.com
• www.collegeboard.com
• www.act.org
• http://admissionpossible.com