A new report from ACT using its College Readiness Benchmarks and ACT test scores provides a series of graphical pictures highlighting the college-and-career readiness of the ACT-tested high school class of 2011. The report found that just 25 percent of 2011 high school graduates were college-ready in all four ACT subject tests (English, reading, math, and science), a single percentage point increase from 2010 and a 4 percentage point increase from 2006.
Breaking the total down, just 4 percent of black students and 11 percent of Hispanic students reached all four ACT college readiness benchmarks, compared to 31 percent of white students. The percent of students who scored at or above the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks increased from 43 percent to 45 percent in math and from 28 percent to 29 percent in science between 2010 and 2011. There was no change in the percentage of students who were college-ready in English (66 percent) and reading (52 percent).
Minnesota was the only state where at least 50 percent of students met at least three of the four College Readiness Benchmarks. In eleven states, between 40 and 49 percent of students met three out of four benchmarks. Nationally, 40 percent of 2011 graduates met three out of four benchmarks.
Oklahoma’s average ACT composite score ranks highest in the Southern region among states that test more than 40% of their students:
However, we still lag behind in terms of percentage of students ready to be successful in college level coursework:
The take home message for science actually revolves around the number AND TYPE of classes students are taking in High School. The illustration below is the Oklahoma data for the science reasoning sub-test. The Course Value Added column compares the average ACT score change for a particular science course sequence compared with students who took less than 3 years of science. Not surprising is that students who take the sequence of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics score higher in the science reasoning subject area than do students who take any other combination. But what may surprising is that they also score higher than those who take a fourth course in General, Physical, or Earth Sciences. One may assume this is not including Advanced Placement courses, which is probably the fourth coarse that the Biology, Chemistry, and Physics sequence students are taking and AP is not named specifically on the student questionnaire. But those General, Physical, and Earth Science courses ARE the classes the “Other combination of 3 years of Natural Science” students are taking and in the example of female students, the result is a LOWER average ACT score than had they taken less than 3 courses.
So not only does the number of science classes affect the ultimate college and career readiness score, but so does the rigor of those classes. Chemistry adds value to the experiences from Biology class, and Physics adds more still. Students who take this sequence often achieve the college readiness score of 24 in Science Reasoning. Those that do not take that sequence most often do not.
There is much more to explore in the reports. Download the National ACT Profile Report here. Download the Oklahoma ACT Profile report here.
ACT has a very interesting national report, “The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2011” , which you can download here. The companion report on College and Career Readiness in Oklahoma can be downloaded here. Check with your school administrator to find out about the ACT data from your school district’s 2011 graduates.
ACT Releases College and Career Readiness Report for the Class of 2011
A new report from ACT using its College Readiness Benchmarks and ACT test scores provides a series of graphical pictures highlighting the college-and-career readiness of the ACT-tested high school class of 2011. The report found that just 25 percent of 2011 high school graduates were college-ready in all four ACT subject tests (English, reading, math, and science), a single percentage point increase from 2010 and a 4 percentage point increase from 2006.
Breaking the total down, just 4 percent of black students and 11 percent of Hispanic students reached all four ACT college readiness benchmarks, compared to 31 percent of white students. The percent of students who scored at or above the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks increased from 43 percent to 45 percent in math and from 28 percent to 29 percent in science between 2010 and 2011. There was no change in the percentage of students who were college-ready in English (66 percent) and reading (52 percent).
Minnesota was the only state where at least 50 percent of students met at least three of the four College Readiness Benchmarks. In eleven states, between 40 and 49 percent of students met three out of four benchmarks. Nationally, 40 percent of 2011 graduates met three out of four benchmarks.
Oklahoma’s average ACT composite score ranks highest in the Southern region among states that test more than 40% of their students:
However, we still lag behind in terms of percentage of students ready to be successful in college level coursework:
The take home message for science actually revolves around the number AND TYPE of classes students are taking in High School. The illustration below is the Oklahoma data for the science reasoning sub-test. The Course Value Added column compares the average ACT score change for a particular science course sequence compared with students who took less than 3 years of science. Not surprising is that students who take the sequence of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics score higher in the science reasoning subject area than do students who take any other combination. But what may surprising is that they also score higher than those who take a fourth course in General, Physical, or Earth Sciences. One may assume this is not including Advanced Placement courses, which is probably the fourth coarse that the Biology, Chemistry, and Physics sequence students are taking and AP is not named specifically on the student questionnaire. But those General, Physical, and Earth Science courses ARE the classes the “Other combination of 3 years of Natural Science” students are taking and in the example of female students, the result is a LOWER average ACT score than had they taken less than 3 courses.
So not only does the number of science classes affect the ultimate college and career readiness score, but so does the rigor of those classes. Chemistry adds value to the experiences from Biology class, and Physics adds more still. Students who take this sequence often achieve the college readiness score of 24 in Science Reasoning. Those that do not take that sequence most often do not.
There is much more to explore in the reports. Download the National ACT Profile Report here. Download the Oklahoma ACT Profile report here.
ACT has a very interesting national report, “The Condition of College & Career Readiness 2011” , which you can download here. The companion report on College and Career Readiness in Oklahoma can be downloaded here. Check with your school administrator to find out about the ACT data from your school district’s 2011 graduates.