The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2013: Students from Low Income Families

The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2013Students from Low-Income Families July 2014Dear Colleagues,When it comes to postsecondary aspirations, students from low-income families are not very different from students who come from middle class and affluent families. The differences among these student populations become noticeable when we look at the difficulties low-income students face when turning aspiration into college enrollment. What is clear from the data in this report is that educational planning, monitoring, and interventions must be aligned to student aspirations, begin early, and continue throughout a student’s educational career. The data in this report indicate that early interventions should make a substantial difference for students from low-income families. Programs like the federal GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) college access and success program can be a vehicle to deliver key interventions to low-income families early, and consistently, on their path to postsecondary education.Moreover, college access and success programs can be strengthened by increasing their capacity to design, implement, and operate more effective research and evaluation practices. The GEAR UP program has voluntarily created the College and Career Readiness Evaluation Consortium, which has 15 GEAR UP state grants participating in a longitudinal evaluation of the program. The Consortium is partnering with ACT on this work. Using data more effectively promotes the wise use of taxpayers’ dollars and will provide insights about best practices that can benefit all students.Due to our similar missions and values, our seven-year partnership brings greater insights through research on how institutions can better help all students be successful through education. We hope this report sheds light on the challenges faced by low-income families and students and how investments in supports and services for these students will help them meet their educational goals. Jon Erickson ACTNathan Monell, CAE National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP)1112© 2014 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™, ACT Core Practice™, and the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate™ are trademarks of ACT, Inc. 3The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2013ACT has been measuring college readiness trends for several years. The Condition of College & Career Readiness is ACT’s annual report on the progress of the graduating class relative to college readiness. This year, 54.3% of the graduating class took the ACT® college readiness assessment. The increased number of test takers enhances the breadth and depth of the data pool, providing a comprehensive picture of the current graduating class in the context of readiness levels as well as offering a glimpse of the emerging educational pipeline. A Holistic View of College ReadinessRecent ACT research (The Reality of College Readiness, 2013; Readiness Matters, 2013) demonstrates that academically prepared students, as measured by the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks, have greater chances for success in their future educational endeavors. However, academic readiness is just one of several factors that contributes to educational success. The academic behaviors of students and the interest levels in their specific major or career are other key factors. Together, these elements define a clear picture of student readiness for postsecondary education. To encourage progress, the educational system needs to monitor and sustain all key factors of success.The Science of ACT AssessmentsIn 2012, ACT conducted the ACT National Curriculum Survey®. Completed every three to five years, the survey is used to build and update a valid suite of ACT assessments, empirically aligned to college readiness standards. The survey informs the test blueprint for the assessments. Results from the assessments validate the ACT College Readiness Standards as well as the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks. ACT is committed to validity research, the first type of which is research into content validity. This step involves the validation of the ACT College Readiness Standards, built upon a foundation of empirical data and validated through the ACT National Curriculum Survey, plus frequent external standards reviews. Predictive validity is equally important. Using actual student course performance, we validate that the test correctly predicts performance.Our evidence-based assessments and ongoing research are critical components to answering the key question of what matters most with college and career readiness. This evidence and the validity cycle drive the development and continuous improvement of