Counselor Newsletter
November 2020
Upcoming Dates |
|
| December ACT Test Test Date: December 12 Registration Deadline: November 20 Test Registration Info |
ACT Certified Educator Virtual events open for registration. Register for Certified Educator |
| Promising Practices Webinar Using data and rigorous coursework to help students navigate college and career. November 12 at 4:00 PM ET Register for Promising Practices |
ACT CCRW Register for our full ACT College and Career Readiness webinar and choose any product-specific webinars to join. Register for a CCRW |
This Month:
Sign Up to Receive the Counselor Newsletter
ACT December Test Registration
ACT scores can help students stand out on college and scholarship applications. Encourage juniors and seniors to take the test in December so they have everything they need to chase their dreams. The final deadline to register is Friday, November 20.
Don’t forget to provide your qualifying students with a fee waiver!
College and Career Readiness Workshops
ACT knows it’s more important than ever to support you and your students in building a solid foundation for success. That’s why we’re hoping you will join us for our annual ACT College and Career Readiness Workshops—to empower you to better measure students’ progress and offer your students a blueprint for success.
Register for the 2020 ACT College and Career Readiness Workshop—a free, professional development event where you can learn about ACT products and services as well as new ways to use data to help your students build toward their futures.
Together, we can plan for success, measure progress, and build potential.
8 Reasons Students Should Choose the ACT Test
There are more than a few good reasons that choosing to take the ACT test is the best choice for students. Here are 8 reasons:
- STEM readiness insights
- Scholarship opportunities
- They’ve been studying for it for years
- More college admissions opportunities
- English Learner supports
- They can use a calculator for the whole math test
- There’s FREE test prep for all learning styles
- College and career navigation information
ACT Achievement Data Released
Recently, ACT released achievement data from the 2020 U.S. high school graduating class who took the ACT test. Of the nearly 1.67 million students in the 2020 graduating class who took the ACT test, approximately 49 percent of graduates nationwide, the national average Composite score was 20.6, one tenth of a point lower than the 2019 national average of 20.7.
We’ve created interactive data visualization tools so you can explore trends in ACT-tested graduating class performance relative to college and career readiness, including how students are performing compared to ACT College Readiness Benchmarks, STEM Benchmarks, and foundational work readiness skills. You can quickly discern how specific student populations perform by core subjects and core curriculum taken.
In conjunction with the release of ACT achievement data on the class of 2020 graduates, ACT is also releasing a policy brief and corresponding webinar on November 12, 2020 from 3:00-4:00 p.m. central. These activities highlight a diverse group of high schools that have shared their insights regarding interventions that address and remedy barriers to postsecondary success for their students.
Survey of Students’ Experience at Start of Pandemic
From March 26 to April 1, ACT surveyed 13,000 high school students about their online learning experiences during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report, High School Students’ Experiences in March During the Coronavirus Pandemic, summarizes students’ responses to survey questions that asked them to document their experiences during the pandemic. Students provided information related to the technological devices and quality of the internet they could access at home for school-related activities, learning at home and online compared to their in-school experiences, and whether their basic needs were being met.
Survey respondents were students who had registered to participate in the April or June 2020 national administration of the ACT® test. This survey was conducted online.
Download the report for insights into what can be gained and what actions could be taken to better support students during this difficult time.