The Condition of College & Career Readiness l 2012 — Oregon

7/31/2019 The Condition of College & Career Readiness l 2012 Oregon

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Oregon

The Condition of College & Career Readinessl2012


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Annually, ACT provides a snapshot o the college and careerreadiness o ACT-tested high school graduates. We oer thisreport as a service to inorm policymakers and practitionersabout selected indicators o eectiveness and how thattranslates into readiness. In interpreting and using the results,keep in mind that the number and percentage o 2012graduates who took the ACT in your state determine howrepresentative these ndings are or your state.

Our Unique Added ValueACT has been measuring the academic achievement o11th- and 12th-grade students since 1959, their careeraspirations since 1969, and their academic preparation inhigh school since 1985. ACTs data system includes each othese areas or 8th and 10th graders and has beenmonitoring student readiness and success or nearly twodecades. Since 1996, and every three to ve years thereater,

ACT surveys thousands o high school and college educatorsto pinpoint the knowledge and skills needed or rst-yearcollege coursework. ACT is the only organization withdecades o empirical data showing exactly what happens tohigh school graduates once they get to college or to workand how they can maximize successbased on theirpreparation rom kindergarten through high school.

College and Career Readiness DefnedACT has long dened college and career readiness as the

acquisition o the knowledge and skills a student needs toenroll and succeed in credit-bearing rst-year courses at apostsecondary institution (such as a two- or our-year college,trade school, or technical school) without the need orremediation. ACTs denition o college and career readinesswas adopted by the Common Core State Standards Initiative,which serves as validation o our extensive research and

ACTs College Readiness Standards.

Measuring academic perormance in the context o collegeand career readinessocusing on the numbers andpercentages o students meeting or exceeding the ACTCollege Readiness Benchmarksprovides meaningul andcompelling inormation about the academic readiness o

students. The Condition o College & Career Readinesshighlights that inormation.

Early Student Monitoring and InterventionACT research continues to show the importance o earlymonitoring o student achievement and appropriateinterventions. In the recently released research report Stayingon Target(ACT 2012), students who are monitored earlybeore taking the ACT are more likely to be college and careerready than those not monitored early (i.e., who take the ACT

only), regardless o the high school they attend and their levelo prior achievement. In act, students who are monitoredearly are more likely to meet three or all our o the ACTCollege Readiness Benchmarks than students who are notmonitored early, regardless o gender, race, or annual amilyincome.

The ACT groundbreaking research report The ForgottenMiddle (ACT 2008) suggests that being on target or collegeand career readiness by 8th grade puts students on atrajectory or success in high school and beyond. Thisresearch shows that the level o academic achievement thatstudents attain by 8th grade has a larger impact on theircollege and career readiness by the time they graduate rom

high school than anything that happens academically in highschool. This research also reveals that students academicreadiness or college and career can be urther supportedand improved when they acquire and demonstrate behaviorsin the upper elementary grades and in middle school shownto be related to successul academic perormance.

The problems are clear and very well documented. ACTresearch strongly supports the need or an integrated,longitudinal, data-driven system to inorm and encouragecoherence in school, district, and state eorts to prepare allhigh school graduates or college and career. Our highschools must provide rigorous courses that are aligned withcollege and career readiness standards, and more students

must be prepared and have the opportunity to take thesecore courses. All students must also have systematicguidance and eedback about their progress, and get thateedback early and oten.

Use o Student Growth Models in Early MonitoringAs states and districts implement college and careerreadiness standards, metrics aligned to those standards areneeded to gauge individual and school progress toward thisgoal. Using these metrics, growth modeling has strongpotential to help stakeholders measure progressorindividual students and or school systems. Growth modelresults can serve a variety o purposes. Educators andpolicymakers can use growth modeling results as part oaccountability systems, to measure student and schoolimprovement, to more accurately diagnose areas o strengthand weakness, and to inorm educator proessionaldevelopment initiatives. Early monitoring o academic growthtoward the college and career readiness goal can helpidentiy problems, so that interventions can be made to getthe individual or school system back on track.

2012 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. The ACT is a registered trademark o ACT, Inc., in the USA and other countries. ACT National Curriculum Survey , EXPLORE,PLAN, QualityCore, and WorkKeys are registered trademarks o ACT, Inc. College Readiness Standards, ENGAGE, and Core Practice are trademarks o ACT, Inc.

The Condition of College & Career Readiness | Class of 2012

Oregon


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A Comprehensive Framework o Best PracticesOne compelling reason or undertaking early and continuousmonitoring o student perormance that includes studentgrowth models and or implementing aligned, outcomes-ocused education standards is that there is strongempirical evidence for these educational practices.1 Inaddition to these, other key practices or increasing readinesscan be implemented at the district, school, and classroomlevels as part o a comprehensive ramework o bestpractices. The Core Practice Framework is an example othis. Empirically developed and validated, the Core PracticeFramework outlines the evidence-based educator practicesat each level o a school systemdistrict, school, andclassroomthat will help all students master high standards.

