More States Using the ACT as Part of Alignment Efforts

In Illinois and Colorado, where the ACT has been incorporated into statewide high school assessment programs, there have been significant increases in:

• The numbers of students entering the college pipeline and meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks.
• The percentages of students taking core curriculum, plus honors, advanced, and/or accelerated courses.
• Awareness among high school students and teachers of specific courses essential for success in college.
• The number of students from low-income and racial/ethnic groups taking a core curriculum.
• ACT scores of students in those states.
• The numbers of students from all backgrounds enrolling in college—even those students who may not have been considering pursuing higher education.
• The number of students persisting in their second year at the same college.
• Education and career aspirations among minority students.

The use of the ACT is one of many initiatives being used by states in support of P–16 and high school reform efforts in response to federal and state accountability mandates, according to Jon Erickson, vice president, ACT educational services.

“These converging issues make incorporating a statewide college readiness test into a state program a timely strategy—one that can be an essential component of an effective plan to address many of the issues that state educators and policymakers are facing,” said Erickson.

What makes the ACT such an appealing solution? For starters, we administer a weekday college entrance examination as part of a state testing program. That means all students can take the test during their regular school day and at no cost to them.

The fact that the ACT is curriculum based also appeals to states. The ACT is assembled on the knowledge and skills all students need to succeed in postsecondary education or workforce training, as determined by periodic national surveys of secondary and postsecondary educators and business leaders.

The ACT also supports career planning and counseling, a component that’s missing in some state tests. Students respond to questions about their occupational preferences and also complete an interest inventory. The results help identify programs of study and occupations that align with their interests. States can use results from a statewide administration to forecast occupational supply and demand.

By comparing career interests to expected career opportunities within a state, planners and policymakers can get a better idea of where there may be shortages.

Statewide use of the ACT brings many other key benefits, including:

• Alignment to state and college readiness standards. Not only have the knowledge and skills tested on the ACT been shown to correlate with state learning standards, they also reflect those additional skills deemed crucial for success in college and workforce training.
• More student motivation in testing. States report their highest attendance rates of the school year the days on which the ACT is administered.
• Increased college aspirations and enrollment. Many students who considered college only after earning encouraging scores on the ACT come from traditionally underrepresented groups or from families whose annual income is less than $30,000. Others are students who may not have previously thought about college before taking the ACT.
• Universal acceptance. Virtually every U.S. college and university accepts ACT scores.
• Feedback for school improvement. ACT results provide detailed feedback about students’ strengths and weaknesses. Administrators receive reports that identify students who are likely ready for college-level work and those who need immediate special interventions. Teachers receive reports that offer suggested instructional activities, sample assessment items, and curriculum worksheets.
• Additional assistance. ACT offers user states workshops and other forms of consul-tation, including instructional support programs that tie results to classroom practice, curricula, and state standards.

“Statewide ACT administration is a productive strategy for states interested in raising the rigor of their standards and assessments, and in seamlessly connecting secondary and postsecondary education,” said Erickson.

Additional States Consider Value of Statewide ACT Use

Illinois and Colorado have blazed a new trail in education by being among the first to implement statewide use of the ACT. More may join them in the next several years.

Both Illinois and Colorado implemented statewide use of the ACT in 2001 and both renewed in 2005. In Illinois, the ACT is part of the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE), used to measure achievement of grade 11 students relative to the Illinois Learning Standards for reading, mathematics, and science. Participation in PSAE is a condition of receiving a regular high school diploma. Colorado’s ACT results are used as part of the state’s accountability plan.

Michigan piloted statewide ACT use in spring 2006, and full implementation is slated for this spring.

In these three states alone, the ACT is administered at 2,200 schools to nearly 330,000 eligible high school juniors each spring. Students in Illinois and Michigan also take the writing test sections of the ACT and WorkKeys^®.

Wyoming has implemented the ACT for the 2006–07 school year as part of its Hathaway Scholarship program, and also gives juniors the option of taking WorkKeys. Kentucky funds EXPLORE and PLAN, and recently passed legislation requiring the state to provide the ACT for every junior. The state will also provide the opportunity for all students to take WorkKeys. Full implementation is planned for spring 2008. Kansas will fund EXPLORE, PLAN, and ACT testing for districts as part of its Student Engagement Program, which kicks off this spring.

The State of Tennessee has made the ACT part of its voucher system and provides a voucher for students testing on a national test day. This program has been in place for a number of years, and now more than 90 percent of Tennessee’s graduating seniors have taken the ACT.

Other states are considering statewide ACT use. In addition, in several states, one or more school districts administer the ACT.

How States Are Administering the ACT

	Illinois	Colorado	Michigan	Tennessee	Wyoming
Program	Prairie State Achievement Exam	Colorado ACT	Michigan Merit Exam	Tennessee Voucher Program	Wyoming Voucher Program (Hathaway)
Implemented	2001 Renewed in 2005 for 5–10 years	2001 Renewed in 2005 for 5 years	Piloted in spring 2006 Full implementation in spring 2007	1995	2006–07 school year
Components	The ACT (English, Math, Reading, Science, Writing); WorkKeys: Applied Math and Reading; Illinois State Board of Education-developed science test	The ACT (English, Math, Reading, Science)	The ACT (English, Math, Reading, Science, Writing); WorkKeys: Applied Math and Reading; Michigan-developed math, social studies, and science tests	The ACT (English, Math, Reading, Science)	The ACT (English, Math, Reading, Science); WorkKeys: Applied Math, Reading for Information, Locating Information
Use/NCLB Acceptance	Measure achievement of grade 11 students relative to the Illinois Learning Standards for reading, mathematics, and science. Participation in PSAE is a condition of receiving a regular high school diploma. Results are used to satisfy NCLB/AYP requirements.	ACT results are used as part of the state’s accountability plan.	Designed to measure student achievement relative to Michigan standards. Results used for Michigan Merit financial awards and to satisfy NCLB/AYP requirements.	Requirement for state scholarship program eligibility.	Determine eligibility for Hathaway Scholarships.