The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2014: Students from Low-Income Families

The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2014Students from Low-Income Families 3288© 2015 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. The ACT® college readiness assessment and ACT WorkKeys® are registered trademarks of ACT, Inc., in the USA and other countries. The ACT National Curriculum Survey®, ACT Engage®, ACT Explore®, ACT Plan®, and ACT QualityCore® are registered trademarks of ACT, Inc. ACT Aspire® and the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate™ are trademarks of ACT, Inc.July 2015Dear colleagues,It’s a question we ask constantly: are we doing enough to level the playing field in education for students from low-income families?We have known for a long time that family income and educational success are strongly correlated, and the data in this report starkly affirm it. Despite the fact that more students from low-income families took the ACT® college readiness assessment than ever before, the number of low-income students meeting three or more ACT College Readiness Benchmarks remained flat in 2014, as it has been for the past five years. Even more concerning, 50% of ACT-tested low-income students didn’t meet a single Benchmark. Closing the persistent opportunity and attainment gaps between low-income students and their higher-income peers is paramount to our nation’s social and economic viability. In this regard, accelerating the college and career readiness of low-income students is certainly one of the most profound challenges of our time. Clearly we need more, not less, educational planning, monitoring, and interventions across the K–12-to-postsecondary continuum to make a substantial difference for students from low-income families. One such program, the federally funded Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) initiative, is an example of how a research-based partnership among secondary, postsecondary, and state partners can be a powerful vehicle to deliver key research-based interventions to low-income families early, and consistently, on their path to postsecondary education.Given our shared mission and commitment to evidence, ACT and the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) have partnered with 14 GEAR UP state grantees to form the College and Career Readiness Evaluation Consortium, an ambitious, multiyear project to examine which targeted interventions are most effective in attaining important outcomes from the middle grades through postsecondary completion. The partnership will collect and analyze GEAR UP intervention and outcomes data and examine the relationships between specific interventions to student achievement. We look forward to sharing the findings from our studies to inform educational practice and policy for years to come. In our view, the following report serves as a critical benchmark of our society’s health and well-being. It is a clarion call for our nation to act with greater purpose and urgency to equalize college readiness for all students. We invite you to join us in mobilizing around this critical challenge. Jon Erickson Ranjit SidhuACT National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) 3Key FindingsImplicationsRecommendationsAcademic readiness and family income. Overall, most students are not ready for the academic rigors of college, but low-income students are especially vulnerable (pp. 5–9). The performance gap between student groups based on income is substantial and persistent.• While there is a wide gap between the college readiness of lower- and higher-income students in secondary school, research demonstrates that academic gaps emerge far earlier• Without the requisite academic foundation, most low-income students will have limited postsecondary education opportunities, struggle academically, and will complete college at lower rates than their higher-income peers• The roots of college success are planted early. Therefore, to improve college outcomes, it’s essential that we expand college access and readiness programs no later than the middle grades to monitor, support, and accelerate the academic growth of low-income students• The secondary-to-postsecondary transition is particularly challenging for low-income students and requires systemic approaches about how to effectively advise, guide, and support students academically, socially, and financially • Colleges should embrace emerging research on how innovative approaches to developmental education can put students on the path to success more effectively with key supplemental supports Postsecondary aspirations. Regardless of income, most students aspire to some postsecondary education (p. 12).• Over time, the aspiration gap between low