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District unveils SAGE-to-ACT estimator to help middle-school students and parents
Summary
Student achievement staff presented a video and an online estimator that uses 8th-grade SAGE scores to estimate a student's likely ACT score in 11th grade; the district plans to place the estimator on middle-school websites and share it with parents and principals.
Student achievement staff told the Washington County School District Board on Jan. 9 that the district has developed an ACT estimator that uses students' 8th-grade SAGE results to estimate likely ACT performance in 11th grade.
"What it means for students in middle school? Did you know that when a student takes a serious approach on this test, it can estimate how well they will do on the ACT in high school," Student Achievement Director Brad Ferguson said while introducing a short video and the estimator tool. Ferguson described the estimator as the product of a regression equation run on about 1,500 students' eighth-grade SAGE scores and their later ACT scores.
Ferguson said the tool lets students and parents enter SAGE sub-scores to see an estimated ACT score and a confidence range; the district demonstrated examples during the presentation and said it would post the estimator on middle-school websites, highlight the link for families and meet with principals about outreach. Board members and staff discussed ways to make the estimator useful to families: ensuring parents can find SAGE results in PowerSchool and using school communications to promote the tool.
Board members noted two policy constraints that reduce SAGE's perceived relevance to secondary students: state law permits parents to opt students out of some statewide assessments, and SAGE scores are not used as part of secondary students' course grades. Ferguson and other staff said the estimator is intended to increase relevance so more students take the SAGE and take it seriously. Ferguson said the district will extend the same validation next year by comparing 7th-grade SAGE with 11th-grade ACT when one more year of data is available.
District staff also described available interventions for students whose SAGE-derived estimates indicate weaknesses, including online resources and high-school courses designed to improve college readiness.
Board members encouraged extra outreach to parents so families can locate SAGE scores (the district indicated PowerSchool as the repository) and suggested highlighting the estimator in parent communications and on school websites.
