Accessibility in Admissions

Accessibility in Admissions

April 27, 2010

About ACT• ACT is an independent, not-for-profit

organization that provides more than a hundred assessment, research, information, and program management services in the broad areas of education and workforce development.

• Each year, we serve millions of people in elementary and secondary schools, colleges, professional associations, businesses, and government agencies, nationally and internationally. ACT has offices across the United States and throughout the world.

Annual ACT Test Takers

• 2009 Graduating Seniors = 1,480,469• 2008-2009 Tested Juniors = 1,086,163

Over Over 2.5 Million Students2.5 Million Students Tested Each YearTested Each Year

(PLAN Tested Sophomores = 1,024,164)

2009 Percent of Graduates Taking ACT/SAT

More than 50% of graduates taking SAT

More than 50% of graduates taking the ACT

Source: 03/2008 WICHE data for number of H. S. Graduates per state, ACT Annual State Reports, College Board Annual State Summary 08/09

CT 21/80DC 30/74DE 11/69MA 18/79MD 17/67NH 15/72NJ 16/73RI 10/64VT 24/61

18/53

33/51

19/49

30/40

29/46

16/26

22/58

65/11

30/51

70/5

74/7100/20

72/4

74/3

78/354/22

58/18

99/5

68/6

68/7

59/3

67/4

73/5

89/6

93/4 76/7

92/10

97/6

67/5 100/5

24/6264/22

14/69

25/81

8/84

20/67100/7

15/62

50/66

40/70

62/58

62/18

Source: WICHE: Knocking at the College Door 2/2008 - Projections of H.S. Graduates by State

ACT Tested by State 2009

> 100,000

70,000–100,000

40,000–70,000

143,791

121,982

82,640

81,494

105,297

88,754

51,087

52,052

46,923

43,642

46,658 47,520

20,000–40,000

10,000–20,000

< 10,000

35,809

34,548

36,165 25,976

45,419

27,054

23,147

22,377

23,229

22,523

10,228 11,560

12,285

12,550 12,434

16,28617,321

21,199

17,90211,696

13,347

18,691

17,679

13,093

11,317

1,3099,240

1,060

6,676

5,791

5,530

5,960

6,396

2,254

3,115

1,438 2,008

2,469

1,548

Barriers in College Admissions

• Communicate college readiness• Communicate college needs & preferences• Connecting with the right college/university• Accessing college admission tests• Inadequate parental or high school guidance

College and Career Readiness System

8th–9th Grade Score Scale: 1—258th–9th Grade Score Scale: 1—25

10th GradeScore Scale: 1—3210th GradeScore Scale: 1—32

11th–12th GradeScore Scale: 1—3611th–12th GradeScore Scale: 1—36

Longitudinal AssessmentsLongitudinal Assessments

English, math, reading, science, optional Writing Test (ACT only)

Career and Educational Components

*Colorado administers the ACT to all public high school juniors

*

College Readiness Benchmark Scores

• Minimum ACT test scores required for students to have a high probability of success in credit-bearing college courses

• Empirically derived based on actual performance of college students

• Established using data from 98 institutions and over 90,000 students

College Readiness Benchmark Scores

Test College CoursePLAN The ACT

8th Grade 9th Grade

English English Composition 13 14 15 18

Math Algebra 17 18 19 22

Reading Social Sciences 15 16 17 21

Science Biology 20 20 21 24

EXPLORE

The minimum score needed on an ACT subject-area test to indicate a 50% chance of obtaining a B or higher or about a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher in the corresponding credit-bearing college courses.

65% 63% 66%68%

56%62%

43%

64%67%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

MetroDenver

North FrontRange

SouthFront

Range

Mountains EasternPlains

WesternSlope

San LuisValley

AllColorado

UnitedStates

ACT English Benchmark = 18

% Meeting Benchmark

% By Colorado Region Meeting ACT English College Readiness Benchmark

2009 Grad Class

41%39%

38%

41%

30%

33%

29%

39%42%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

MetroDenver

North FrontRange

South FrontRange

Mountains EasternPlains

WesternSlope

San LuisValley

All Colorado UnitedStates

ACT Math Benchmark = 22

% Meeting Benchmark

% By Colorado Region Meeting ACT Math College Readiness Benchmark

2009 Grad Class

52% 52% 52% 53%

44%

48%

34%

51% 53%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

MetroDenver

North FrontRange

SouthFront

Range

Mountains EasternPlains

WesternSlope

San LuisValley

AllColorado

UnitedStates

ACT Reading Benchmark = 21

% Meeting Benchmark

% By Colorado Region Meeting ACT Reading College Readiness Benchmark

2009 Grad Class

30%

27%26%

29%

19%

23%

17%

28% 28%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

MetroDenver

North FrontRange

South FrontRange

Mountains EasternPlains

WesternSlope

San LuisValley

All Colorado UnitedStates

ACT Science Benchmark = 24

% Meeting Benchmark

% By Colorado Region Meeting ACT Science College Readiness Benchmark

2009 Grad Class

24%

22%21%

23%

14%

17%

12%

22% 23%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

MetroDenver

North FrontRange

South FrontRange

Mountains EasternPlains

WesternSlope

San LuisValley

All Colorado UnitedStates

% Meeting Benchmark

% By Colorado Region Meeting All ACT College Readiness Benchmarks

2009 Grad Class

The ACT and Access

• A high percentage of colleges use test scores as one factor in the admissions process

