On Course for Success: A Close Look at Selected Courses That Prepare All Students for College and Work

On Course for SuccessCOLLEGE READINESSA Close Look at Selected HighSchool Courses That Prepare AllStudents for College and Work ONCOURSE FORSUCCESSA CLOSELOOK ATSELECTEDHIGHSCHOOLCOURSESTHATPREPAREALLSTUDENTS FORCOLLEGE iiA Letter from Cyndie Schmeiser and Kati HaycockACT, Inc., and The Education Trust, the co-authors of this report, aredevoted to the educational success of all students, especially the minorityand low-income students who will increasingly contribute to the U.S.economy. In particular, ACT and The Education Trust are working to ensurethat all students arrive at the doors of colleges and universities ready forcollege-level study without the need for remediation. That means finding outwhat essential qualities of high school courses foster successful transition tocollege.We were therefore eager to cooperate on a study of high schools thatsucceed in preparing students for a measure of college readiness like theACT Assessment. We were particularly interested in high schools withsubstantial populations of students underrepresented in postsecondaryeducation. This Study Report recounts a 17-month cooperative project thatthoroughly examined courses in English, mathematics, and science in 10such high achieving schools across the nation.We hope that people responsible for high school students’ success—administrators, teachers, counselors, parents, students themselves—willuse this report to evaluate their own programs. To this end, we haveincluded course syllabi and course descriptions of key courses in English,mathematics, and science that can be used to examine high schoolcourses to determine if they include the rigorous skills necessary for collegereadiness. These course materials are authentic and were derived from theinstructional syllabi used in the courses studied by ACT and The EducationTrust. The materials come directly from successful practice.Our joint ambition is to close the achievement gaps between majority andminority students, between high-income and low-income students, andbetween suburban, urban, and rural students. To accomplish this, we needto ensure that all students have an opportunity to learn the higher-levelthinking skills and knowledge that are necessary for college-level work. Webelieve that this study will help close these gaps by offering clear guidanceto all who care about the future of our children and our country.Sincerely,Cyndie SchmeiserKati HaycockSenior Vice PresidentDirectorResearch and DevelopmentThe Education TrustACT CONTENTSThe Study Team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ivExecutive Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vI. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1II. The Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7III. General Findings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14IV. English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17V. Mathematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37VI. Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56VII. Discussion and Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76List of FiguresFigure 1.1 Education and Training Pay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Figure 1.2 Average ACT Scores by College-Preparatory Core Coursework . . . . . . . . . . 3Figure 1.3 Average ACT Math Score by High School Math Course Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . 4Figure 1.4 Average ACT Science Score by High School Science Course Sequence . . . . . . . . . 5List of TablesTable 2.1 Characteristics of Participating Schools . . . . . . . . . 8Table 2.2 Compilation of Course Syllabi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Table 4.1 English Courses by Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Table 5.1 Math Courses by Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Table 6.1 Science Courses by Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 ivONCOURSE FORSUCCESSTHESTUDYTEAMACT, Inc.ACT is an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides a widevariety of educational services to students and their parents, to highschools and colleges, and to professional associations and governmentagencies and organizations. ACT was founded in 1959 by E. F. Lindquist, aworld-renowned authority on educational measurement and educationalstatistics, and professor at The University of Iowa. Lindquist believed that acollege admission examination should assess the skills and knowledge thatstudents learn in high school and that are required for college-level study.True to this philosophy, the ACT Assessment®is, by design, aligned tocurriculum and is a well established predictor of success in first-yearcollege courses. The asse