Sherry Wynn Perdue, Director

1
College Readiness and You

• Sherry Wynn Perdue, Director
• Oakland University Writing Center
• 212 Kresge Library
• wynn_at_oakland.edu

2
Traits of a Successful College Student

• Accepts personal responsibility
• Discovers Self-motivation
• Masters Self-Management
• Employs Interdependence
• Gains Self-awareness
• Adopts Lifelong learning as your task
• Develops emotional intelligence
• Hones self-belief
• Skip Downing, On Course

3
ACT

• What should I do to prepare?

4
Preparation Resources

• Register at ACTStudent.org, where you can learn
  more about the test and complete the question of
  the day.
• Practice using The Real ACT Prep Guide, which you
  can order online or purchase at Barnes and Noble.
  
• Enroll in a preparation course, one that is
  substantial and taught by experts in subject
  matter and in standardized testing. Avoid
  one-afternoon programs or those where all
  material is taught by one person.
• If you cannot afford a prep course, Barrons
  offers a good ACT preparation book. Buy if only
  if you plan to use it.

5
Read, Read, and Read Some more!

• Read diverse types of texts in science, history,
  literature, and the arts. Do so daily!
• Understand that the test consists of four
  different types of texts that are excerpted.
  Passages dont start at the beginning and end at
  the end. As such, you have to develop inferential
  skills. In other words, authors imply things that
  you have to learn to decode. Two-thirds of
  questions focus on your ability to infer rather
  than to retrieve directly stated information.
• Before trying to read and work faster, you must
  improve your reading comprehension. You can do
  this by asking the following questions as you
  read and annotate
• Why did the author write this?
• How did s/he frame the information to help me
  understand it?
• What role does the authors tone, conveyed by
  attitude words, play in the meaning?

6
Practice Smart

• Practice regularly, one passage at a time, rather
  than in large blocks of time. Practice in the
  same conditions under which you will take the
  test.
• Conduct error analysis. While you dont always
  understand why you got a question right, you can
  learn a great deal from those that you miss.
• Once you know your weaknesses, you can practice
  strategically, focusing on difficult content and
  question types.
• Become a smart test-taker. Always employ the
  process of elimination AND rephrase the questions
  to ensure you understand them.

7
ACT Scores

• What do they mean?

8
Composite ACT Score

• Nation

• Michigan

• 21.1, which represents 49 of the nations
  students.
• On a 1-36 scale.

• 20.1, which represents 100 of Michigans
  students.
• The ACT is required as part of Michigans high
  school proficiency test. In many other states, a
  much smaller percentage is tested, which does
  affect comparisons.

9
ACT Benchmarks to Look For
College Course Subject Area Test Explore Benchmark Plan Benchmark ACT (36) Benchmark
English Composition English 13 15 18 (MI19.3)
Social Sciences Reading 15 17 21 (MI20)
College Algebra Mathematics 17 19 22 (MI20.1)
Biology Science 20 21 24 (MI20.4)
Benchmark Translation 75 probability of
earning a C or higher in a corresponding college
course, or 50 chance of earning a B or higher.
10
COLLEGE READINESS

• Michigan
• ( College Ready)

• National Average
• ( College Ready)

• English 59
• Algebra 36
• Social Science Reading45
• Biology 26
• 21 of MI students meet all benchmarks for
  college readiness,

• vs. 67
• vs. 46
• vs. 52
• vs. 31
• whereas the national average is 25

11
Promising Trends to Reinforce

• Over the last five (5) years, Michigans the
  percentage of students who met all four
  benchmarks increased from 17 (22 nationally) to
  21 (25 nationally). Each year saw an increase.
• Michigan students who take the common core (4
  years of English and 3 years of Math, Science,
  and Social Studies, all vertically aligned for
  the skills students need for college) or more
  performed significantly better in all subjects.
  Of those, the following percentages reached
  benchmarks or higher in 2011
• English 62 versus 35
• Reading 46 versus 21
• Math 37 versus 6
• Science 28 versus 15
• Students who read regularly and whose curriculum
  stresses implied knowledge rather than just
  explicit knowledge perform better.

12
Advanced Placement

• What is it?
• How does it compare to other programs?

13
Advanced Placement versus Dual Enrollment

• AP courses provide a challenging but supported
  curriculum specifically designed for high school
  students.
• You do not need to be an all A student to enroll
  in AP courses, but you must be prepared to work
  hard. Students who take AP courses, even courses
  for which they do not earn As and Bs or gain
  college credit, are more likely to earn a passing
  grade in the corresponding college class.
• AP generally provides a stronger foundation upon
  which a high school student can build. As such,
  dual enrollment generally should be reserved for
  those situations where your performance is
  exemplary and where AP or IB options do not
  exist. Comparison studies demonstrate that
  students who attend AB/IB courses leave with a
  better understanding of the material than those
  who complete dual enrollment courses.

14
The Admissions Essay

• Answer the question(s) posed.
• Show reciprocity What do you expect from the
  institution and what will you bring to it?
• Leverage your strengths and examine how you have
  compensated for/addressed your weaknesses
  (emergent skills).
• Consult with an experienced reader before
  submitting the essay. This person can help with
  tone, audience awareness, etc.

15
Sources

• http//www.act.org/newsroom/data/2011/states/pdf/M
  ichigan.pdf for Michigan
• http//www.act.org/newsroom/data/2012/pdf/profile/
  Michigan.pdf
• http//www.act.org/research/policymakers/cccr11/pd
  f/ConditionofCollegeandCareerReadiness2011.pdf
  For the Nation