Hello-I am Mrs. Ruiz, I am the P-TECH administrator for East Central High School. I am super excited to start this remarkable journey with all the P-TECH students. You are the first cohort of students to come through the program, you should be proud of yourselves. This program is going to provide our students with the extraordinary opportunity to take control of their futures. You are making bigs moves for your future. I will be here along the way to help you as you transition into high school and college life, I will guide you as you maneuver this new time in your life, mostly importantly I am your biggest advocate and ally. We are on this journey together. We are EC! You are the class of 2027! We got this!

The following is the uniform policy for P-TECH. The expectation is that all students abide by the uniform standards for P-TECH. I will give everyone a 2 weeks grace period to ensure that you have all uniforms items. If you need more time or have not been given your scrubs and/or polo, please reach out to me ASAP.

The TSI Assessment (TSIA) is part of the Texas Success Initiative program designed to help your college or university determine if you are ready for college-level course work in the areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. If you are an incoming college student in Texas, you are required to take the TSI Assessment - unless you are already exempt (read below) - to determine your readiness for college-level work. Based on how you perform, you may either be enrolled in a college-level course and/or be placed in the appropriate developmental

course or intervention to improve your skills and prepare you for success in college-level courses.

What Does the TSI Assessment Cover?

The TSI Assessment in Mathematics is a multiple-choice assessment that covers the four content areas listed below. There are approximately 20 items on the TSI placement test and 10 items in each section of the DE diagnostic test. If you score well enough on the placement test, you will not need to take the additional diagnostic test. Personal calculators are not allowed; however, you will have the option to click on a calculator link for select test questions.

• Elementary Algebra and Functions measures your knowledge of linear equations, inequalities, and systems; algebraic expressions and equations; and word problems and applications.
• Intermediate Algebra and Functions measures your knowledge of quadratic and other polynomial expressions, equations, and functions; expressions, equations, and functions involving powers, roots, and radicals; and rational and exponential expressions, equations, and functions.
• Geometry and Measurement measures your knowledge of plane geometry; transformations and symmetry; and linear, area, and three- dimensional measurements.
• Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability measures your knowledge of interpreting categorical and quantitative data, statistical measures, and probabilistic reasoning.

The TSI Assessment in Reading is a multiple-choice assessment that covers the four content areas listed below. There are approximately 24 items on the TSI placement test and 10 to 12 items in each section of the DE diagnostic test. If you score well enough on the placement test, you will not need to take the additional diagnostic test.

• Literary Analysis measures your skill in identifying and analyzing ideas in and elements of literary texts.
• Main Idea and Supporting Details measures your skill in identifying the main idea of a passage and in comprehending explicit textual information in a passage.
• Inferences in a Text or Texts measures your skill in synthesizing ideas by making a connection or comparison between two passages and in making an appropriate inference about single passages.
• Author's Use of Language measures your skill in identifying an author's purpose, tone, organization or rhetorical strategies, and use of evidence in determining the meaning of words in context.

The TSI Assessment in Writing is an assessment that contains a multiple-choice section and an essay section.

Essay Section

You may be asked to write a five-paragraph persuasive essay (approximately 300-600 words) on a controversial issue or one of current interest. You will be expected to clearly state a main idea and provide specific examples and details to back up your main idea, as well as follow conventions of standard English. You will not be allowed to use a dictionary or other outside resources, but you may use plain scratch paper (provided at the testing center) to plan your essay and write your rough draft(s).

1. Get organized.

2. Take advantage of the study resources on campus.
TAMUSA has learning labs and tutors available. If you’re having some troubles, these resources are another tool available to you. Another idea: form study groups.

3.Take responsibility for yourself and your actions.

4.Don’t cut corners.

College is all about learning. If you procrastinate and cram, you may still do well on tests, but you’ll learn very little. Even worse, don’t cheat on term papers or tests.

5. Be prepared to feel overwhelmed.
There’s a lot going in your life right now. Expect to have moments where it seems a bit too much. As one student says, be prepared to feel completely unprepared. The trick is knowing that you’re not the only one feeling that way.

Summer bridge was a huge success. Students spent 8 days team building, TSI prepping, TSI testing, and learning what is means to be a future medical professional. Students have gained useful knowledge on the expectation of what is means to be a P-TECH student.