The Framework ocuses on ve themes: 1) Curriculum andAcademic Goals, 2) Sta Selection, Leadership, and CapacityBuilding, 3) Instructional Tools, 4) Monitoring Perormanceand Progress, and 5) Intervention and Adjustment. Included inthe Framework are Critical Actionssteps on how toimplement the 15 core practices.

Building a SystemACT is pleased to announce that we will provide an aligned,coherent system that will now begin in the earlier grades,giving states, districts, and schools a suite o opportunitiesspanning grades 312. This new system is aligned to ourCollege Readiness Standards, which allows monitoring andintervening to take place much earlier and will help to getmore students prepared to succeed at college-level work.

The system is built on the ramework o our CollegeReadiness Standards, essentially pulling these standardsdown into the lower grades and dening what students needto know and when in order to be on track or college. Wehave created these standards, and our test blueprints, around

the results o the ACT National Curriculum Survey.This survey is given every ew years to educators inpostsecondary, secondary, and now in the elementarygrades to determine both what is being taught in theclassroom and the expectations o what is needed tosucceed at the next level, be it middle school, high school,or college. It is a representative sample o educators romacross the country. For the rst time, this survey has been

enhanced to drill into what is being taught and the specicexpectations in the lower grades and how that aligns tosuccess in college. As you may expect, there is adisconnection between what is being taught and theexpectations or success at the next level. The ultimate goalo this system is to give educators assessment tools tointervene and get more students on the right track to collegeand career success. Arguably, this is one o the reasons theCommon Core State Standards were developed. A systemlike this will give you a jump-start into implementation o amore robust, standards-based system centering on the rightnumber and right types o assessments all tied to appropriateinterventions.

Using This Report2

This report is designed to help inorm the ollowing questionsdriving national e orts to strengthen P16 education. Are your students prepared or college and career? Are enough o your students taking core courses? Are your core courses rigorous enough? Are your younger students on target or college and

career? What other dimensions o college and career readiness

should we track? How is the 2011 graduating class doing?

College Course Subject Area Test

EXPLOREBenchmark

PLANBenchmark

ACTBenchmark

English Composition English 13 15 18

Social Sciences Reading 15 17 21

College Algebra Mathematics 17 19 22

Biology Science 20 21 24

How does ACT determine i students are college ready?Empirically derived, ACTs College Readiness Benchmarks are scores on the ACT subject area tests that representthe level o achievement required or students to have a 50% chance o obtaining a B or higher or about a 75%chance o obtaining a C or higher in corresponding credit-bearing rst-year college courses. These college coursesinclude English Composition, College Algebra, Biology, and an introductory social science course. Based on anationally representative sample, the Benchmarks are median course placement values or these institutions and assuch represent a typicalset o expectations. The ACT College Readiness Benchmarks are:


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College & Career Readiness in

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Percent o 2012 ACT-Tested High School Graduates MeetingCollege Readiness Benchmarks by Subject

66!55!

49!35!

29!

67!52!

46!31!

25!

0!

20!

40!

60!

80!

100!

English! Reading! Mathematics! Science! All Four!Subjects!

Percent

Oregon! Nation!

Percent o 20082012 ACT-Tested High School Graduates

Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks

65! 66! 66! 66! 66!54! 56! 57! 55! 55!

45! 47! 48! 49! 49!29! 31! 33! 32!

35!

24! 26! 27! 27! 29!

0!

20!

40!

60!

80!

100!

2008! 2009! 2010! 2011! 2012!

Percent

English! Reading! Mathematics! Science! All Four Subjects!

Oregon

Attainmento Collegeand CareerReadiness

12,462 o your graduates,

which is an estimated 38%

o your graduating class,

took the ACT.* From 20082012, the

number o ACT test-taking

graduates has increased by

17.7%, while the number o

graduates in your state has

decreased by 5.4%.

* Totals or graduating seniors were

obtained rom Knocking at the

College Door: Projections o

High School Graduates by State

and Race/Ethnicity, 1992 to 2022,

7th edition. March 2008 by

the Western Interstate Commissionor Higher Education.

Note: Percents in this report may not

sum to 100% due to rounding.


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Percent o 2012 ACT-Tested High School Graduates byBenchmark Attainment and Subject

66!55!

49!35!

9!11!

9!13!

25!35!

41!52!

0!

20!

40!

60!

80!

100!

English! Reading! Mathematics! Science!

