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Readiness Matters The Impact of College Readiness on College Persistence and Degree Completion

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.

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Readiness Matters The Impact of College Readiness on College Persistence and Degree Completion

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  1. Readiness Matters The Impact of College Readiness on College Persistence and Degree Completion April Hansen ACT Client Relations april.hansen@act.org

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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 Readiness Benchmark Attainment

  5. 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

  6. % 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)

  7. Key Finding 1 Being better prepared academically for college improves a student’s chances of completing a college degree. Benchmarks matter.

  8. College Success by Number of ACT Benchmarks Met

  9. 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)

  10. 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.

  11. 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

  12. 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.

  13. 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 College Enrollment/Retention Rates Math Course Sequence Re-enrolled in college second year Enrolled in college first year As the rigor of math courses increases, the chances of college enrollment/persistence also increase.

  14. Biology Biology and Chemistry Biology, Chemistry, and Physics College Enrollment/Retention Rates Science Course Sequence Re-enrolled in college second year Enrolled in college first year As the rigor of science courses increases, the chances of college enrollment/persistence also increase.

  15. Key Finding 2 Using multiple measures of college readiness better informs the likelihood of a student persisting and succeeding in college.

  16. 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.

  17. Degree Completion by HS GPA and ACT Scores

  18. Academic Achievement and Academic Behaviors

  19. Key Finding 3 College readiness reduces gaps in college going rates, persistence and degree completion among racial/ethnic and family income groups.

  20. College Success by Race/Ethnicity and Number of ACT Benchmarks Met

  21. College Success by Family Income and Number of ACT Benchmarks Met

  22. 75 61 14 Gap reduction: 8 percentage points 84 78 6 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 All College ready in 4 subjects

  23. 74 68 6 Gap reduction: 5 percentage points 84 1 83 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 College ready in 4 subjects

  24. 82 58 8 24 Gap reduction: 16 percentage points 85 77 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 All College ready in 4 subjects

  25. 79 66 13 Gap reduction: 5 percentage points 86 78 8 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 All College ready in 4 subjects

  26. 39 26 13 Gap reduction: 5 percentage points 86 78 8 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 All College ready in 4 subjects

  27. Key Finding 4 Early monitoring of readiness is associated with increased college success.

  28. 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

  29. 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.

  30. 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.

  31. 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 Readiness Benchmark Attainment

  32. 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.

  33. Questions/Comments April Hansen ACT – Client Relations Account Executive april.hansen@act.org

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