College-Bound Students' Academic Skills at Odds with Career Plans

August 20, 2003

IOWA CITY, Iowa—College-bound students' academic skills are at odds with their future career plans, according to 2003 national results from the ACT college admissions and placement exam.

The ACT scores earned by graduates in the class of 2003 indicate that many are not ready for college science and math courses that count toward a degree. Only a fourth (26%) of 2003 graduates reach the college readiness benchmark (a score of 24) on the ACT Science Test, while just four in 10 reach this benchmark (a score of 22) on the ACT Math Test. Students who attain these benchmarks are more likely than others to be ready for college biology and algebra courses, respectively, and have a high probability of completing these courses with a grade of C or higher.

Despite this lack of readiness, the top planned college major among 2003 graduating seniors is health sciences, which is filled with careers requiring strong science and math skills. These careers include medicine, nursing, dentistry, optometry and pharmacy. Health sciences is named as a planned college major by nearly two out of every 10 students.

Other college majors in the top 10 student choices—including business, social sciences, engineering, biological and physical sciences and computer science—also usually require students to take advanced math and/or science coursework in college.

"This disconnect between students' career goals and their academic preparation demonstrates the importance of educational planning and assessment," said Richard L. Ferguson, ACT's chief executive officer. "Young people need help early on to choose courses that will help them reach their goals for college and beyond. This is particularly true in science and math."

To prepare well for college, high school students interested in pursuing science- and math-related careers should take at least three years of science, including physics, and four years of math, starting with algebra, according to Ferguson. Few students are preparing in this way. Fewer than half (45%) of all ACT-tested students in the class of 2003 took three or more years of science, including physics, and even fewer (39%) took four or more years of math.

"America's future wellbeing is tied to advances in medicine and health sciences," said Ferguson. "Similarly, the health of the U.S. economy is dependent upon innovation in science and technology. If students who wish to pursue these careers aren't prepared to succeed in college, the future may be in jeopardy."

The ACT Assessment is a curriculum-based achievement test made up of four separate exams in English, reading, mathematics and science. It is the only national college entrance exam to include a science test. An optional writing test will be added to the exam in the 2004-2005 school year.

The ACT is scored on a scale of 1 to 36, with 36 being the highest possible score. The test is administered in all 50 states and is the predominant college entrance exam in 25 states. The ACT is required or preferred by more institutions than any other college entrance exam, and ACT scores are accepted by virtually all colleges and universities across the country. A one-of-a-kind National Curriculum Survey, conducted by ACT every three to four years, is used to ensure that the ACT Assessment reflects what high schools are teaching and what students are expected to know when they begin their first year in college.