P

ercent

Met Benchmark! Within 2 Points of Benchmark! Below Benchmark by 3+ Points!

Percent o 2012 ACT-Tested High School Graduates byNumber o ACT College Readiness Benchmarks Attained

Met 1

Benchmark!13%!

Met 2

Benchmarks!16%!

Met 3

Benchmarks!15%!

Met All 4

Benchmarks!29%!

Met No

Benchmarks!27%!

Oregon

NearAttainmento Collegeand CareerReadiness


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Oregon

Percent o 20082012 ACT-Tested High School Graduatesby Race/Ethnicity*

4! 3! 4! 4! 3!1! 1! 2! 1! 1!8! 8! 8! 8! 6!7! 8! 9! 11! 13!

1!

61! 64! 63! 61! 60!

3! 3! 4! 4! 6!15! 13! 11! 11! 9!

0!

20!

40!

60!

80!

100!

2008! 2009! 2010! 2011! 2012!

P

ercent

African!American! American!Indian! Asian! Hispanic! Pacific !Islander! White! Two or!More Races! No Response!

Percent o 20082012 ACT-Tested High School GraduatesMeeting Three or More Benchmarks by Race/Ethnicity*

8! 14! 10! 13! 13!

24!17! 22! 18!

20!

39! 43! 45!49!

52!

12!15! 15! 16!

21!38!

21!

46! 48! 51! 51!51!

0!

20!

40!

60!

80!

100!

2008! 2009! 2010! 2011! 2012!

Percent

African !American! American!Indian! Asian! Hispanic! Pacific!Islander! White!

Participationand Opportunity

Over the past decade,

ACT has experienced

unprecedented growth in the

number o students tested, as

well as statewide partnerships

in 12 dierent states and in

many districts across the

country. As a result, the 2012

Condition o College & Career

Readiness report provides a

much deeper and more

representative sample in

comparison to a purely

sel-selected college-going

population.

* Race/ethnicity categories changed

in 2011 to refect updated USDepartment o Education reporting

requirements.3

Note: Less than 0.5% will not appear.


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English

66!

75!

43!

39!

68!

34!

27!

All!Students!

White!

Pacific!Islander!

Hispanic!Asian!

American!Indian!

African!American!

Reading

55!

63!

29!

30!

55!

30!

22!

All!Students!

White!

Pacific!Islander!

Hispanic!Asian!

American!Indian!

African!American!

Mathematics

49!

55!

33!

27!

67!

22!

19!

All!Students!

White!

Pacific!Islander!

Hispanic!Asian!

American!Indian!

African!American!

Science

35!

41!

12!

15!

43!

16!

10!

All!Students!

White!

Pacific!Islander!

Hispanic!Asian!

American!Indian!

African!American!

Participation and Opportunity by Subject

Oregon

Percent o 2012 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Meeting CollegeReadiness Benchmarks by Race/Ethnicity and Subject*


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Oregon

Percent o 2012 ACT-Tested High School Graduates inCore or More vs. Less Than Core Courses Meeting CollegeReadiness Benchmarks by Subject

71!59!

54!40!

36!44!

11!20!

0!

20!

40!

60!

80!

100!


Percen

t

Core or More! Less Than Core!

Course-TakingPatterns andBenchmarkPerormance

Within subjects, ACT has

consistently ound that

students who take the

recommended corecurriculum are more likely to

be ready or college or career

than those who do not. A core

curriculum is dened as our

years o English and three

years each o mathematics,

social studies, and science.4


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Percent o 20112012 PLAN-Tested 10th Graders Meeting College Readiness Benchmarks (N = 9,663)

Percent o 20112012 EXPLORE-Tested 8th Graders Meeting College Readiness Benchmarks (N = 7,299)

70!52!

39!22!

16!

23!32!

19!

14!24! 30!

59!

0!

20!

40!

60!

80!

100!


Perc

ent


Met 1

Benchmark!20%!

Met 2

Benchmarks!21%!

Met 3

Benchmarks!17%!

Met All 4

Benchmarks!18%!

Met No

Benchmarks!25%!

Met 1!Benchmark!

16%!

Met 2!Benchmarks!

18%!

Met 3!Benchmarks!

17%!

Met All 4!Benchmarks!

28%!

Met No!Benchmarks!

21%!

Oregon

Early Preparation

ACT research shows that younger students who take a

rigorous curricula are more prepared to graduate rom

high school ready or college or career. Moreover, our

recent research (The Forgotten Middle, 2008) ound that

the level o academic achievement that students attain by

8th grade has a larger impact on their college and career

readiness by the time they graduate high school than

anything that happens academically in high school.

75!59!

46!35!

11!16!

21!22!

14!25!

32!43!

0!

20!

