By: Yarisel Mendez Limon
It's finally that time in the school year when students in grades 2nd-8th begin to prepare for the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program better known as ACAP. Teachers and students are working hard to prepare for the upcoming assessment that students will take in the spring.
Panther Press interviewed Mr. Crawford to gain a better understanding of what ACAP is, why it is important, and what he does as the principal of Collinsville High School to prepare his teachers and students for the upcoming assessment. He stated, “ACAP is a tool for our teachers to see where our areas of strength are at and what areas for growth we need to focus on. ACAP is a resource for parents to know where their child is at in terms of their academic progress. ACAP is one item used to evaluate the overall performance of our school and when students do well on ACAP it reflects positively on Collinsville. Some things we do to prepare for ACAP testing is that in August, Mrs. Osborn, Mrs. Peek, Mrs. Crisson, Coach Stanley, and myself attend meetings with our district leaders where we learn about the procedures for administering ACAP and any changes that may have occurred since last year. We work with teachers to make sure they are aware of the procedures for giving the test and any changes that are going to take place. Students have a couple of opportunities to take a practice ACAP during the school year. Teachers have resources we make available to them to help students prepare to take ACAP When it gets close to test time. We make test rosters and schedules for each elementary classroom and 1st period class in grades 6th-8th.”
Panther Press also interviewed our elementary principal, Mrs. Peek, to gain a better understanding of how she prepares for ACAP. Not only did she answer us, but she gave us further interesting details about the importance of ACAP testing. Mrs. Peek stated, “To prepare for the ACAP Summative assessment, we analyze current data to inform instructional priorities before testing, take the ACAP practice, and review ACAP resources provided by the state department. The ACAP Summative is a standardized assessment based on the ALCOS For English Language Arts, Math, and Science. The ACAP assessment is important for a couple of reasons. It is our state assessment and scores are used to compare schools' achievement and growth. Our data, achievement and growth, earn us points for our school's state report card. With the implementation of the Alabama Literacy Act, the Reading portion of the ACAP Summative is used to determine students' sufficiency in reading. If a student meets or exceeds the cut-score in Reading, they are passed to the next grade. However, if a student does not meet the cut-score, other pathways to promotion must be considered. Among those pathways are the opportunity to take the ACAP Supplemental in the summer and earn a passing score, good cause exemptions for some Special Education, 504, and ELL students, and student portfolios.” While preparations for this assessment seem strenuous, it is safe to say it is very beneficial in helping students excel academically.
We further interviewed other teachers around campus to get their thoughts on the test. Mrs. Haygood said, “It's helpful for the school and it shows how much the students have grown over the year.” Mrs. Clanton, a 3rd grade teacher, remarked, “It's helpful to know where the student needs help. We now have a ‘Practice ACAP’ that we administer. Fortunately, this practice gives me a good idea of how the students will score on the assessment and gives me time to analyze the report and make adjustments in my teaching before the actual ACAP exam. This practice ACAP is very helpful to teachers and beneficial to students to expose them to real practice in the same format they will use in the Spring. Third graders did the practice ACAP in November and the teachers met to discuss what areas needed more focus. This semester we are working on teaching the skills that were not mastered on the practice ACAP as well as teaching our other standards for 3rd grade.”
While taking tests is not always the most fun, it is apparent that ACAP is very beneficial in helping our administrators and teachers collect the data needed to set students up for success and that is definitely one of the top priorities faculty and staff have here at Collinsville High School. To help your child succeed make sure they are prioritizing sleep and nutrition, developing strong study habits, and harboring a positive attitude concerning ACAP and other assessments that aim to assist in learning. We want to wish all students required to take ACAP in the Spring the best of luck!
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