The EXPLORE program is an early indicator of college readiness, an effective tool for planning high school coursework, and a useful career exploration and planning program. EXPLORE is administered during the freshman year. This is designed in accordance with the PLAN (10th grade) and the ACT (11th and 12th grade) to monitor and inform student academic progress.

The EXPLORE program contains four academic tests: English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science Reasoning. These tests are designed to measure student progress toward attainment of entry-level, curriculum-related knowledge and complex cognitive skills that are required in high school and are important for later education and career success.

Through EXPLORE, students' strengths and challenges can be identified early in their educational development, when they have the greatest opportunity to establish a four-year program of studies that will help them achieve their career and educational goals. Students receive a composite score of 1-25 and a predictive score on how they will do on the PLAN.

Rockwood results indicate the following:

• Results show that 24 percent of Rockwood students in eighth grade met all four college readiness benchmarks on the EXPLORE assessment.  The average score for eighth-grade students nationwide is 13 percent for meeting all four college benchmarks.
• The average composite score for Rockwood was 17.2 as compared to the national average of 15.5.

Updated: January 3, 2012