40!

60!

80!

100!


Percent



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Percent o 2012 ACT-Tested High School Graduates withCareer Interests in Jobs Calling or a Two-Year Degree orMore in the States Five Fastest-Growing Career Fields5

15!11!

10!9!

8!7!

6!

2!

7!10!

0!

5!

10!

15!

20!

25!

Education! Management! Marketing/!Sales! Community!Services! Health!Care!

Percent

Job Openings!Career Interests!

Percent o 2012 ACT-Tested High School GraduatesInterested in High-Growth Careers Meeting CollegeReadiness Benchmarks by Subject

66!56!

66!64!

54!50! 44! 50!

52!41!41! 42! 40! 42!

34!26!

23! 28!30!

19!

0!

20!

40!

60!

80!

100!

Education! Management! Marketing/!Sales! Community!Services! Health!Care!

Perce

nt


ACT has ound several other

substantial actors that impact

college and career readiness

or students. They include

career and educational

planning and the academic

behaviors o students.

Oregon

Preparationor Careers inHigh-GrowthFields

Many students who are

interested in these career

areas all short o meeting

ACTs College Readiness

Benchmarks, suggesting that

they are not on the right path

to take advantage o career

opportunities in these high-

growth elds.

Other College and Career Readiness Factors


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Percent o 2012 ACT-Tested High School Graduates byEducational Aspirations

39! 39!

5!18!

0!

20!

40!60

!

80!

100!

Graduate/!Professional

Degree!Bachelors!

Degree! Associates/!Voc-tech Degree! Other/No!Response!

Percent

Oregon

Impact o Academic Behaviors

on High School Persistence

ACT research illustrates how the

combination o academic

achievement and behavior yields

more inormation than either

measure alone when

dierentiating students or high

school persistence.6 Most

importantly, this inormation is

available in 8th gradeallowing

or early identication o students

at risk o not completing high

school.7

52!65! 69!

79!89!

97!95! 95! 99!

0!20!40!60!80!

100!

0 Benchmarks! 1 or 2 Benchmarks! 3 or 4 Benchmarks!

Persistenc

eRate

EXPLORE Benchmarks!Low Graduation Index! Moderate Graduation Index! High Graduation Index!

High School Persistence Rates by 8th-Grade EXPLOREBenchmarks and ENGAGE Graduation Index Levels

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Academic Achievement and Academic Behaviors

Other College and Career Readiness Factors

Aligning StudentBehaviors,Planning, andAspirations

Most students aspire to a

post-high school credential.

To help them meet those

aspirations, educational

planning, monitoring, and

interventions must be aligned

to their aspirations, begin

early, and continue throughout

their educational careers.


