Readiness Matters
The Impact of College Readiness on
College Persistence and Degree
Completion
April Hansen
ACT Client Relations
april.hansen@act.org
ACT’s Unique Vantage Point
• The ACT Assessment began in 1959 to assess what students have already
learned and are ready to learn next to be college and career ready.
• 52% of the 2012 HS graduating class took the ACT:
1.66 million students
• 146,822 in Illinois
• ACT Explore (grade 8 & 9), ACT Plan (grade 10), and the ACT (grade 11 &
12) form longitudinal assessment system that can provide academic
interventions and shape curriculum to keep students on track
• Assessments of academic behaviors, psychosocial factors
How do we define College and Career Ready?
The level of preparation a student needs to be ready
to enroll and succeed in—without remediation—a
first-year, credit-bearing course at two- or four-year
institutions or in trade or technical schools.
Adopted by the Common Core State Standards Initiative
College Readiness Benchmark Attainment
• Empirically derived minimum scores 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.
College
Course
EXPLORE
Grade 8
EXPLORE
Grade 9
PLAN
Grade 10
ACT
Compass
English
Composition
13
14
15
18
77
Math
College Algebra
17
18
19
22
52
Reading
Social Science
15
16
17
21
88
Science
Biology
20
20
21
24
NA
Test
English
Students who are college/career ready when they leave
high school have a significantly higher likelihood of:
Enrolling in college the fall following high school graduation
Persisting to a second year at the same institution
Earning a grade of B or higher in first-year college courses
Earning a first-year college GPA of 3.0 or higher
Not needing to take a remedial courses
Graduating within 150% of time
Entering the job market with significantly higher lifetime earning
potential.
Regardless of ethnicity and SES
% who graduate from public high schools:
% who immediately go on to college:
76%
57%
% of 9th graders who graduate from high school on time,
go directly to college, return for their 2nd year, and
graduate within 150% of program time:
20%
NCHEMS. (2011)
Key Finding 1
Being better prepared
academically for college improves a
student’s chances of completing a
college degree.
Benchmarks matter.
College Success by Number of ACT
Benchmarks Met
College Success by ACT
Score/Benchmark Attainment
•
53% enrolled in a 4-year college
(80% of the students meeting all 4 CRBs enrolled in a
4 year college)
•
18% enrolled in a 2-year college
(6% of students meeting all 4 CRBs enrolled in a
2-year college)
•
29% did not enroll in college
(43% of the 0-1 group didn’t go to college at all)
College Success by ACT
Score/Benchmark Attainment
• Across all outcomes,
– College success rates increased as ACT Composite
score increased.
– Students who met the ACT College Readiness
Benchmarks had higher success rates than those
who didn’t.
– The more Benchmarks students met, the higher
the success rates.
Coursework Matters
• Core curriculum taken vs. not taken (4-3-3-3).
• HS mathematics coursework taken:
– Less than (<) Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II.
– Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II.
– More than (>) Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II.
• HS science coursework taken
– Biology
– Biology, Chemistry
– Biology, Chemistry, Physics
2012 Avg. ACT Composite Scores by Type of
Coursework and Race/Ethnicity
Average ACT Score
Race/Ethnicity
Number
Tested
% Taking
Minimum Core
or More
Minimum Core or
More
Less than Core
All Students
146,882
56%
22.5
19.0
African American
20,978
48%
18
16.5
382
45%
20.1
17.5
Caucasian/White
75,985
62%
24.1
20.5
Hispanic/Latino
26,434
48%
19.9
17.4
Asian
5,776
73%
25.2
21.7
377
60%
21.9
19.8
Two or more races
3,973
58%
22.8
19.7
No Response
12,917
43%
22.1
18.4
American Indian/ Alaska
Native
Native Hawaiian/ Other
Pac. Isl.
"Core or More" results correspond to students taking four or more years of English and three or more years each
of math, social studies, and natural science.
College Enrollment/Retention Rates
Math Course Sequence
Enrolled in college first year
Less than Alg 1,
Geom, Alg II
Re-enrolled in college
second year
Alg 1, Geom, Alg II
Alg 1, Geom, Alg II,
Other Adv Math
Alg 1, Geom, Alg II
Other Adv Math,
Trig
Alg 1, Geom, Alg II,
Other Adv Math,
Trig, Calc
As the rigor of math courses increases, the chances
of college enrollment/persistence also increase.
