ENGAGE®
Year Introduced
2011
Intended Users
ENGAGE is recommended for students in grades 6, 9, and 11 and for those entering college.
Purpose/Description
Poor academic performance and ever-increasing high school dropout rates are detrimental to individuals and society, and students need early interventions to reverse these trends. Research shows that measuring key psychosocial characteristics can improve the prediction of academic success and persistence. ENGAGE, ACT’s new academic behavior assessment, is a critical part of the process.
ENGAGE helps teachers evaluate students’ psychosocial attributes, determine their level of academic risk, and identify interventions to help them persist in their studies and achieve academic success. ACT designed these assessments to measure characteristics such as motivation, self-regulation, and social engagement.
Volume/Number of Users
Formerly known as the Student Readiness Inventory (SRI), ENGAGE is now used by 40-50 postsecondary institutions as well as several K–12 schools.
Additional Facts
- ENGAGE for grades 6–9 is a self-report inventory that provides a broad profile of students’ strengths and areas for improvement. The assessment has 10 scales, with 106 items written at a fourth-grade reading level, and takes just 30 minutes to compete. It captures students’ perceptions of themselves, their families’ commitment to education, school-related factors, and important behavioral indicators. Scores help educators identify and intervene with students who may be at academic risk.
- ENGAGE for grades 10–12 is a self-report inventory that identifies students’ strengths and weaknesses. This 30-minute assessment has 10 scales, with 108 items written at a sixth-grade reading level. It captures students’ perceptions of their own motivation, commitment to education, social connection, and other key predictors of academic success and persistence. Scores assist teachers in identifying and intervening with students who may be at risk as they transition into postsecondary studies, and they offer a strong predictor of college retention.
Results from ENGAGE provide natural ties to retention and a developmental tie to academic success. ACT also is developing curricula and teacher materials to help schools incorporate information from ENGAGE into their regular practices. In addition, ENGAGE helps educators:
- Identify students at risk of experiencing academic difficulties or dropping out
- Understand students’ areas of strength and need
- Identify interventions and/or support resources to assist students
- Determine where school- or system-wide resources or interventions may be needed
User Guides, an issue brief, and case studies from schools using ENGAGE are available for download.