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State

Percento Graduates

Tested*

AverageComposite

Score

PercentMeetingEnglish

Benchmark

PercentMeetingReading

Benchmark

PercentMeeting

MathBenchmark

PercentMeetingScience

Benchmark

Alabama 86 20.3 65 48 33 23

Alaska 35 21.2 67 56 48 30

Arizona 35 19.7 54 42 39 23

Arkansas 88 20.3 64 48 36 23

Caliornia 25 22.1 72 58 58 35

Colorado 100 20.6 62 47 41 31

Connecticut 27 23.8 86 71 68 48

Delaware 14 22.6 76 63 57 39

District of Columbia 32 19.7 51 42 37 26

Florida 70 19.8 57 46 37 22

Georgia 52 20.7 64 50 40 27

Hawaii 27 21.3 66 52 51 31

Idaho 67 21.6 72 59 47 32

Illinois 100 20.9 65 47 44 30

Indiana 32 22.3 75 62 58 37

Iowa 63 22.1 77 62 51 38

Kansas 81 21.9 73 60 52 35

Kentucky 100 19.8 59 44 31 22

Louisiana 100 20.3 68 46 35 22

Maine 9 23.4 84 70 65 43

Maryland 21 22.1 72 58 53 37

Massachusetts 23 24.1 86 72 73 48

Michigan 100 20.1 59 45 36 26Minnesota 74 22.8 78 64 62 42

Mississippi 100 18.7 53 34 21 14

Missouri 75 21.6 73 56 46 33

Montana 61 22 74 63 54 37

Nebraska 78 22 75 59 51 36

Oregon

2012 StatePercent oHigh SchoolGraduatesTested, AverageComposite

Score, andPercentMeetingBenchmarksby Subject


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State

Percento Graduates

Tested*

AverageComposite

Score

PercentMeetingEnglish

Benchmark

PercentMeetingReading

Benchmark

PercentMeeting

MathBenchmark

PercentMeetingScience

Benchmark

Nevada 34 21.3 68 55 48 30

New Hampshire 19 23.8 85 73 68 49

New Jersey 20 23.4 81 67 67 43

New Mexico 75 19.9 57 45 33 22

New York 29 23.3 80 67 67 47

North Carolina 20 21.9 69 58 56 34

North Dakota 100 20.7 64 49 45 30

Ohio 71 21.8 71 58 49 34

Oklahoma 80 20.7 67 53 37 26

Oregon 38 21.4 66 55 49 35

Pennsylvania 18 22.4 76 62 59 38

Rhode Island 13 22.9 81 68 61 42

South Carolina 57 20.2 61 46 39 24

South Dakota 81 21.8 73 58 54 37

Tennessee 100 19.7 59 43 29 21

Texas 39 20.8 61 48 48 29

Utah 97 20.7 64 54 40 29

Vermont 28 23 78 66 62 43

Virginia 25 22.4 76 63 56 38

Washington 21 22.9 76 66 62 43

West Virginia 68 20.6 70 53 33 25

Wisconsin 71 22.1 75 59 54 38

Wyoming 100 20.3 60 46 38 28National 52 21.1 67 52 46 31

* Totals or graduating seniors were obtained rom Knocking at the College Door: Projections o

High School Graduates by State and Race/Ethnicity, 1992 to 2022, 7th edition. March 2008 bythe Western Interstate Commission or Higher Education.

Oregon

2012 StatePercent oHigh SchoolGraduatesTested, AverageComposite

Score, andPercentMeetingBenchmarksby Subject


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Oregon

Percent o 2011 ACT-Tested High School Graduates byNumber o ACT College Readiness Benchmarks Attained

Met 1

Benchmark!14%!

Met 2Benchmarks!

16%!

Met 3

Benchmarks!16%!

Met All 4

Benchmarks!27%!

Met No

Benchmarks!27%!

Percent o 2011 ACT-Tested High School Graduates byNumber o ACT College Readiness Benchmarks Attainedand Fall 2011 College Enrollment Status

39!

11!14!

34!

4!

53!46!

14!

0!

20!

40!

60!

80!

100!

Zero! One! Two! Three! Four!

Perc

ent

2-Year! 4-Year Public! 4-Year Non-Public! Other/Unknown!

CollegeReadinessBenchmarks andFall 2011 CollegeEnrollment

Academic achievement, as

measured by ACT College

Readiness Benchmark

attainment, has a clear and

distinctive relationship with the

path taken by high school

graduates. Those who were

more academically ready were

more likely to enroll in 4-year

institutions. Graduates who

enrolled in 2-year colleges orpursued other options ater high

school were more likely to have

met ewer Benchmarks. For

the sizeable number o 2011

graduates who did not meet any

Benchmarks, their post-high

school opportunities appear to

have been limited compared to

their college-ready peers.

Looking Back at the Class o2011

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College & Career Readiness

Policies and Practices

How to Increase College ReadinessApproximately 28% o all 2012 ACT-tested high schoolgraduates did not meet any o the ACT College ReadinessBenchmarks, meaning they were not prepared academicallyor rst-year college courses in English Composition, College

Algebra, Biology, and social sciences. There are steps thatstates, districts, schools, and classrooms can take to increasestudent readiness or college-level work.

Essential Standards. Since ACT rst released Making theDream a Realityin 2008, we have called or states to adopteducation standards that prepare all students or the rigors o

college or career training programs. With the adoption o theCommon Core State Standards by 45 states and the Districto Columbia, most states have taken that rst step on the roadto ensuring all students are ready or college or career. It isimperative now that policymakers and practitioners continuethis process by aligning all aspects o their systems to collegeand career readiness.

Common Expectations. All statesespecially those thathave adopted the Common Core State Standardsshould bealigning college and career readiness standards to a rigorouscore curriculum or all high school students whether they arebound or college or work. The levels o expectation orcollege readiness and workorce training readiness should be

comparable. To ensure students master the knowledge andskills to succeed ater high school, ACT supports the corecurriculum recommendations oA Nation at Risk: TheImperative or Educational Reormspecically that studentstake a core curriculum consisting o at least our years oEnglish and three years each o mathematics, science, andsocial studies.

Clear Perormance Standards. States must dene howgood is good enough or college and career readiness. Inaddition to a consistent, rigorous set o essential K12 contentstandards, states must dene perormance standards so thatstudents, parents, and teachers know how well students mustperorm academically to have a reasonable chance o success

at college or on the job. Based on decades o studentperormance data, ACT denes college readiness asstudents having a 50% chance o earning a grade o B orhigher or about a 75% chance o earning a grade o C orhigher in rst-year college English Composition; College

Algebra; Biology; or History, Psychology, Sociology, PoliticalScience, or Economics.

