ReadingCommon Core Implementation for Reading

College and Career Readiness

ACT: Reading Between the Lines

“Those ACT-tested students who can read complex texts are more likely to be ready for college. Those who cannot read complex texts are less likely to be ready for college.”

Students who meet the Reading Benchmark are more likely than students who do not meet the Benchmark to:

▼ enroll in college (74 percent vs. 59 percent);

▼ earn a grade of B or higher (63 percent vs. 36 percent) or C or higher (85 percent vs. 64 percent) in first-year college U.S. History courses;

▼ earn a grade of B or higher (64 percent vs. 39 percent) or C or higher (85 percent vs. 68 percent) in first-year college Psychology courses;

▼ earn a first-year college GPA of 3.0 or higher (54 percent vs. 33 percent) or 2.0 or higher (87 percent vs. 76 percent); and

▼ return for a second year of college at the same institution(78 percent vs. 67 percent).

Aspects of the ACTBut what differentiates students who meet the Reading Benchmark from students who do not? We looked at student performance on three aspects of ACT Reading Test content: comprehension level, textual elements, and text complexity.

Literal and Inferential

Textual Elements

Text Complexity

“the percentage of questions answered correctly remains virtually constant— and not much higher than the level suggested by chance (25 percent, given that each questioncontains four answer choices).”

“Most importantly, above the Reading Benchmark performance improves more steeply than it doeswith either of the other two levels of text complexity, indicating that students who can master the skillsnecessary to read and understand complex texts are more likely to be college ready than those whocannot.”

Furthermore, the three performance patterns shown in Figure 12 hold for both genders, all racial/ethnic groups, and all annual family income levels.

How does this relate to the EOC?

Text Complexity: It’s a Math Thing, Too!

Use the following information to answer questions 3-5.

From http://www.actstudent.org/sampletest/math/math_04.html

Taher has decided to create a triangular flower bed border. He plans to use 3 pieces of rectangular lumber with lengths 4, 5, and 6 feet, as shown in the figure below. Points A, B, and C are located at the corners of the flower bed.

Extended thinking: reading stamina

Embedded infinitive phrases and prepositional phrase with embedded key concepts and ideas to “hold in mind”

Participle embedded in elliptical subordinate clause followed by prepositional phrase.

This is not the question.

This is the framework for the

question.

Taher plans to cut the 3 pieces of lumber for the flower bed border from a single piece of lumber. Each cut takes ⅛ inch of wood off the length of the piece of lumber. Among the following lengths, in inches, of pieces of lumber, which is the shortest piece that he can use to cut the pieces for the flower bed border?

Question 3Infinitive phrase tied to 2 prepositional phrases

Close reading: It’s all in the details!

FINALLY. A QUESTION.

Taher plans to cut the 3 pieces of lumber for the flower bed border from a single piece of lumber. Each cut takes ⅛ inch of wood off the length of the piece of lumber. Among the following lengths, in inches, of pieces of lumber, which is the shortest piece that he can use to cut the pieces for the flower bed border?

Cascading prepositional phrase, parenthetical prepositional phrase, prepositional phrase, and prepositional phrase PLUS prepositional phrase embedded in an infinitive phrase, both embedded in a relative clauseAND …All of these embedded in an interrogative modal structure.

Close reading: Deeply

embeddedcrucial detail

Text Complexity: It’s a Math Thing, Too!

Question 4

The measure of ABC in the figure is x°. Which of the following is an expression for ?

Tier 3 Vocabulary: Discipline-specific

concepts

Text Complexity: It’s a Math Thing, Too!

Question 5

After arranging the flower bed, Taher decides that the flower bed would look more attractive if 1 of the angles in the triangle were a right angle. He decides to place the right angle at vertex A and to leave the lengths of AB and AC as 4 and 5 feet, respectively. To the nearest 0.1 foot, how long of a piece of lumber would he need to replace the 6-foot piece represented by BC ?

Sentence 1:Gerund phrase embedded in introductory prepositional phrase + Subject+Verb + subordinate noun clause as Direct Object with embedded subordinate adverb clause and embedded prepositional phrase

Sentence 2:Subject + Verb + compound infinitive phrases as Direct Object with embedded prepositional phrases. Tier 2 Vocabulary (“respectively”) and Tier 3 discipline-specific vocabulary.

Sentence 3:Prepositional phrase + Subject + Verb + infinitive phrase with embedded participle and embedded prepositional phrase—all in interrogative mode and with Tier 3 Vocabulary.

Text Complexity: It’s a Math Thing, Too!

Professional Development for School Leaders

Consider your administrative team, SIP Chair and/or members, and any other adults who serve in a leadership capacity

Table Talk How are you supporting a school-wide

expectation around literacy support?

How confident are your administrators in concepts around text complexity, close reading, writing, and scaffolding support for student success?

How can we continue to support you?