State test used to evaluate impact
District spotlight of the month
Portage students made measurable ACT ELA gains.
A focused look at student growth, proficiency, implementation, and district context from one of our Wisconsin partners.
Talk to usAt a glance
One semester of focused ACT preparation.
ChalkTalk was used during a flex period for one semester. Teachers taught twice per week in 40-minute blocks, totaling 12–16 hours per subject.
Weeks of ChalkTalk usage
Practice questions completed
3.26 points of ACT ELA growth.
Students achieved an average ACT ELA score improvement of 3.26 points. The study reports this as 9.06 times higher than the U.S. national average ACT score improvement over the same duration, using ACT’s 2016 annual-growth reference.
9.06×the national average pace
ACT ELA score improvement
Number of weeks
ChalkTalkU.S. national average
National comparison references average ACT score improvement after a full year of instruction (ACT, 2016), as cited in the impact study.
More students moved closer to grade level.
The study used ACT’s official College Readiness grade-level score benchmarks to compare student proficiency before and after ChalkTalk.
47% decreasein students 3+ grade levels behind
94% increasein students 1–2 grade levels behind
50% increasein students grade level or above
Pre-Test
3+ behind
1–2 behind
On level+
Post-Test
3+ behind
1–2 behind
On level+
0%20%40%60%80%100%
3+ grade levels behind1–2 grade levels behindGrade level or above
Student population
Portage Community School District
Located in Portage, Wisconsin, the district comprises nine schools with 2,163 students. About 20% of students are from minority groups, and 29.3% are economically disadvantaged.
9
schools
2,163
students
29.3%
economically disadvantaged
Implementation
Built into a flex period.
ChalkTalk was used for one semester. Teachers taught twice per week during a 40-minute block, for a total of 12–16 instructional hours per subject.
- One-semester implementation
- Two teacher-led sessions per week
- 40 minutes per session
- 12–16 hours per subject
What educators noticed.
These perspectives come from educators across Wisconsin and reflect their experiences using ChalkTalk in their schools and classrooms.
“On the official exam, the students did experience a lot of growth, and we were really pleased with what we saw. I mean, we had students growing from their Pre-ACT score last year between 1 and 9 points score on the composite, which was pretty incredible to see that score improvement!”
“I have to tell you, we are starting to hear the results of our Junior's ACT. Your predicted scores are pretty spot on and we're hearing about some great growth by our students that used ChalkTalk intensively.”
“A lot of students are using the study hall in a way I didn’t imagine, so that’s been my favorite feature. And I really lean into adaptive practice, and the real-time reports. The Skill level report has been extremely helpful!”
Impact Study Methodology
Growth
Students took an official mock ACT practice test before implementation. ChalkTalk used those results to generate lesson plans for the school schedule. Students completed another mock ACT practice test at the end of implementation, and the study reported growth between the two scores.
Proficiency
The proficiency analysis used ACT’s latest official College Readiness grade-level score benchmarks to examine how students moved between performance bands after using ChalkTalk.
Review the evidence