Rigorous High School Courses. Having appropriate andaligned standards, coupled with a core curriculum, willadequately prepare high school students only i the coursesare truly challenging. That is, taking the right kinds o coursesmatters more than taking the right number o courses.Students who take a rigorous core curriculum should be readyor credit-bearing rst-year college courses withoutremediation.

Early Monitoring and Intervention. We know rom ourempirical data that students who take challenging curricula are

much better prepared to graduate high school ready orcollege or career training opportunities. I students are to beready or college or career when they graduate, their progressmust be monitored closely so that deciencies in oundationalskills can be identied and remediated early, in upperelementary and middle school. In addition, age-appropriatecareer assessment, exploration, and planning activities thatencourage students to consider and ocus on personallyrelevant career options should be a part o this process sothat students can plan their high school courseworkaccordingly.

Data-Driven Decisions. States have been hard at workdeveloping longitudinal P16 data systemsthis work must

continue and accelerate. I states are serious about ensuringmore o their students are prepared or college and work in the21st century, they must develop systems that allow schoolsand districts to closely monitor student perormance at everystage o the learning pipeline, rom preschool through theelementary, middle, and high school grades, all the waythrough college. Use o a longitudinal data system enableseducators to identiy students who are in need o academicinterventions at an early stage, thus giving teachers andstudents more time to strengthen these skills beoregraduation. Longitudinal data systems provide a tool toschools to ensure all their students take and complete theright number and kinds o courses beore graduation. Using alongitudinal assessment system also permits schools toevaluate the value added by each core course in helpingstudents to become ready or college and career. Suchsystems allow colleges to oer eedback reports to highschools that examine how well prepared each high schoolsgraduates are or college. These reports can be used tostrengthen high school curricula.


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District, School, and Classroom PracticesThe Path to Readiness: It Takes a System

Research by the National Center or Educational Achievement(NCEA)a department o ACTshows that no single programor isolated reorm can be a substitute or a coherent, long-term, systemwide approach to improving teaching andlearning. We all want our students to graduate prepared totake on uture opportunities with success. So, what areconsistently higher perorming schools doing to place morestudents on the path to college and career readiness?

The Core Practice Framework, built upon the study o more

than 550 schools across 20 states, identies the corepractices that distinguish a higher perorming school rom itsaverage perorming counterparts. NCEA studies the practiceso those schools and school systems that have more successin preparing their students or college and careers than theirpeers who serve similar student populations. Our ongoingresearch supports the Framework and adds content andinormation to each o the core practices below.

The 15 Practices o Higher Perorming School Systems

The Core Practice Framework outlines the evidence-basededucator practices at each level o a school systemdistrict,school, and classroomthat will help all students master highstandards. The Framework ocuses on ve themes:

Theme 1: Curriculum and Academic GoalsDistrict Practice: Provide clear, prioritized learning objectivesby grade and subject that all students are expected to master.

School Practice: Set expectations and goals or teachingand learning based on the districts written curriculum.

Classroom Practice: Study and use the districts writtencurriculum to plan all instruction.

Theme 2: Sta Selection, Leadership, and

Capacity Building

District Practice: Provide strong principals, a talentedteacher pool, and layered proessional development.

School Practice: Select and develop teachers to ensure

high-quality instruction.Classroom Practice: Collaborate as a primary means orimproving instruction.

Theme 3: Instructional Tools: Programs and Strategies

District Practice: Provide evidence- and standards-basedinstructional tools that support academic rigor or all students.

School Practice: Promote strategies and build structuresand schedules to support academic rigor.

Classroom Practice: Use proven instructional tools tosupport rigorous learning or students.

Theme 4: Monitoring Perormance and Progress

District Practice: Develop and use student assessment anddata management systems to monitor student learning.

School Practice: Monitor teacher perormance and studentlearning.

Classroom Practice: Analyze and discuss studentperormance data.

Theme 5: Intervention and Adjustment

District Practice: Respond to data through targetedinterventions or curricular/instructional adjustments.

School Practice: Use targeted interventions to addresslearning needs o teachers and students.

Classroom Practice: Use targeted interventions oradjustments to address learning needs o students.

Another layer behind the Framework, the Critical Actions,provides additional support or educators by outlining how tosuccessully implement the key components o each corepractice.

The Core Practice Framework

Reading rom bottom to top, the path to readiness begins withACTs College and Career Readiness Standards, CommonCore State Standards, and district learning objectives.

Applying the 15 core practices o teaching and learning leadsto high-quality instruction, which in turn creates theopportunity or all students to reach ACTs College ReadinessBenchmarks.

To learn more, please visit www.nc4ea.org.

