Can you tell us what your score reports say about how you scored and the skill areas in which you came up short?
Since you're not telling me which ++ goes with which diagnostic category, I'll assume ++ across the board, so you most likely garnered half or fewer of available raw points in each diagnostic category. It could be that your skills need developing, or you may struggle to apply skills you have in a testing environment, or both. For VCLA, the skills fall into three major categories: reading comprehension, conscious grasp of grammatical rules (or, very often, the ability to recognize which rule has been flouted when), and basic academic writing. For someone in your position, LearningExpress's Skill Builders books can work very well, and they've been in print long enough to be available as second-hand books for next to nothing. Try working your way through Reading Comprehension Success in 20 Minutes a Day for (duh) reading comprehension (not to mention added test-taking savvy), Writing Skills Success in 20 Minutes a Day to improve your grasp of formal English rules and conventions, and Write Better Essays in 20 Minutes a Day for essay writing.
Hello I am new here. Yesterday was my 2nd time taking VCLA. My unofficial scores were 82% on the reading portion and 65% on the writing. Any thoughts??? All responses are greatly appreciated.
The 82% on the reading would suggest that you will have a passing score on that section. The writing score, however, looks less promising, IMHO. That 65% is the percent right in the multiple choice portion of the writing test. I am concerned because you said were running out of time (other VCLA thread). Here's the good news out of that bad news - if you don't pass the writing portion, you can retake it again and have the entire 4 hours to do just the writing portion. Even better, when you get your scores, if you enter what your score report diagnosis says about the writing portion, TeacherGroupie can give definitive help in what to study and work on. That should be very helpful. The best news yet is that the VCLA is remarkably kind in getting your results back to you in a mere 10 days or so, so less time to fret. Compared to the Praxis exams and the full month wait, it is a virtual miracle. Keep us posted!
Thank you. Although I ran low on time I did do all my paragraphs and argue my points in the persuasive essay. I was able to quickly proofread. I'm hopeful. IF I don't pass the writing I just have to take another crack at it.
Hello folks. I'm new to the forum. I have a question regarding the VCLA writing subtest scoring method. For the reading subtest, I earned 82% correct (confirmed passing with a 251) and for the writing subtest multiple choice I received a raw score of 80% correct. I'm waiting for official scores on the writing. I completed the summary and essay. However, time ran out before I could proofread. My question is, what is the summary and essay scoring points translated to in terms of points/scores that are added to the writing subtest total score? I know the multiple choice account for 50% of the writing test points, the summary 20%, and the essay 30% of the available points. I just can not find anywhere on this forum or the internet how, for example, a score of 2 on the summary and a score of 3 on the essay translate to the points that make up the writing subtest score. I don't think you just take two plus three which add up to 5 and add that to the writing total score. Especially since both writing tasks make up 50% of the subtest score. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
I am reasonably certain that a 2 or a 3 will represent a percentage of those category percentages. I could definitely be wrong, This is the kind of question better answered by TeacherGroupie
Thank you vickilyn. That would make great sense to me. If the point scores do represent some percentage, I'd love to know what that percentage is and how many points towards that subtest total score that would equal to. I'm looking forward to getting TeacherGroupie's input.
Thank you vickilyn. That would make great sense to me. If the point scores do represent some percentage, I'd love to know how many points do the percentages equate to. I'm looking forward to getting TeacherGroupie's input.
You're quite right that the raw scores - the number of multiple choice questions plus the sum of the average of the scores that each of the two scorers gives each of your written responses - aren't just added together. It makes more sense to think in terms of scaled scores, or at least an oversimplified version of them. VCLA scales its scores from 100 to 300, which means that 200 scaled points are available per test. In the wriring test, 50% of those are in multiple choice, so 100 scaled points are available; divide 100 by whatever the number of multiple choice questions is to approximate what the average multiple choice question is worth in scaled points. The other 100 scaled points are accounted for by the two writing tasks. Each is scored - raw points, I mean - on a scale from 0 to 4 by two scorers, so the maximum possible raw score per task is 8. If the summary accounts for 20% of available scaled points, it contributes 40 possible points to the scaled score; 40 divided by 8 is 5, so on average each raw point earned on the summary is worth 5 scaled points. Similarly, if the essay accounts for 30% of available scaled points, it contributes 60 to the total scaled score and and on average each raw essay point is worth 7.5 (that is, 60/8) scaled points. It isn't quite that simple, of course, because one of the functions of scaling - in addition to the kind of weighting we've just worked through - is compensating for inevitable differences in difficulty among questions of similar types. The test companies are fairly coy about the details, however.
