ACT to Study Student Achievement in High School Core Courses and Examine Connection with College-Ready Knowledge and Skills

December 19, 2006

IOWA CITY, Iowa—ACT, Inc. will study the quality and effectiveness of U.S. high school core courses in preparing students for college and work. The research will be funded by a $400,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the results will help lay the groundwork for future initiatives aimed at raising the quality of high school coursework across the country.

"Our initial data indicate that many high school courses appear to be watered down and are not focusing on the knowledge and skills that students need to succeed after they graduate from high school," said Cynthia B. Schmeiser, ACT's education division president and COO. "This study will be the first step in helping schools and districts strengthen student preparation."

Today's high schools are struggling to meet the needs of all students. According to the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center's 2006 Diplomas Count report, almost 3,000 students are dropping out every day. And, among those who do graduate, only about half complete high school with the knowledge and skills they need for college and work. ACT's data, cited in its 2004 Crisis at the Core report, are even more startling: Fewer than one-quarter of today's high school graduates are well prepared for college coursework in all four subject areas tested by the ACT exam—English, math, reading, and science.

The results of the ACT study will help high schools address these shortfalls by evaluating the quality of their core classes. It will assess what 10th- through 12th-grade students are learning in key high school courses by measuring their achievement and their level of college readiness both before and after taking the courses. These results will help establish benchmarks for future education initiatives designed to support the improvement of core high school courses.

Ninety U.S. high schools will be included in the study, the first of its kind to gather data on course achievement on a national level. The high schools chosen, both public and private, will be a representative sample by size, type, and student socio-economic status. The study will be completed during the 2007–2008 school year.

"If we are to significantly raise college-ready graduation rates, we must have a clear picture of course content and student achievement in our high schools," said Tom Vander Ark, executive director of education, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "We are excited to have ACT lead this effort, informing school leaders and policymakers so they can better understand how to improve the college and work readiness of our students."

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is focused on improving the nation's low high school graduation rates. To date, the foundation has invested more than $1 billion to expand educational options for high school students by supporting the creation of more than 1,800 high-quality high schools in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

ACT provides links to other websites for informational purposes only. ACT is not responsible for the content in other sites, and links from the ACT website to other sites are not intended to imply endorsement of them by ACT.