Policies and PracticesCollege & Career Readiness


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8th- and9th-gradestudents

10th-gradestudents


8th-through12th-gradestudents


NationalCareerReadinessCertifcates

WorkKeys-

basedcertifcates

Alabama

Arkansas

Illinois

Kentucky

Louisiana

Michigan

Minnesota

Oklahoma

SouthCarolina

Tennessee

Utah

West Virginia

Wyoming

Alabama

Arkansas

Florida

Illinois

Kentucky

Louisiana

Michigan

Minnesota

NorthCarolina

Oklahoma

Tennessee

Utah

West Virginia

Wyoming

Arkansas

Colorado

Illinois

Kentucky

Louisiana

Michigan

Montana

North

CarolinaNorthDakota

Tennessee

Utah

Wyoming

Alabama

Kentucky

Illinois

Michigan

NorthCarolina

NorthDakota

Wyoming

Alaska

Connecticut

Indiana

Iowa

Kentucky

Louisiana

Michigan

Minnesota

MissouriMontana

NewHampshire

New Mexico

North Dakota

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

SouthDakota

Tennessee

Vermont

Wisconsin

Alabama

Arkansas

Colorado

Florida

Georgia

Indiana

Kansas

Mississippi

NorthCarolina

Oklahoma

SouthCarolina

Virginia

West Virginia

Wyoming

States that incorporate

ACTs college and career

readiness solutions as part

o their statewide

assessments provide greater

access to higher education

and increase the likelihood o

student success in

postsecondary education.

Educators also have the

ability to establish a

longitudinal plan using ACTs

assessments, which provide

high schools, districts, and

states with unique student-

level data that can be used

or eective student

intervention plans.

State administration o ACTs

programs and services:

Increases opportunitiesor minority and middle-

to low-income students.

Promotes student

educational and career

planning.

Reduces the need or

remediation.

Correlates with increases

in college enrollment,

persistence, and student

success.

Aligns with state

standards.

Statewide Partnerships in College andCareer Readiness

ResourcesCollege & Career Readiness


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18

Resources

ACT ResearchAs a not-or-prot educational research organization, ACT is committed to producing research that ocuses on key issues ineducation and workorce development. Our goal is to serve as a data resource. We strive to provide policymakers with theinormation they need to inorm education and workorce development policy and to give educators the tools they need to leadmore students toward college and career success. What ollows are some o ACTs recent and most groundbreaking researchstudies. To review these studies, go to www.act.org/research/summary.

The Condition of College & Career Readiness l 2012

National

The Condition o College

& Career Readiness

Using ACT test scoresand the ACT College

Readiness Benchmarks,The Condition o College &Career Readiness 2012

provides a series o graphics highlighting the college andcareer readiness o the ACT-tested high school class o2012. This report is updated annually.

The20 Non-NegoableCharacteriscs ofHigherPerformingSchool Systems

The 20 Non-Negoable Characteriscs of

Higher Performing School Systems

ReportPublished: April2011

Authored by: NationalCenter for EducationalAchievement(NCEA) |ACT,Inc.

AligningDistrict Practices toSupportHigh-Quality Instruction

The 20 Non-Negotiable

Characteristics o Higher

Perorming School SystemsDiscover the 20 hard-hittingcharacteristics that make schoolsystems successul at preparingstudents or college and careers.

A Better Measure o Skills GapsThis report proposes a simpledenition to describe the increasingmismatch between labor marketsupply and demand in America andsets orth detailed and specicmeasures to analyze skills gaps inour major industry sectors.

Enrollment Management Trends Report|2012Asnapshotof the 2011 ACT-testedhighschool graduates

Enrollment Management

Trends ReportThis report provides enrollmentmanagers and other collegeadministrators with inormation aboutstudents patterns during their collegechoice process or 2011 high schoolgraduates who took the ACT test.

A First Look at the Common

Core and College and Career

ReadinessForty-ve states and the District o

Columbia have adopted the CommonCore State Standards. Now, eorts toimplement the Standards take onprimary importance. ACT providesthis rst look at student perormancerelative to the Common Core StateStandards and college and careerreadiness.

A First Look atHigher PerformingHigh Schools

COLLEGE

READINESS

School Qualities that EducatorsBelieve Contribute Most toCollege and Career Readiness

A First Look at Higher

Perorming High SchoolsThere are high schools across thecountry that are demonstrating stronggrowth toward college and careerreadiness. ACT provides this rst lookat school qualities that personnel atthese high schools believe make thegreatest dierence in preparingstudents or college and careers.

The Forgotten MiddleThis report examines the actorsthat infuence college and careerreadiness. The percentage o 8thgraders on target to be ready orcollege-level work by the time they

graduate rom high school is so smallthat it raises questions not only aboutthe prospect that these students caneventually be ready or college and

career but also about whether they are even ready orhigh school.

