Staying on Target: The Importance of Monitoring Student Progress Toward College and Career Readiness

Educators, administrators, and policymakers are seeking effective solutions to increase student achievement and reduce achievement gaps as schools, districts, and states continue to work to demonstrate accountability and school improvement. While about three-quarters of high school graduates enroll in postsecondary education within two years of graduation, slightly more than half of students entering four-year institutions complete a degree, with an even lower completion rate at two-year colleges (US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2008). An important factor contributing to these outcomes is the inadequate preparation of students for college: only 74 percent of ACT-tested 2011 high school graduates took a core curriculum in high school (ACT, 2011). Even among those taking core coursework within a given subject area, only 68 percent are ready for college English Composition, 47 percent for College Algebra, 54 percent for introductory college social sciences courses, and 33 percent for Biology (ACT, 2011).The problems are clear and very well documented. ACT research strongly supports the need for an integrated, longitudinal data-driven system to inform and encourage coherence in school, district, and state efforts to prepare all high school graduates for college and career. Our high schools must provide rigorous courses that are aligned with college and career readiness standards, and more students must be prepared and have the opportunity to take these core courses. All students must also have systematic guidance and feedback about their progress, and get that feedback early and often.The following research uses three ACT solutions, EXPLORE®, PLAN®, and the ACT® test, to provide a multidimensional framework focused on the attainment of college and career readiness by students, as measured by the ACT College Readiness Standards™. These College Readiness Staying on TargetThe Importance of Monitoring Student Progress toward College and Career ReadinessACT Research and Policy June 2012 Research Briefwww.act.org/research© 2012 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. 1812074%Percentage of ACT-tested 2011 high school graduates took a core curriculum in high school (ACT 2011). Among those taking coursework within a given subject area, only68%of students are ready for college English Composition, 47%are ready for College Algebra,54%are ready for introductory college social sciences courses, and33%are ready for college Biology (ACT 2011). Standards were key contributors to the development of the Common Core State Standards, and reflect what students know and are able to do in grades 8 through 12. The content of EXPLORE and PLAN are aligned with that of the ACT, and thus are aligned with the Common Core State Standards. The assessment results, which are reported on a single score scale across all programs, are designed to inform students, parents, and educators about students’ academic strengths and weaknesses. This information is provided initially in 8th grade with EXPLORE and continues throughout high school (with PLAN in grade 10 and the ACT in grade 11 or 12), while there is still time to intervene with students who are not on target to be college and career ready. EXPLORE, PLAN, and the ACT also help students plan for further education and explore career options based on their own skills, interests, and aspirations. The solutions give high schools and districts a way to engage students in planning their own futures. When students are aware of what they need to know and be able to do to succeed after high school, they can use their own information to help make a smooth transition to postsecondary education or training.The following sections highlight the research-based benefits of the early monitoring offered by EXPLORE and PLAN when used in addition to the ACT. Unless otherwise noted, a group of students who took either all three assessments or just PLAN and the ACT is being compared to students who took the ACT only. In the charts, these groups are referred to respectively as “Early Monitoring” and “ACT only.”Early monitoring is associated with increased college and career readiness.Students need to begin planning for college early, take rigorous courses, and monitor their progress toward becoming college and career ready. The ACT College Readiness Benchmark scores correspond to students’ chances of success in college English Composition, College Algebra, social sciences, and Biology. The EXPLORE and PLAN College Readiness Benchmark scores are based on the ACT Benchmarks and students’ expected growth from one component to the next. The Benchmarks for EXPLORE and PLAN provide indicators of students’ likely success in college by the time they graduate from high school, assuming that they maintain their current levels of academic work throughout high school. The Benchmarks allow students and schools to monitor students’ progress and determine whether they are on target for being co