About the Data | Cautions | Limitations | Definitions | Scoring | Dashboards | Data Availability | Data Exchange | Resources
About the Data
PreACT Secure® data includes test records for students who tested on the state-mandated administration dates during grades 9 and 10. PreACT Secure assesses student readiness in English, mathematics, reading, and science through a series of multiple-choice questions. PreACT Secure is administered online except for students who require accommodations through Braille, Large Print or Human Reader who will take the PreACT Secure in a paper and pencil format.
The Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM™) assessment measures the academic progress of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities in the subject areas of ELA and Mathematics at grades 3-11, Science at grades 4 and 8-11, and in Social Studies at grades 4, 8, and 10. The PreACT Secure Dashboards only provide DLM™ results for students in grades 9 and 10 for ELA and Math.
Cautions
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Note that no single test can tell us whether students have learned everything that is important for students to learn. Additional local evidence should be reviewed for a more complete picture of student learning.
Limitations with PreACT Secure Data
Definitions
- Advanced – Student demonstrates thorough understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills for their grade level that are associated with college content-readiness.
- Proficient – Student demonstrates adequate understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills for their grade level that are associated with college content-readiness.
- Basic – Student demonstrates partial understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills for their grade level that are associated with college content-readiness.
- Below Basic – Student demonstrates minimal understanding of and ability to apply the knowledge and skills for their grade level that are associated with college content-readiness.
Scoring
The PreACT Secure is measured on a 1-36 scale, with 35 being the highest score possible and is linked to ACT® College Readiness Benchmarks. ACT provides a PreACT Secure Composite score, STEM score, individual subject scores and predicted ACT score range.
- Composite Score - average of all four subject scores.
- STEM Score – average of mathematics and science scores.
- English Language Arts (ELA) Score – ACT does not provide an ELA score for the PreACT Secure. DPI calculates an ELA score as the average of the English and reading score.
- Predicted ACT Score Range - reports the predicted score range for the ACT English, mathematics, reading and science tests. If all four PreACT Secure subject tests were taken, then a predicted ACT composite score range will also be provided.
Dashboards
PreACT Secure and DLM – DPI Performance Levels Dashboard
This dashboard provides performance level information (below basic, basic, proficient, and advanced) for 9th and 10th grade performance on PreACT Secure® and DLM™ for the subject areas of English Language Arts (English and reading scores) and Mathematics. Scores required to achieve basic, proficient and advanced performance levels on PreACT Secure® are:
| Content Area | Below Basic | Basic | Proficient | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELA | 1-11 | 12-15 | 16-23 | 24-35 |
| Mathematics | 1-14 | 15-16 | 17-23 | 24-35 |
| Content Area | Below Basic | Basic | Proficient | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELA | 1-12 | 13-17 | 18-25 | 26-35 |
| Mathematics | 1-15 | 16-18 | 19-25 | 26-35 |
Scores required to achieve proficiency on DLM™ can be found at: DLM Performance Level Scores.
PreACT Secure Achievement and Progress Dashboard
The PreACT Secure Achievement and Progress dashboard includes three metrics. These include Progress Towards the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate, Average Score by Subject Area, and Average Predicted ACT Score by Subject Area.
The Progress Towards the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate metric predicts each student’s future ACT National Career Readiness Certificate™ achievement level. Achievement levels are reported as "Platinum", “Gold”, “Silver”, “Bronze” or “No Certificate.”
The Average Score by Subject Area metric provides the average score for each PreACT Secure subject area. Information is available for English, Reading, Math, Science, and ELA scores.
The Average Predicted ACT Score by Subject Area metric provides the average predicted ACT score for each PreACT Secure subject area. Information is available for English, Reading, Math, Science, composite and STEM scores.
PreACT Secure Readiness Level Dashboard
The PreACT Secure Readiness Level dashboard identifies the number and percent of students that are on track to meet the college-ready benchmarks on the ACT®. 2-digit scores are compared to ACT® Readiness Benchmarks for English, reading, mathematics and science to determine whether students are on track to meet college-ready benchmarks on the ACT®. Students that are reported as “On Target” have met the ACT® Readiness Benchmark for a subject while students that are reported as “Close to Target” or “In Need of Intervention” have not met the ACT® Readiness Benchmark for a subject.
The ACT subject score readiness benchmark values are shown in the table below. Students who score at this level or above are considered on target to meet the ACT College Readiness Benchmark in grade 11. Values for all categories can be found in Table 1 in the PreACT Secure Interpretive Guide for Students and Aggregate Reports.
| Subject | Grade 9 | Grade 10 | Grade 11 (ACT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 13 | 15 | 18 |
| Mathematics | 18 | 19 | 22 |
| Reading | 18 | 20 | 22 |
| Science | 19 | 20 | 23 |
| STEM | 22 | 24 | 26 |
PreACT Secure Skills Dashboard
The PreACT Secure Skills dashboard provides the average score for each reporting category of each subject (English, mathematics, reading & science) within the PreACT Secure® assessment. In addition, a comparison to the overall State population is availabe on this dashboard.
PreACT Secure® and DLM™ Data Availability
PreACT Secure results are provided in WISEdash for Districts beginning with the results from the 2022-23 administration. PreACT Secure results are published annually as they become available.
DLM™ results are provided in WISEdash for Districts beginning with the results from the 2014-15 school year spring administration for students in grades 9 and 10. DLM™ results are published annually as they become available.
DLM™ was not administered during the 2019-20 school year due to COVID-19 pandemic-related school closures.
PreACT Secure® and DLM™ Data Exchange
Districts are required to administer PreACT Secure and DLM™ in the spring of each school year to students in grades 9 and 10. After the conclusion of an administration window for all districts across the state, PreACT Secure and DLM™ results from those administrations are provided to DPI. DPI loads those results into the data warehouse for presentation in WISEdash for Districts. WISEdash for Districts also displays each student’s PreACT Secure and DLM™ results in the Student Profile.
Part of the data loading process involves matching the assessment with the appropriate student in the data warehouse. That process uses the WISEid, student name, and date of birth and allows some degree of variation or inaccuracy. Even so, some records cannot be matched and will be loaded and reported as unknown. A very small percentage of records may be misidentified with an incorrect student.
- Planned Load Schedule
- Annually in the summer