Standardized Testing & College Readiness

Standardized Testing & College Readiness Program

The RIGHT tools and the RIGHT information at the RIGHT time.

At Ocean View Christian Academy, a quality college preparatory education does not just focus on what is taught today, but what students will face tomorrow. One of the ways we prepare our students and adjust our aim as an educational institution is through standardized testing and a proactive college readiness program. These two tools enable us to approach the ever changing world of tomorrow on the cutting edge of academics and preparation.

Kindergarten through 6th Grades

It all begins with the Terra Nova 3. All of our kindergarteners through 6th graders take this annual achievement test every spring. This assessment allows us to compare our students to other public and private school students across the country. With the largest and most current norms, this assessment helps us to see how we compare against the majority of students in the US.

7th-12th Grade STANDARDIZED TESTING AND COLLEGE READINESS

We have a comprehensive standardized testing program to prepare our students for college entrance exams, most notably the ACT and SAT. Depending on a student's year, different standardized tests are administered in order to prepare for taking college entrance assessments as a junior or senior. An OVCA high school student will most likely be taking some or maybe even all of the following assessments while at OVCA:

Beginning in 7th grade, our students begin their college readiness program with ENGAGE by ACT. Engage measures behaviors and noncognitive attributes that relate to academic success and persistence. Engage is a low-stakes assessment that helps us identify those students who are academically at risk or off-track for success. Other factors involve student academic behaviors or emotional skills (motivation, social engagement & self-regulation).

The Readistep (TM) Low-Stakes Middle School Assessment for 8th grade provides teachers with early feedback to help students identify the skills they need to be college ready. Designed to be flexible and complement the PSAT/NMSQT® and SAT®, programs with an unparalleled history of success connecting high school students to college.

ACT Aspire assesses student readiness in English, math, reading, science, and writing. This helps 9th graders connect student growth and build a solid foundation for future academic and career success. ACT Aspire also provides information needed to address OVCA's high-priority issues as well as early high school in the context of college and career readiness. This assessment incorporates multiple question types including constructed response, selected response, and technology-enhanced items to better assess student knowledge and provide more meaningful insights.

PreACT is a unique and affordable way for OVCA to provide students with a high-stakes ACT test experience in a low-stakes environment. Each year millions of high school juniors and seniors take the ACT to gain insights into their college and career readiness. Pre-ACT administered in grade 10, gives students practice with the ACT test and empowers them, their parents, and teachers with these valuable insights even sooner.

The PSAT/NMSQT Diagnostic Assessment provides SAT practice, skills feedback, scholarship opportunities, AP access and college and career planning tools. This assessment reaches more than 3 million students and provides academic and college planning support. The PSAT/NMSQT is the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship which means that some of the highest scoring students may earn scholarship money.

The SAT measures college readiness for 11th-12th grades. It is the most widely used college admission exam, administered in more than 6,000 test centers in more than 170 countries. A valuable resource that is much more than just a test, enabling students to connect to scholarship opportunities and access college planning tools.

The ACT is a curriculum- and standards-based educational and career planning tool that assesses students' academic readiness for college. It motivates students to perform to their best ability and often results in increased college enrollment, especially for underrepresented students. Test scores reflect what students have learned throughout high school and provide colleges and universities with excellent information for recruiting, advising, placement, and retention. To support college and career planning, the ACT career exploration component helps students identify personally relevant career options. The ACT is the capstone of the College and Career Readiness System. An effective tool to monitor academic progress and student growth.

The ASVAB is a multiple-aptitude battery test that measures developed abilities and helps predict future academic and occupational success in the military. The ASVAB is administered to all Seniors.