ACT in the News

ACT programs and services attract attention across the nation and beyond, as evidenced by this selection of highlights from recent news stories.

For additional items, see Previous News Highlights.

Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune, November 20, 2008
Program useful tool for employers, employees: The Opportunity Links program at Coshocton County Job & Family Services (JFS) has joined a nationally recognized system to evaluate potential employees and assist employers looking for worthy employees.; "There are jobs available in Coshocton County, there really are," said Lynn Jacobs, workforce administrator for JFS. "But 80 percent of those jobs require secondary skills."; WorkKeys is a job skills assessment system that measures the abilities of potential employees and rates them. The program also assists with training those job seekers to move to the next level. WorkKeys issues nationally recognized certifications in the form of bronze, silver and gold levels. Participants are tested on various skills such as reading, locating information and math on the basic test. Optional tests are available for areas such as writing, listening, observation and teamwork. The certifications show evidence job seekers possess the skills for positions they are seeking, Jacobs said.; Workforce Development is in the process of developing a database for Coshocton County. "This can be used as a tool to attract businesses to Coshocton County if we are able to provide evidence we have a skilled workforce," Jacobs said. WorkKeys tests can also be used by companies to assess current employee skills to determine who needs updated training, he said.; The tests were developed by the same company that produces the ACT exam taken by college-bound high school students.
State Gazette (Tennessee), November 18, 2008
City of Dyersburg Board hears Chamber updates: Vice President of Education and Dyersburg State Community College President Dr. Karen Bowyer reported on the success of ACT PLAN and EXPLORE testing for middle and high school students, and the new Career Readiness Certificate based on ACT's WorkKeys assessments.; "For some employers, if you don't have a Career Readiness Certificate, they are not interviewing you," Bowyer stated.
KOAA-TV (Colorado), November 13, 2008
ACT uses Centennial High as model school: A high school in Southern Colorado is being recognized as a leader when it comes to preparing Hispanic students for college. The ACT program plans to publish a report on advancements made by Hispanic students. ACT decided to study only two high schools in the country. One of them was Pueblo's Centennial High.; "Centennial High School is a school that is making a difference," said Julie Noble, the principal research associate at ACT. Hispanic students at Centennial are breaking stereotypes. One out of every two will enroll in college. Also, over the past five years, their ACT test scores have improved in English 2%, reading 5% and math 1%.; "We wanted to come and find out what's going on," said Noble. "What is it they are doing that is making a difference," she added. Workers from ACT came to interview students and staff to learn their secrets for success.; The information they collect at the school will be used to help high schools everywhere. "We're absolutely thrilled to have Centennial recognized by the national ACT," said Chris Bivin, principal at Centennial High School. "We're trying to prepare every single student to be successful in college, no exceptions," said Bivin. That's the message ACT says every school needs to reinforce to see similar gains.
Chattanooga (Tennessee) Times Free Press, November 13, 2008
Workforce prep necessary for VW: About 100 work force development professionals met in Chattanooga in what was called a milestone meeting to help the area get ready for a Volkswagen plant currently under construction. Volkswagen plans to hire 2,000 people at its Chattanooga assembly plant, which is to start operations in late 2010.; Tom Edd Wilson, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce chief executive, said the city has competed for two of the largest economic development projects in the country—Toyota and then Volkswagen. "When you play at the level we're playing at, with companies of the size that we are recruiting for this community, there is no subject more important than the readiness of our work force," Mr. Wilson said. "It is a critical part of economic development."; The professionals gathered to learn about an initiative using employability assessment tool called WorkKeys, which is produced by testing company ACT. The skills assessment test helps to determine what needs to be done to prepare the area's work force for the Volkswagen plant and its supplier companies.; Dr. Bill McMillan, formerly with the City Colleges of Chicago and the event's keynote speaker, talked about how the Chicago area worked to train thousands of residents there for jobs at the expansion of a Ford assembly plant and its supplier companies. "One of the reasons I proselytize on WorkKeys is it helps them to identify the specific skill sets needed to learn how to do a specific job," he said. WorkKeys measures the foundational skills necessary to be trainable in specific jobs, and then gauges individuals on the same scale.; Joe A. Rowe, a onetime production manager at the DuPont plant, talked about DuPont's use of the WorkKeys program in conjunction with Chattanooga State Technical Community College. "The WorkKeys program was a tremendous success when we needed it," Mr. Rowe said. The program helped to cut the time new employees needed for training, and once they were on the job, reduced the number of errors in the workplace.; Randy Lane of Eastman Chemical in Kingsport, TN, said using the WorkKeys program along with training software KeyTrain saved the company more than $600 per hired employee by making the hiring process more efficient. As the company looks to hire an additional 1,500 employees over the next several years, Eastman could save close to $1 million in hiring costs, he said.; Scott Stimart of ACT said the work force needs to know what skills are required to work in the plant, how and where they acquire these skills, and that is the connection between the two. "They need to know the level of math skills, reading skills, technology skills, and communication skills needed," he said. "You define that with a job profile or a job analysis. You then test your individuals to those skills and you train to the gaps, which is exactly what WorkKeys does."
Washington Post, November 12, 2008
ACT or SAT? More students answering 'All of the above': For students in the Washington region, picking a college entrance test has become a multiple-choice question.; The SAT has long dominated the bustling college-prep market in the District and its suburbs. But the rival ACT is making inroads, buoyed by a shift in conventional wisdom, which now holds that the tests are of about equal value and that a student would be wise to take both. Colleges are driving the trend because admission officers are spreading the word that it doesn't matter which test students take.; The ascendance of the ACT has brought Hertz-Avis style competition to the test-obsessed D.C. region. It's a boon to students, who find they have more ways than ever to impress colleges. The SAT tests how students think. The ACT measures what they have learned. Each is a better fit for some students than others.; ACT participation has doubled in Fairfax and Montgomery counties in the past three years, rising from about 2,550 seniors in 2005 to more than 5,100 this year.; A decade ago, the ACT was virtually unknown in this region, reflecting the supremacy of the SAT on the East Coast. But in the past five years or so, colleges have stated "with unanimity" that they don't care which test students take, said Paul Kanarek, vice president of the test-preparatory company Princeton Review.; Guidance counselors in this area used to advise students to take the SAT as many times as necessary to yield an acceptable score. Now, they might tell students to take each test once, then retake the one they liked better, said Henry Broaddus, dean of admission at the College of William and Mary. "And I actually think that's fairly sane advice."; "We're growing everywhere, but it's especially dramatic down the East Coast," said Jon Erickson, vice president for educational services at ACT.

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