Number of States Using ACT’s College and Career Readiness Assessments Continues to Grow

Alabama, Kansas, and Utah have joined the growing list of states using ACT’s assessments to help ensure their students are ready for college and careers when they graduate from high school.

ACT’s College and Career Readiness System provides a longitudinal approach to educational and career planning through assessment, curriculum support, and student evaluation. The research-based assessments help schools, districts, and states prepare students for college and career by focusing on academic and non-cognitive measurement and instructional improvement. Monitoring student progress at every stage, the system focuses on the key transition points that all young people face:

• Eighth and ninth grades—Preparing for high school
• Tenth grade—Planning and preparing for college and the workplace
• Eleventh and twelfth grades—Being ready for life after high school

As a result of statewide administration of ACT assessments, many states have experienced improvements in student academic achievement and readiness for college, workforce planning and career counseling, and college enrollment and retention. They also have seen increases in the number of students taking core curriculum courses and in those who are interested in postsecondary education and training.

Here’s how the three states are now using ACT assessments to help their students prepare for the future.

Alabama

The state is using ACT assessments to track progress of this year’s eighth graders over the next five years. “Project 2015” began with the administration of EXPLORE^® in about 130 school systems in October 2010. The same group is expected to take PLAN^® in tenth grade, the ACT^® in eleventh grade, and WorkKeys^® assessments in twelfth grade.

Officials chose ACT assessments to track college and career readiness with a cohort of students over a long-term period, said Tommy Bice, deputy state superintendent of education, Alabama State Department of Education.

“We realized that while we were meeting the expectations of No Child Left Behind and Annual Yearly Progress (AYP), we were not moving enough students toward college and workforce readiness. Since we were already administering the ACT test to the majority of our students, it made sense to add the other ACT assessments and ensure that every student has the opportunity to take the tests, so we can determine their specific academic needs and career interests and meet them over the five-year period,” he said.

“We will be very strategic in the interpretation of the data and its application to our instructional programs. We feel confident that the use of the assessment data will help us shift our focus from merely making AYP toward more rigorous college and career readiness for all of our graduates.”

Kansas

Preparing students for postsecondary opportunities is the goal of a Kansas state initiative to test eighth graders with EXPLORE and tenth graders with PLAN. Students are expected to take the assessments by the end of April.

“Improving access to these types of assessments is one way we can help ensure students are planning appropriately for postsecondary opportunities and that they leave high school prepared to pursue them successfully,” said Diane DeBacker, Kansas commissioner of education.

In addition, nearly 3,000 Career and Technical Education (CTE) students in eleventh and twelfth grades will take three WorkKeys assessments—Applied Mathematics, Reading for Information, and Locating Information. Students have until May 1 to complete the online exams. Those with qualifying scores will be eligible for a Kansas WORKReady! Certificate at platinum, gold, silver, and bronze levels.

WorkKeys is part of a new project administered by the Kansas State Department of Education to help students earn industry-recognized credentials. It covers the cost of a variety of assessments and certifications for high school students who are enrolled in approved CTE programs or pathways.

“We want to ensure that all Kansas students meet challenging academic and technical standards, so they are prepared for high-demand, high-wage, and high-skill occupations in current or emerging professions,” said Robin Harris, assistant director, Career, Standards, and Assessment Services, Kansas State Department of Education.

Utah

The state ran a pilot that used EXPLORE, PLAN, and the ACT in select school districts in 2008–09 and 2009–10. It expanded the pilot this school year to offer the three assessments as an option to all school districts. The state will pay for statewide ACT testing in March 2011 and will fund 50 percent of EXPLORE and PLAN tests, which districts can administer any time during the school year.

About three-fourths of the state’s districts are expected to participate.

The Utah legislature mandated the pilot and expanded it in an effort to do more than just test students on their proficiency levels, said John Jesse, director of assessment and accountability, Utah State Office of Education.

“We wanted to make sure students are college and career ready by giving them clear targets and feedback that better prepares them for the future. As they finish their K–12 experience, it’s our hope that a high number will be more prepared to succeed in college or to assume a career role,” he said. “Our hope is the data from the assessments will help us implement procedures, remediation programs, and courses to achieve our goals.”