• 81% require or use the ACT and/or the SAT in the process*

*From ACT’s Annual Institutional Data Questionnaire

The ACT and Access

• When a student takes the ACT, colleges are able identify and reach out to potential students through:– ACT Score Reports (sent by students)– Educational Opportunity Service (search)

• Colleges are able to facilitate access by using these to connect students with appropriate campus programs and resources

Recent ACT Research Findings Related to Yield

• Score-senders will typically be the highest-yielding initial source code (aside from applications) in an inquiry pool

• Students sending official score reports are more likely to enroll than ACT-tested students who do not send official scores

• The more scores a student sends, the more likely they are to enroll– Sending multiple scores shows continuous interest over time

State Testing Is a Great Equalizer

• More males• More minority students• More middle and lower-income students• More first-generation students

• Result…• More opportunities to increase access and

participation

Comparison of Colorado ACT-Tested Juniors Before and After State Testing

The Impact of Testing in Colorado & Illinois on College Enrollment

• 13% of Colorado students who had not planned to attend college at the time of testing ended up enrolling in college the next year (18% in Illinois)*

• From 2002 to 2007, the percentage of CO and IL high school grads enrolled in college the following fall increased by 1 and 2 percentage points, respectively*

*2009 Case Study – Statewide Administration of the ACT: A Key Component in Improving Student Access to College and Work

The ACT Student Record

More than a score…

More than 265 fields of data provide a complete student profile:

Overview of Student Data in the

ACT Record

– Personal/demographic data– Admissions/recruitment data– ACT Scores, norms, and prediction research– High school courses and grades– Educational plans, interests, and needs– Activities and accomplishments

ACT Academic Data

• ACT Scores, Norms and Percentiles (42 items)

• Prediction Research (30 items)

• HS Grades and Courses (80 items)

ACT Student Profile Data

• Admission/Enrollment Information(5 items)

• Factors Influencing College Choice(12 items)

• Educational Plans, Interests, & Needs(6 items)

• Special Educational Needs, Interests,and Goals (8 items)

• Interest Inventory (22 items)

ACT Student Profile Data (cont.)

• High School Information (5 items)• Financial Aid (4 items)• Out-of-Class Accomplishments

(21 items)• High School Activities/ College

Extracurricular Plans (26 items)• Background (4 items)

Key Points about Personalizing, Customizing, Segmenting

• A school’s ability to segment, customize, personalize and target is entirely dependant on the amount of student-level information available … and when it’s available

• Through the ACT student record colleges have…– the most complete information available– at the earliest point in the recruitment cycle– in the most portable format

Examples of Postsecondary ACT Data Use

• University of Toledo– Multicultural Recruitment – Target schools with

large percentages of African American/Latino students that meet admission/scholarship requirements and look at ACT trends within targets

– Assist UT Band Department by providing mailing lists of score senders where UT is 1st-3rd choice and express an interest in college band

– Assist Greek Life Department by providing list of score-senders expressing an interest in fraternities and sororities

• University of Toledo (continued)– Identify students who won a science award in high

school and send an e-invite encouraging attendance at science-related Summer Career Friday programs

– Contact students that indicate an interest in Study Abroad programs about those opportunities at UT

Examples of Postsecondary ACT Data Use

• University of Colorado at Colorado Springs– Targeted messaging based on indicated student

college choice– Postcard campaign with targeted messaging to

“search names” based on score ranges, geographic regions and academic interest

Examples of Postsecondary ACT Data Use

• Colorado State University– Starting to make ACT score sender data available to advising

community in hopes of reaching and advising students earlier (student data can help trigger new conversations in one-on-one advising)

– Using family income data to target Pell-eligible students to inform them early about financial planning and CSU’s “Land Grant Award”

• Identified & contacted 2200 Colorado seniors this year• 560 have applied for CSU admission

Examples of Postsecondary ACT Data Use

"Without information like this from the ACT, Colorado State wouldn’t be able to let Pell-eligible families know all the support that we can offer them until they submit a FAFSA late in the process. Since our primary access-related goal on this front is to not let families with low-income self-select themselves out of even applying, utilizing this one simple piece of information and having it the minute a student sends us test scores is a profoundly impactful moment for reaching a student as much as 12 months earlier than ever before.”

– Jim Rawlins, Executive Director of Admissions, Colorado State University

Examples of Postsecondary ACT Data Use

Contact Information

Joe CruseConsultant, ACT West Region3131 S. Vaughn Way, Suite 218Aurora, CO 80014303.337.3273 phone303.337.2613 [email protected]