Statewide Administration of the ACT: A Key Component in Improving Student Access to College and Work

Since statewide administration of the ACT began in Colorado and Illinois, one or both states have seen the following improvements: • Increases in students’ academic achievement that parallel national trends • Increases in college readiness that parallel national trends • Increases in the numbers of students considering college • Increased college enrollment and steady retention In addition, statewide administration of the ACT can offer the following benefits: • Improved workforce planning and career counseling information • Increased economic benefits to students and states Statewide Administration of the ACT: A Key Component in Improving Student Access to College and Work Introduction In recent years there has been an increasing focus among states on the importance of preparing all students for college and work. The educational aspirations of American young people have never been higher, and they continue to grow (U.S. Department of Education, 2005). However, for many, the dream of graduating from college remains a dream. Lacking adequate academic planning and preparation, many students do not even see college as an option. And, unlike college graduates, those who do not go to college or who drop out before completing college face greater obstacles throughout their lives, including higher levels of unemployment (U.S. Department of Labor, 2004), dependence on social assistance (Vernez, Krop, & Rydell, 1999), and incarceration (Harlow, 2003). These converging issues have led a number of states to raise the expectations of students when they graduate from high school and to use a college admissions and placement program as their high school student assessment program. Statewide administration of the ACT provides all students, including those who have never considered college as an option, with the opportunity to identify academic strengths and weaknesses, explore educational and career interests, set high standards for academic achievement, and prepare to meet their educational and career goals. Statewide ACT administration also increases awareness among educators and policymakers of the important role that educational planning and preparation play in ensuring college readiness. And, since the ACT is accepted by virtually all postsecondary institutions across the U.S. for college admission and course placement, it provides students with a credential that they can use when they leave high school. Five states—Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, and Wyoming—currently administer the ACT to all their public high school students. This case study focuses on results from Colorado and Illinois, where statewide administration has been in place the longest (since 2001). Colorado uses the ACT in the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) as an eleventh-grade achievement-based assessment that gives the state an indication of how well its public schools are performing at educating students at the K–12 level. Illinois also administers the ACT to all of its public high school juniors as part of its Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE). Illinois uses the ACT to measure student progress on meeting state learning standards. ©2009 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. The ACT® is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc., in the U.S.A. and other countries. IC 050805260 Average ACT scores in Colorado and Illinois have increased since statewide administration began. In the years since statewide ACT administration began, improvements have occurred in one or both of the two states in the following areas: • student academic achievement • student readiness for college • the number of students considering college • college enrollment and retention In addition, statewide administration of the ACT can offer the following benefits: • improved workforce planning and career counseling information • economic benefits to students and states 1. Increases in academic achievement parallel national trends Since statewide administration of the ACT for high school juniors in Colorado and Illinois began in spring 2001, average ACT scores increased for all high school graduates from both states. As shown in Tables 1 and 2, from 2002 to 2007: • Average ACT Composite scores increased from 20.1 to 20.4 in Colorado and from 20.1 to 20.5 in Illinois. • Increases in average ACT scores for all Colorado and Illinois students were similar to those seen for all ACT-tested college-bound high school graduates nationally. (Average scores nationally increased from 20.2 to 20.7 in English, from 20.6 to 21.0 in Mathematics, from 21.1 to 21.5 in Reading, from 20.8 to 21.0 in Science, and from 20.8 to 21.2 for the Composite score). • Increases in average ACT scores occurred for all racial/ethnic groups and for both males and females. In Illinois, average ACT English, Science, and Composite scores increased for lower-income students. Table