What does the name ACAT stand for?

• The acronym ACAT stands for Area Concentration Achievement Test. ACAT and PACAT (the parent company that creates, distributes, and processes the ACAT) are both registered trademarks of PACAT Inc.  For more information about PACAT Inc. see About Us.

How are ACATs used?

• ACATs assess content knowledge and retention by students at the completion of their major field of study. Departments typically use the ACAT to meet the needs for quantitative assessment data with a national comparison group and for locally relevant information to inform decision making about student learning outcomes.

• ACATs can be used for pre-post assessment to assess the impact of the major on content knowledge and retention across a specific time span.

• ACATs can be used to assess the effectiveness of vertical integration of content knowledge and disciplinary skills across courses taken to complete a major field of study.

• ACATs are used primarily by public and private baccalaureate degree granting higher education institutions, some graduating fewer than 5 majors a year and others graduating several hundred.

• Several ACATs (agriculture, biology, general business, criminal justice) are currently being calibrated for use by associates degree programs.

• You can see the current list of institutions included in our reference groups here.