PLAN® is designed to be administered during the school day in school-supervised sessions. The PLAN assessment consists of four academic achievement tests and other key components.
Achievement Tests
| English | 50 items | 30 minutes |
| Mathematics | 40 items | 40 minutes |
| Reading | 25 items | 20 minutes |
| Science | 30 items | 25 minutes |
These curriculum-based tests cover the skills and knowledge that are commonly taught in the nation's schools and are judged to be important for success in both high school and college. The tests measure what students know and what they are able to do with their knowledge.
Other Components (approximately 65 minutes)
- Needs Assessment—collects information about students' perceived needs for help
- High School Course and Grade Information—gathers lists of courses completed, currently being taken, or planned for completion before graduation
- UNIACT Interest Inventory—helps students explore personally relevant career options
- Educational Opportunity Service (EOS)—links students with relevant college and scholarship information at no cost to students based on their PLAN information
The content of the PLAN tests is closely tied to that of the achievement tests in the ACT, which is broadly used for college entrance and placement decisions. Also, it is consistent with the content of ACT's EXPLORE® program for grades 8 and 9. EXPLORE, PLAN and the ACT can be used in combination to focus on meeting academic standards across the entire secondary school core program of studies. The EPAS College Readiness Standards are a useful tool for supporting instructional improvement.
Activities After Testing
Using Your PLAN Results helps students and parents understand the information on the student's score report. The booklet also includes post-testing activities. Topics include:
- Using Your PLAN Results—helps families effectively use information produced by PLAN
- Your Career Possibilities—shows how to use the results of the Interest Inventory to explore careers
- Coursework Planning—provides guidelines to help students develop a coursework plan for the remaining years of high school based on their PLAN test results and future educational and career plans