College & Career Readiness


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Endnotes1. See, or example, National Center or Educational Achievement (NCEA), TheCore Practice Framework: A Guide to Sustained School Improvement(Austin,TX: ACT, Inc., 2012); NCEA, The 20 Non-Negotiable Characteristics o HigherPerorming School Systems (Austin, TX: ACT, Inc., 2011); NCEA, CorePractices in Math and Science: An Investigation o Consistently HigherPerorming School Systems in Five States (Austin, TX: ACT, Inc., 2009); ACT,

Afrming the Goal: Is College and Career Readiness an InternationallyCompetitive Standard? (Iowa City, IA: ACT, Inc., 2011); ACT,A First Look atthe Common Core and College and Career Readiness (Iowa City, IA: ACT,Inc., 2010).

2. The data presented herein are based on the ACT Prole ReportState:Graduating Class 2012 or each respective state, and accessible atwww.act.org/readiness/2012. With the exception o the top graph on

page 6, data related to students who did not provide inormation or whoresponded Other to questions about gender, race/ethnicity, high schoolcurriculum, etc., are not presented explicitly.

3. The race/ethnicity categories changed in 2011 to refect updated USDepartment o Education reporting requirements; trends to previous reportsmay not be available or all race/ethnicity categories.

4. Data refect subject-specic curriculum. For example, English Core or Moreresults pertain to students who took at least our years o English, regardlesso courses taken in other subject areas.

5. State long-term occupational projections or 20082018 (based on job growthand job replacement provided by Oregon Employment Department). Theoccupations that are used to calculate the projected high-growth career eldsare based on a combination o the ollowing: the occupational criteria used by

the US Bureau o Labor Statistics to obtain state-level occupation data,occupational shits that refect a states economic situation, and the ACTCareer Classication System that organizes occupations into career elds.Career interests and achievement results based on 2012 ACT-tested Oregonstudents (n = 7,896) with valid career inormation and subject scores. Sampleoccupations within state high-growth career elds are Education (secondaryteachers, administrators, etc.); Management (convention planners, hotel/restaurant managers, etc.); Marketing/Sales (insurance agents, buyers, etc.);Community Services (social workers, school counselors, etc.); Health Care(nurses, occupational therapists, etc.).

6. Across all EXPLORE Benchmark attainment levels, students with higherENGAGE Graduation Index scores, which are based on a combination oENGAGE scale scores and other sel-reported student inormation, had higherhigh school persistence rates than students with lower Graduation Indexscores.

7. Data are based on 2,986 8th graders in 24 middle schools across the countrywho took EXPLORE and ENGAGE Grades 69, an assessment o academicbehaviors. High school persistence is dened as having graduated high schoolor being on track to graduate within our years o starting 9th grade. Thesedata do not refect the entire 2012 ACT-tested high school graduate cohort.

Oregon


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ACT is an independent, not-or-prot organization that provides assessment,

research, inormation, and program management services in the broad areas o

education and workorce development. Each year, we serve millions o people in high

schools, colleges, proessional associations, businesses, and government agencies,

nationally and internationally. Though designed to meet a wide array o needs, all

ACT programs and services have one guiding purposehelping peopleachieve education and workplace success.

A copy o this report can be ound at

www.act.org/readiness/2012

ACT National Ofce

500 ACT Drive

P.O. Box 168

Iowa City, Iowa 52243-0168Telephone: 319.337.1000

West Region

Sacramento Ofce

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95742-6103

Telephone: 916.631.9200

Mountain/PlainsRegion

Denver Ofce

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Aurora, Colorado 80014-3507

Telephone: 303.337.3273

Southwest RegionAustin Ofce

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Austin, Texas 78759-8364

Telephone: 512.320.1850

Midwest RegionChicago Ofce

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Suite 300

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Telephone: 847.634.2560

Lansing Ofce

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Suite 400

Lansing, Michigan 48917-8249

Telephone: 517.327.5919

Columbus Ofce

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Suite 210

Gahanna, Ohio 43230-3318

Telephone: 614.470.9828

Northeast Region

Boston Ofce

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01772-2121

Telephone: 508.229.0111

Southeast RegionAtlanta Ofce

3355 Lenox Road NE

Suite 320

Atlanta, Georgia 30326-1332

Telephone: 404.231.1952

Tallahassee Ofce

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Suite A

Tallahassee, Florida 32301-4757

Telephone: 850.878.2729

NCEA

Austin Ofce8701 N. MoPac Expressway

Suite 200

Austin, Texas 78759-8364

Telephone: 512.320.1800

ACT National and Regional Ofces

The Condition of College & Career Readiness l 2012 — Oregon

Documents