Information Brief 2012-36
ACT College Readiness Benchmark Attainment by Career Interests and Race/Ethnicity 2012
The chart below shows how attainment of all four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks in English, mathematics, reading, and science among ACT-tested 2012 high school graduates varies with occupational choice across racial/ethnic groups. Like in 2011, the percentage of students who met all four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks varies substantially both by occupational choice and by racial/ethnic group.1
Percentage Meeting All 4 College Readiness Benchmarks by Occupational Choice
| Occupational Choice | African American | Asian | Hispanic | White |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Arts (Visual) | 2.89% | 20.45% | 6.57% | 20.47% |
| Community Services | 4.35% | 39.98% | 10.56% | 27.49% |
| Education | 2.21% | 25.47% | 8.94% | 22.73% |
| Engineering & Technologies | 7.70% | 45.33% | 20.61% | 48.14% |
| Health Care | 1.89% | 17.63% | 5.05% | 15.40% |
| Management | 2.76% | 28.45% | 8.25% | 22.92% |
| Medical Diagnosis & Treatment | 11.16% | 58.60% | 21.28% | 41.39% |
| Natural Science & Technologies | 8.51% | 50.62% | 20.80% | 42.84% |
| Social Science | 4.39% | 40.53% | 10.83% | 30.80% |
| All Students | 4.70% | 42.00% | 12.70% | 31.90% |
Note: The data for “All Students” are based on approximately 1.6 million ACT-tested 2012 high school graduates. All other data are based on a subset of 969,733 of the “All Students” who reported an occupational choice and were very sure or sure about their choice. About 9 percent of those students were very sure or fairly sure about their choice but did not specify it.
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