GUYS I PASSED MY VCLA! I got a 251 for reading and a 224 for writing. I am so happy. I was worried because of my time I spent on writing portion because I was running short. THANK GOD! Now on to the Praxis!
Congratulations, Goldie317! Do please celebrate your accomplishment. (Nobody ever passed one of these things solely on luck.)
Thank you vickilyn and teachergroupie for the support. I passed the VCLA! I scored a 251 on the reading and 246 on the writing. I too was worried about the summary and essay portion because I ran out of time before I could proofread. I went with the "flying the airplane as I was building it" strategy on those writing tasks. Now move on to beginning my Career Switcher program this fall. Thanks again and good luck to all present and future educators!
I couldn't be happier for you! Here's hoping that you meet every challenge in your future with as much perseverance and success.
4 minutes ago Hi!!! I am new to this forum. Looking for help passing the VCLA writing and reading test. Please send anything that you used to help PASS. This test is so simple and yet I am struggling to pass. It’s the last thing left for my licensure
I took both reading and writing yesterday and I scored 85% on my reading subtest and a 65% on the writing subtest. So you think I have a chance of passing? Thank you in advance. I feel pretty good about the reading, but I am unsure of the writing. I did write both the summary and composition.
What was your scale score for writing with a score of 65%? I took the writing earlier this week and scored the same.
Good Morning!! I just retook the VCLA reading and received an unofficial score of 77%. I’ve already taken the writing portion and received a 211. Will I have a chance of making the 470 minimum score?
I took the VCLA this morning also. I received an 82% on the reading subtest and 80% on the writing multiple choice/fill-in the blank subtest. I have to wait 10 days to get my final essay and total score. Does anyone have any idea what 82% and 80% conversion would be on the scores need to pass? I called the company and said the computer does it that they could not tell me. Really would appreciate anyone's input Thanks!
Those percentages reflect raw scores. Part of the point of scaling scores on tests like this is to compensate for the inevitable differences in difficulty between questions and among the various versions of a test. With that said, you have 80% or better on 3/4 of the test. If your composition and summarizing skills are on a par with what you've already done, I would not be surprised to see a passing score. Please keep us informed, and welcome to A to Z!
I'm going through a career change (username should say it all) and I've been stalking this forum and wanted to add my scores my unoffical scores were 80% for reading and 91% for writing - i answered all questions including the writing portions i received my score report yesterday and got 249 on both parts for a total of 498 Reading this thread in particular has been helpful, there are some less than helpful posts out there on reddit and whatnot - people who say any idiot could pass this and overall, I find this is a much friendlier place. I've been out of high school for 15 years and haven't take a single english or writing college class in probably 10, I definitely had to study to refresh my brain!!! Up next is my social studies praxis but i'm happy to get this out of the way!
Oh, well done, RNtoTeacher! One of the legacies of Common Core, even in states that are now pulling back on it, is the emphasis on literacy across the curriculum and on the role that the teacher of (in your case) social studies plays in guiding students toward being able to read, write, speak, and think in social-studies terms. It's possible that your social-studies Praxis will feature a few questions for which the work you did toward VCLA will help you ferret out the right answer.
I took the VCLA test today and received a 62% on reading and 74% on writing. I also finished my summary and essay. Based on the raw scores, do I have a chance in passing?
I am leaning towards a “Did Not Pass,” based on scores I’ve seen elsewhere on here. But, I could be wrong.
I got my VCLA test scores. I got a a 257 for reading and a 241 for writing for a total of 498!!! I passed!!! Very thankful!!!