College Enrollment/Retention Rates
Science Course Sequence
Enrolled in college first year
Re-enrolled in college
second year
Biology
Biology and
Chemistry
Biology,
Chemistry,
and Physics
As the rigor of science courses increases, the
chances of college enrollment/persistence also
increase.
Key Finding 2
Using multiple measures of college
readiness better informs the
likelihood of a student persisting
and succeeding in college.
College Success by HS GPA and HS
Coursework
• Across all outcomes,
– Students with HSGPAs ≥ 3.50 had higher success
rates than those who had lower HSGPAs.
– Students who took the HS core curriculum had
slightly higher rates than those who didn’t.
– Students who took higher-level mathematics or
science courses had higher rates than those who
took fewer courses.
Degree Completion by HS GPA and ACT Scores
Academic Achievement and Academic Behaviors
Key Finding 3
College readiness reduces gaps in
college going rates, persistence
and degree completion among
racial/ethnic and family income
groups.
College Success by Race/Ethnicity and
Number of ACT Benchmarks Met
College Success by Family Income and
Number of ACT Benchmarks Met
Reductions in Racial/Ethnic Gaps in College Enrollment Associated with
Meeting All Four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks
Enrolled in college first year
White
Underrepresented minorities
75
All
61
College ready
in 4 subjects
14
84
78 6
Gap reduction:
8 percentage
points
Reductions in Racial/Ethnic Gaps in College Retention Rates Associated
with Meeting All Four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks
Re-enrolled in college second year
White
Underrepresented minorities
All
74
68 6
College ready
in 4 subjects
84
83 1
Gap reduction:
5 percentage
points
Reductions in Family Income Gaps in College Enrollment Rates
Associated with Meeting All Four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks
Enrolled in college first year
Highest family income group
Lowest family income group
82
All
58
College ready
in 4 subjects
24
85
77 8
Gap reduction:
16 percentage
points
Reductions in Family Income Gaps in College Retention Rates Associated
with Meeting All Four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks
Re-enrolled in college second year
Highest family income group
Lowest family income group
79
All
66
College ready
in 4 subjects
13
86
78 8
Gap reduction:
5 percentage
points
Reductions in Racial/Ethnic Gaps in 4-Year College Degree Completion Rates
Associated with Meeting All Four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks
Graduated from college in 4 years
White
Underrepresented minorities
39
All
26
College ready
in 4 subjects
13
86
78 8
Gap reduction:
5 percentage
points
Key Finding 4
Early monitoring of readiness is
associated with increased
college success.
Catching up to College Readiness
“…the level of academic achievement that
students attain by eighth grade has a larger
impact on their college and career readiness by
the time they graduate from high school than
anything that happens academically in high
school” --The Forgotten Middle, p.2
Findings of “Catching Up” Study
• Few Far Off Track students catch up in middle or
high school.
• Even in higher performing schools, the majority
do not get on track to college and career
readiness in four years.
• There are lots of Far Off Track students by this
definition – for example, 40-50% of minority
students…
• …and they have a low probability of hitting the
Benchmark in four years.
College Success by Readiness
Indicators in Grades 8, 10, and 11/12
• Early readiness indicators are predictive of college
success.
• Early and sustained college readiness in high
school is associated with persisting to degree
completion.
– Students who were on target early in grades 8 and 10
for becoming college and career ready and then
graduated from high school college and career ready
had the highest college success rates.
– Students who were not on target in grades 8, 10, and
11/12 had the lowest success rates.
College Readiness Benchmark Attainment
• Empirically derived minimum scores 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.
College
Course
EXPLORE
Grade 8
EXPLORE
Grade 9
PLAN
Grade 10
ACT
Compass
English
Composition
13
14
15
18
77
Math
College Algebra
17
18
19
22
52
Reading
Social Science
15
16
17
21
88
Science
Biology
20
20
21
24
NA
Test
English
Readiness Matters Key Findings
• Being better prepared academically for college
improves a student’s chances of completing a
college degree.
• Using multiple measures of college readiness
better informs the likelihood of a student
persisting and succeeding in college.
• College readiness reduces gaps in persistence and
degree completion among racial/ethnic and
family income groups.
• Early monitoring of readiness is associated with
increased college success.
Questions/Comments
April Hansen
ACT – Client Relations Account Executive
april.hansen@act.org