Continuing Academic Improvements

The Administration and Faculty at Pope John Paul II High School are committed to continuous improvement in the area of Academic Excellence. The ACT is a standard measurement to determine a student's preparedness for college. Parents and students alike consider it a priority, and ranked it as #3 during our School Vitality Summit.

Academic Excellence - Goal #8: To expose all students to the academic guidelines required to improve ACT scores from the student's admission to Pope John Paul II to their graduation.

In 2018, PJPII began using CERT (College Equipped Readiness Tool) to assist faculty and students in tracking progress on skills and improvement. Beginning in 8th grade, the test is given twice a year via iPad and once in the spring on paper, to mimic the ACT.

CERT allows schools to assess students through either online or offline test administrations. Furthermore:

• All CERT tests are age-appropriate and aligned with the Career and College Readiness Standards
• All CERT tests cover the content areas included in the ACT: English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science
• All CERT tests match the format (i.e., # of questions, question types, difficulty level, timing, etc.) of the current ACT, PreACT, and EXPLORE tests

CERT provides valuable data to EVERY stakeholder. Students, Teachers, Principals, and Superintendents can, as appropriate, access reports on:

• Individual and group composite performance
• Individual and group performance by subject area (English, Mathematics, Reading, or Science)
• Individual and group performance on three levels of the Career and College Readiness Standards
• Individual and group performance on subject-specific content that is organized using language that is generally familiar to students and teachers

In addition to its assessment functionality, CERT provides remedial instruction to students through researched-based, instructional video lessons. Lessons can be accessed via:

• An online Exam Room that provides each student performance feedback and video answer explanations for each and every test question
• An online Study Hall that recommends subject-matter and strategy video lessons based on each individual student's performance

For more specific information on how parents and students can use CERT to improve their ACT score, go to www.certforschools.com.