{"id":14999,"date":"2024-10-04T16:42:10","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T20:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/progresslearning.com\/?p=14999"},"modified":"2024-10-04T16:45:52","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T20:45:52","slug":"how-lavca-improved-act-workkeys-pass-rate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progresslearning.com\/news-blog\/how-lavca-improved-act-workkeys-pass-rate\/","title":{"rendered":"How LAVCA Improved Their ACT WorkKeys Pass Rate by 100% with Progress Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last semester, Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy (LAVCA) conducted an experiment: they ditched the official ACT WorkKeys curriculum and relied solely on Progress Learning to prepare students for the ACT WorkKeys exams. We interviewed Michael Vinning, the ACT WorkKeys prep teacher who spearheaded this experiment, to hear about the results. Keep reading to find out more!<\/span><\/p>\n

Background<\/b><\/p>\n

This is Mr. Vinning\u2019s fourth year as the ACT WorkKeys prep teacher at LAVCA. From the very beginning, they used Progress Learning. \u201cWe used Progress Learning from the get-go. The first year, that is all we had. We didn’t have a curriculum, we just did a lot of baseline testing and Study Plan work and Focus Areas,\u201d explained Mr. Vinning.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the first year and a half, Mr. Vinning created the ACT WorkKeys curriculum from scratch using Progress Learning. \u201cWhat I would do is use the Item Analysis to create PowerPoints and we\u2019d work with the kids on that.\u201d He also used Progress Learning\u2019s examples and baseline testing, but he said, it was a lot of work on the teachers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite this challenge, student performance improved. \u201cWe did see our numbers improve that year. But like I said, it was kind of chaotic and we were just kind of winging it. But thank God for Progress Learning because it’s all we had.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, two years ago, they decided to purchase the official ACT WorkKeys curriculum, hoping it would provide a more solid structure and ease the workload. However, they soon ran into problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Problem<\/b><\/p>\n

LAVCA is a virtual school, with students scattered across Louisiana and 50% of them lacking reliable internet. This made it difficult to pull accurate data from the ACT WorkKeys curriculum. \u201cIt was a month after the semester ended before I could get any reliable usage reports from the ACT WorkKeys program. It got to where we could not use that as we intended. \u201cBecause admin needs data, they need reports, and we needed to give it to them,\u201d said Mr. Vinning.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The school also struggled to juggle between Progress Learning and the ACT WorkKeys curriculum. \u201cIt was really messy,\u201d Mr. Vinning explained. \u201cWe were spending a third of our time in this platform that didn\u2019t give us any data, a third of our time in Progress Learning, and the other third, giving some instruction.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The situation became even more complicated when Mr. Vinning had to train a new co-teacher. \u201cOn top of all of that, I had to train a new teacher and she wasn’t familiar with all the things. By the time I got her trained up on Progress Learning, OHS, the way the class works, and the test itself, let\u2019s just say, it was information overload.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Over time, Progress Learning became the preferred resource. \u201cIt got to where the WorkKeys curriculum was our supplement and Progress Learning was our go to. Because it’s always reliable and it’s always on top, even when there is an issue. I have never once had an issue that I didn’t get in touch with Progress Learning and they jumped on almost immediately. So the support there is out of sight,\u201d said Mr. Vinning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually, they decided to stop using the ACT WorkKeys curriculum altogether. \u201cI\u2019m like, you know what? We’re going to do an experiment and just use Progress Learning. And so we went 100% into Progress Learning.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Solution<\/b><\/p>\n

Mr. Vinning and the LAVCA team decided to go all in on Progress Learning. They used everything in Progress Learning \u2014 from the baseline tests and Study Plans to remediation and Item Analysis. Here\u2019s how they used it last semester:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n