Resources

Student Assessment


2011-2012 ISBE Funded EXPLORE and PLAN PROCEDURES and PROTOCOL

bullet
Introduction

Similar to last year, all Illinois public schools will be able to provide one administration of the EXPLORE and PLAN program to students at no cost to the district.

Districts will have the flexibility to decide whether to administer EXPLORE to students in grade 8 or 9 and PLAN to students in grade 9 or 10. The reporting package for both programs includes student score reports and labels, student list report, profile summary report (by school), item-response summary report (by school) and an interpretive guide, data file with school norms and a district data file with both school and district norms.

As with last year, included with the EXPLORE and PLAN programs for all public schools will be a state license for ACT Online Prep through May 31, 2013.

ISBE-funding of public school EXPLORE and PLAN orders will be contingent on the use of ACT’s Pre-ID service which must include state student identification (SSID) numbers which come from the Student Information System (SIS). This service is available from ACT free of charge. 

ISBE is offering a method for schools and districts to obtain student names, birthdates, grade levels, and state student identification numbers through its Student Information System to be used in conjunction with the ACT Pre-ID ordering system. Obtaining these variables from ISBE is optional, but ordering both materials and Pre-ID labels through ACT’s online ordering system is required.

Pre-ID files submitted to ACT must comply with the specified file layout (different layouts are used for EXPLORE and PLAN), and must be validated and encrypted prior to submission of the file to ACT.  To learn more about ACT’s Pre-ID service, please use the link below: http://www.act.org/education/order/preid/index.html

Return to top

bullet  
Notice to High School Districts

Through the ISBE funded EXPLORE/PLAN program school districts may only order tests and obtain test results for their current students. Therefore, via the ISBE funded EXPLORE/PLAN program, a high school district may not order EXPLORE tests, nor receive test results directly from ACT for eighth grade students who are not currently enrolled in their high school district.

bullet  
Ordering Materials

ACT has created an EXPLORE and PLAN Online Order Process for districts participating in ISBE-Funded testing. Please note that under the contract with the Illinois State Board of Education, this order process can be used only by Illinois public school districts to test students enrolled in public schools. 

(Note:  this web-based order system requires that you are using Internet Explorer version 7 or higher.  If you’re using an earlier version of Internet Explorer, please contact Customer Services for assistance in placing your order).

ISBE-funded EXPLORE and PLAN Program Dates and Deadlines (Planned) 2011-2012
Activity
Date
EXPLORE and/or PLAN materials may be ordered from ACT
August 8, 2011
Testing window for ISBE-funded EXPLORE and/or PLAN opens
August 26, 2011
Deadline EXPLORE and/or PLAN orders to be placed with ACT
March 23, 2012
5:00 p.m. CST
Testing window for ISBE-funded EXPLORE and/or PLAN closes
May 6, 2012
Deadline for all EXPLORE & PLAN answer documents to be received at ACT.
  • A requirement of the ISBE-funded program is that Pre-ID labels must be ordered through ACT and affixed to answer documents.
  • Any answer documents received without Pre-ID labels will not be scored as part of the ISBE funded EXPLORE and PLAN program.
May 14, 2012
Note: Funding for ISBE-funded EXPLORE and PLAN program is limited. When the dollar limit for the program is reached, the program may end early and dates and deadlines adjusted accordingly.

As you complete the order process, please keep the following in mind:

bullet Ordering EXPLORE/PLAN Pre-ID Labels

The 2010-11 ISBE-funded EXPLORE/PLAN program requires you to order and use Pre-ID labels. EXPLORE/PLAN Pre-ID labels help schools and districts save time, help ensure the accuracy of reporting and correctly capture student state ID numbers.

If you have any questions regarding obtaining the state provided file, call the SIS Help Desk at (217) 558-3600.

If you have questions regarding ordering materials or how to complete the ACT templates for the Pre-ID labels, please contact EXPLORE Customer Services at 800-553-6244 ext.1892 and/or PLAN Customer Services at 800-553-6244 ext.1029.

Return to top

bullet Illinois ACT Online Prep

For further information, please contact Andy Metcalf at 866-317-6034, or email at lmetcalf@isbe.net.