Readiness Matters The Impact of College Readiness on

College Persistence and Degree Completion

April HansenACT 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

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

How do we define College and Career Ready?

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.

TestCollege Course

EXPLOREGrade 8

EXPLOREGrade 9

PLANGrade 10

ACT Compass

EnglishEnglish

Composition 13 14 15 18 77

MathCollege Algebra 17 18 19 22 52

Reading Social Science 15 16 17 21 88

Science Biology 20 20 21 24 NA

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: 76%

% who immediately go on to college: 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

"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.

Race/Ethnicity Number Tested

% Taking Minimum Core

or More

Average ACT Score

Minimum Core or More

Less than Core

All Students 146,882 56% 22.5 19.0

African American 20,978 48% 18 16.5

American Indian/ Alaska Native

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

Native Hawaiian/ Other Pac. Isl.

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

College Enrollment/Retention Rates Math Course Sequence

Less than Alg 1,

Geom, Alg II

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.

Enrolled in college first year Re-enrolled in college

second year

College Enrollment/Retention Rates Science Course Sequence

As the rigor of science courses increases, the chances of college enrollment/persistence also increase.

Enrolled in college first year Re-enrolled in college

second yearBiology

Biology and

Chemistry

Biology,

Chemistry,

and Physics

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

All

College ready

in 4 subjects

Reductions in Racial/Ethnic Gaps in College Enrollment Associated with Meeting All Four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks

Enrolled in college first year

Gap reduction:

8 percentage

points

White

Underrepresented minorities

75

61

84

78

14

6

All

College ready

in 4 subjects

Reductions in Racial/Ethnic Gaps in College Retention Rates Associated with Meeting All Four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks

Re-enrolled in college second year

Gap reduction:

5 percentage

points

White

Underrepresented minorities

74

68

84

83

6

1

All

College ready

in 4 subjects

Reductions in Family Income Gaps in College Enrollment Rates Associated with Meeting All Four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks

Enrolled in college first year

Gap reduction:

16 percentage

points

Highest family income group

Lowest family income group

82

58

85

77

24

8

All

College ready

in 4 subjects

Reductions in Family Income Gaps in College Retention Rates Associated with Meeting All Four ACT College Readiness Benchmarks

Re-enrolled in college second year

Gap reduction:

5 percentage

points

Highest family income group

Lowest family income group

79

66

86

78

13

8

All

College ready

in 4 subjects

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

Gap reduction:

5 percentage

points

White

Underrepresented minorities

39

26

86

78

13

8

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.

TestCollege Course

EXPLOREGrade 8

EXPLOREGrade 9

PLANGrade 10

ACT Compass

EnglishEnglish

Composition 13 14 15 18 77

MathCollege Algebra 17 18 19 22 52

Reading Social Science 15 16 17 21 88

Science Biology 20 20 21 24 NA

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 HansenACT – Client Relations Account Executive

april.hansen@act.org