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North Carolina Is Newest State to Partner with ACT on College and Career Readiness Assessments
North Carolina has joined the growing roster of states that are using ACT assessments to better prepare students for college and career readiness.
“We are excited about this new opportunity for North Carolina. By partnering with ACT, we can help our students better prepare for career and college options,” said North Carolina’s State Superintendent June Atkinson.
North Carolina tenth graders took PLAN® in December 2011, and juniors will take the ACT® Plus Writing test in March 2012. A select group of seniors involved in Career and Technical Education programs will take three ACT WorkKeys® assessments in February 2012.
The assessments are part of a pilot program the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is conducting before the state’s new Accountability and Curriculum Reform Effort goes into effect in the 2012–13 academic year. This comprehensive initiative redefines the Standard Course of Study for K–12 students, the student assessment program, and the school accountability model.
“One of the goals of the new accountability model is postsecondary readiness. We felt the ACT, as a content-based achievement test and as a benchmark for college success, would be a good measure for schools and also for students to prepare for the college admissions process,” said Atkinson. “We hope that students who may not have considered college may expand their future possibilities.”
The state offered PLAN as a diagnostic measure with the intent of providing information to teachers and counselors so they could deliver additional instruction or interventions to students as needed. This information will help them prepare students to take the ACT in the spring of the junior year.
Other states offering some combination of ACT assessments in public schools statewide include Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
A select group of seniors who complete a sequence of Career and Technical Education courses will take three WorkKeys assessments: Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Reading for Information. Those with qualifying scores will be eligible for a North Carolina Career Readiness Certificate at platinum, gold, silver, or bronze levels.