Since 1959, ACT has collected and reported data on students’ academic readiness for college—both nationally and state specific. Preparing for college and career is a process that occurs throughout elementary and secondary education. Measuring academic performance over time provides meaningful and compelling information about the college readiness of students. ACT research also shows that certain nonacademic factors can play a role in student college success. Learn what to look for beyond GPA and test scores to predict the greatest likelihood of college success.
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ACT — Cognitive and ACT — Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Factors Non-Cognitive Factors
that Determine Student that Determine Student College and Career College and Career
ReadinessReadinessApril Hansen, Postsecondary Director
George Schlott, Senior Consultant for Program Solutions
ACT, Inc. – Midwest Region-Lincolnshire IL
What is College and Career Readiness?
Ensuring that all students, graduating from high school, have acquired the skills in English,
mathematics, reading, and science that they need to be ready for entry-level college courses without
remediation
A Question for AllA Question for All
Planning for School
Improvement
Improving Course Rigor
Measuring Student Progress TowardCollege and Career Readiness
Research
EXPLORE
8th & 9th grade
curriculum-based
educational and career planning program
PLAN
10th grade curriculum-
based educational and career planning program
The ACT
11th & 12th grade
curriculum-based
measurement for
learning outcomes
ENGAGE
Middle and High School assessment
that measures factors of academic success
QualityCore
Research-driven
solutions for strengthening curriculum & instruction
CoreWork Diagnostics
Online service to diagnose and
improve content and practice areas
ACT College Readiness Standards
ACT College Readiness Benchmarks ACT Core Course
Standards
WorkKeys
Job skill assessments and portable credentials necessary for career
pathways
College & Career Readiness Information SystemCollege & Career Readiness Information System
Core Practice Audit
Online service to diagnose and
improve content and practice areas
ACT College & Career Readiness SystemACT College & Career Readiness System
Through collaborative research with postsecondary institutions nationwide, ACT has established the following college readiness
benchmarks*:
* Minimum score needed on an ACT subject-area test to indicate a 50% chance of obtaining a B or higher or a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher in the corresponding first-year credit-bearing
college course.
Test College Course ACT
English English Composition 18
Math College Algebra 22
Reading Social Science 21
Science Biology 24
Test College Course EXPLORE 8 EXPLORE 9 PLAN 10 ACT COMPASS
English English Composition
Math College Algebra
Reading
Social Science
Science Biology
13
17
15
20
14
18
16
20
15
19
17
21
18
22
21
24
69
65
88
NA
ACT College Readiness BenchmarksACT College Readiness Benchmarks
Students who are college/career ready when they leave high school have a significantly higher likelihood of: – Enrolling in a postsecondary program,– Enrolling in credit bearing courses without the
need for remediation,– Succeeding in entry level postsecondary
course work,– Persisting in their postsecondary education, – Completing a postsecondary degree or
training program, and – Entering the job market with significantly
higher lifetime earning potential.Regardless of ethnicity and SES
Value of College ReadinessValue of College Readiness
By 2020: Cost of the average private--$60-70,000 per year Cost of the average public--$17,500-27,500 per year
In 2008:Out of approx. 1.8 million first year college students, 450,000 did not return to
the college or university where they began their college career.* That’s 25%.*Bryan Matthews, Retention Matters, Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 2, 2009
Attrition Costs MoneyAttrition Costs Money
If you have an incoming class of 1000, and lose even 10% of the class (100 students), that’s
100 x $30,000 = $3 million $3 million x 4 years = $12 million
Retaining students allows you to maintain revenue streams while keeping tuition increases down.
It’s the low hanging fruit.
Do the Math!Do the Math!
evaluate students’ personal, behavioral, and academic skills critical to high school and college achievement
determine their levels of academic risk
apply specific interventions to help them persist in their studies and achieve academic success
identify student strengths and areas for improvement in student motivation, social engagement, and self-regulation
predict college retention for each incoming freshman
What if you had an assessment that would:What if you had an assessment that would:
Research is the Foundation
1. The strongest predictors of college persistence and degree completion are: prior academic achievement and course selection (rigorous high school classes).
2. Prior academic achievement and cognitive ability surpass all other factors in their influence on student performance.
3. Non-academic factors can influence academic performance, retention and persistence, but cannot substitute for it.
• Students’ personal characteristics and psychosocial development influence their ability to stay in school and be successful
• ACT research shows that psychosocial/behavioral development can be structured into 3 broad domains:– Motivation – Social Engagement – Self-Regulation
• ACT’s academic behavior assessments measure these domains
• Measures students’ psychosocial attributes, determines level of risk, and helps identify interventions to promote successful transition to postsecondary studies
• Developed to predict academic success and retention in the first year of college
• Grounded in research– Developed based on meta-analysis of predictors of
academic performance and persistence (Robbins et al., 2004)
– Validated across many studies (e.g., Allen et al., 2010; Casillas et al., in press; Robbins et al., 2006, 2008)
• Helps educators to consider the whole student– Provides profile of relative strengths and needs
• Practical and flexible– Administer online at any time– Reports available online 24/7– Identify areas of challenge for students– Create a crosswalk of ENGAGE scales to existing