Night Elf Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Does anyone know about this test? Dd20 has to score a 20 or above, and the practice test has 50 problems. She is working on the practice test and started having trouble at #12. Her last math class was Algebra 2 in 10th grade, which was five years ago. She aced that class back then. She just doesn't seem to remember much of it. She doesn't have much time because school starts on Aug. 20th. If she scores less than a 20, she won't even be allowed to take any classes. If she makes from a 20 to a 36, she has to take remedial math. I found some old posts. I'm understanding that the test starts with pre-Algebra questions and gets progressively harder. What I don't understand is if she is required to score a 20 or above, does that mean she needs to get at least 20 questions correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyomarie Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 (edited) The COMPASS test is an untimed computerized test that uses adaptive technology to present questions based on correct vs. incorrect answers to a given question. The number of questions presented depends on the student's skill level and how they answer the questions. Scores are scaled scores and go up to 99, so a score of 20 is actually pretty low. Here is a link to a paper on the ACT website which shows a correspondence between COMPASS scores and the ACT. Both tests are produced by the ACT organization. The paper is clear that the two tests are not precisely equivalent but there is some correspondence in scores. My dyslexic son has done the COMPASS test twice. Because it is untimed and relatively short, it worked well for him and his score was a pretty good representation of his abilities, IMO. Edited July 25, 2012 by Tokyomarie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I don't know exactly how the scoring works, but I do know that the more questions you answer correctly, the more questions you will have to answer. I'm not sure if it decides to stop you based on answering a certain number in a row incorrectly or a total number wrong out of the last 10 or what. practice for compass: http://www.highlands.edu/site/academic-support-compass-math-practice http://www.analyzemath.com/practice_tests.html http://www.compass-test-practice.com/compass-math-test-sample-questions.htm http://www.hostos.cuny.edu/oaa/compass/algebra.htm http://www.oaklandcc.edu/mathtest/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 (edited) Try using Prep for SAT Math on ALEKS. My rising 11th grader is using it to practice before she takes the PSAT in the fall and there is a nice variety of Algebra I and II, Geometry, Statistics, and Arithmetic. I'm sure you know how ALEKS works, and we're finding it an efficient way to review a large quantity of material quickly. She is about 90% complete since summer started. Here: http://www.aleks.com/about_aleks/course_products?cmscache=detailed&detailed=gk12specialized2_hsintasa Edited July 25, 2012 by Barb F. PA in AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 Thank you for the responses. Dd20 is very nervous because the practice test just got hard really quickly. When DH would talk her through a problem, she understood and remembered, so maybe after she reviews enough, she'll be okay. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 Try using Prep for SAT Math on ALEKS. My rising 11th grader is using it to practice before she takes the PSAT in the fall and there is a nice variety of Algebra I and II, Geometry, Statistics, and Arithmetic. I'm sure you know how ALEKS works, and we're finding it an efficient way to review a large quantity of material quickly. She is about 90% complete since summer started. Here: http://www.aleks.com/about_aleks/course_products?cmscache=detailed&detailed=gk12specialized2_hsintasa Dumb question, but is it the course called Mastery of SAT Math? We used Aleks about 7 years ago and I had totally forgotten about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Does the practice test book she is using give explanations along with the answers so she can learn from her mistakes? If not, find one that does! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 Does the practice test book she is using give explanations along with the answers so she can learn from her mistakes? If not, find one that does! It does. The first section is reviewing the types of problems you might see. The second section is the practice tests. She jumped to the first practice test to see how she would do without any kind of review. That's not working too well for her. We were helping her last night because she finds it helpful to have someone talk her through the problems rather than just reading the worked out problem. What I don't like is that the practice test is only 50 questions and they got hard really fast. We were worried about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Dumb question, but is it the course called Mastery of SAT Math? We used Aleks about 7 years ago and I had totally forgotten about it. Yes, Mastery of SAT math. I thought in your daughter's situation it would be a good fit. It covers a wide variety of topics from all the foundational math courses up until and including Algebra II. Since she only has a month to review, I think a wide swath would be most effcient at pointing out and fixing holes in her understanding and gaps in her memory. Also, if the if the Compass test is like the Accuplacer (and I think they are similar), it's a self-adjusting placement test. She isn't expected to know everything on it. If she scored a perfect or almost perfect score, they would simply have her take the next placement test (for Calculus) to see how she does. Don't worry too much that the practice test got hard quickly. My 15yo took the Accuplacer math last year and was so discouraged. She thought she had done poorly because she repeatedly clicked, "I don't know." As it turned out, she placed into Pre-Calculus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted July 26, 2012 Author Share Posted July 26, 2012 Yes, Mastery of SAT math. I thought in your daughter's situation it would be a good fit. It covers a wide variety of topics from all the foundational math courses up until and including Algebra II. Since she only has a month to review, I think a wide swath would be most effcient at pointing out and fixing holes in her understanding and gaps in her memory. Also, if the if the Compass test is like the Accuplacer (and I think they are similar), it's a self-adjusting placement test. She isn't expected to know everything on it. If she scored a perfect or almost perfect score, they would simply have her take the next placement test (for Calculus) to see how she does. Don't worry too much that the practice test got hard quickly. My 15yo took the Accuplacer math last year and was so discouraged. She thought she had done poorly because she repeatedly clicked, "I don't know." As it turned out, she placed into Pre-Calculus. Thank you so much Barb. You've eased our minds. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4wildberrys Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 My dd is the same age as yours, Nightelf, and she will be taking the COMPASS next Thurs so timely you ask this question! ;) She has not studied Algebra in 2 years so I am giving her our Standard Deviants Algebra DVDs, Understanding Mathematics + workbook to work on and lots of prayers!!! She has finally decided that working and trying to do online school is just too much, so she is finishing her application to her college of choice she started last year finally!! I am SOOO happy and excited for her. The one year of rest has given her the fire under her seat she needed to decide what she wants to study and why! Good luck to your DD ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Thank you so much Barb. You've eased our minds. :) I'm so glad! Just want to add that my 15yo isn't a mathy kid, exactly. She isn't bad at math; just isn't highly motivated. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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