The Condition The Condition of College of College and & Career Readiness 2016 Career Readiness This report looks at the progress of the 2016 ACT®-tested Washington Key Findings graduating class relative to college and career readiness. This year’s report shows that Performance 64% of students in the 2016 US graduating class took the ACT • In Washington, 16,652 students in the 2016 graduating class took the ACT. This compares to test, up from 59% in 2015 and 16,944 students in the 2015 graduating class who took the ACT. 49% in 2011. The increased • The 2016 Washington graduating class results reflect gradual improvement or no change in all number of test takers over the ACT College Readiness Benchmark scores. Below are the Washington data compared to past several years enhances the breadth and depth of the data national data: pool, providing a comprehensive ~ English—73% met Benchmark with an average score of 22.3; nationwide, 61% met picture of the current graduating Benchmark with an average score of 20.1 class in the context of college ~ Mathematics—61% met Benchmark with an average score of 23.2; nationwide, 41% met readiness, as well as offering a Benchmark with an average score of 20.6 glimpse at the emerging ~ Reading—60% met Benchmark with an average score of 23.6; nationwide, 44% met educational pipeline. Benchmark with an average score of 21.3 As a research-based nonprofit organization, ACT is committed to ~ Science—52% met Benchmark with an average score of 22.9; nationwide, 36% met providing information and Benchmark with an average score of 20.8 solutions to support the following: ~ 43% of Washington students met all four Benchmarks, compared to 26% nationally • Holistic view of readiness. ~ ACT Composite score—Washington average Composite score is 23.1, while the national The 2014 ACT report, average is 20.8 Broadening the Definition of College and Career STEM Readiness: A Holistic Approach, shows academic • STEM Benchmarks for Washington: readiness is only one of four ~ 36% met Benchmark with an average score of 23.3; nationwide, 20% met Benchmark with critical domains in determining an average score of 20.9 an individual’s readiness for success in college and career. ~ For those who met the STEM Benchmark, their average mathematics score is 29.1; Cross-cutting capabilities, nationwide, 28.7 behavioral skills, and the ~ For those who met the STEM Benchmark, their average science score is 28.7; nationwide, ability to navigate future 28.6 pathways are also important factors to measure and Career Readiness address. Together, these elements define a clear • This year, for the first time, ACT has provided an indicator of career readiness based on ACT picture of student readiness Composite scores. Table 3.4 in the state ACT Profile Report details how ACT-tested for postsecondary education. Washington graduates are progressing toward the ACT National Career Readiness • Providing meaningful data Certificate™ (ACT NCRC®). for better decisions. ACT is focused on providing better • Progress toward career readiness is based on research linking ACT Composite scores to ACT data to students, parents, NCRC levels. The ACT Composite cut score for each ACT NCRC level corresponds to a 50% schools, districts, and states chance of obtaining that level. If a student’s ACT Composite score surpassed the cut score for so that all can make more an ACT NCRC level, they are categorized as making progress towards the next higher ACT informed decisions to improve NCRC level. Attainment of ACT NCRC levels indicates workplace employability skills that are outcomes. We accomplish this critical to job success. goal by taking a holistic view and using consistent and • In Washington, 80% of ACT-tested graduates are considered making progress toward at least reliable historical information a gold ACT NCRC level. This compares to 68% nationally. so that individuals and institutions have a better context to make critical decisions about the journey they have undertaken. www.act.org/research © 2016 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. 6320 Washington The Condition of College & Career Readiness Behaviors that Impact Access and Pipeline Opportunity • Academic aspirations • Testing patterns ~ A majority of Washington students aspire to postsecondary ~ Of the ACT-tested 2016 graduates testing during their 10th-, education: 11th-, or 12th-grade years: ~ 3,548 students who aspire to a professional degree scored • Compared to their White counterparts, Washington an average Composite score of 25.3 Hispanic and African American students are much more ~ 3,687 students who aspire to graduate study scored an likely to wait until their senior year to test and test only average Composite score of 25.4 once, limiting their postsecondary access and ~ 6,721 students who aspire to a bachelor’s degree scored an opportunities. average Composite score of 21.8 • Students who tested at least twice and first tested as ~ 416 students aspire to a two-year college degree or a juniors showed score improvements: vocational-technical degree/certificate) » White students increased their score by 1.1 points and ACT Footprint scored 0.8 point higher than 11th-grade White students who tested only once. ACT Aspire® ACT Aspire ACT ACT ACT Summative Periodic Engage® QualityCore® PreACT™ WorkKeys® » Hispanic students increased their score by 0.5 point 686 1,173 152 – 2,761* 3,229 and scored 1.6 points higher than 11th-grade Hispanic * PreACT refers to preorders for FY17. students who tested only once. » African American students increased their score by These are the number of each of these assessments delivered in the 0.8 point and scored 2.3 points higher than 11th-grade state and not reflective of the 2016 ACT-tested graduating class. African American students who tested only once. Special State Talking Points • Postsecondary in-state preference ~ Eight of the top 10 schools selected by students were in • ACT provided four College and Career Readiness Workshops Washington. Brigham Young University–Utah was seventh for 236 registered counselors and other educators in 2016. and Brigham Young University–Idaho was ninth. The top five • ACT is engaged in planning and participating in the 2016 schools selected by Washington students are all in state. Washington Hispanic Roundtable’s Latinx Conference at • Fee Waiver Usage Evergreen State College. ~ In Washington, there were 5,197 fee waivers issued and 3,501 of those were used. This equates to a 67.4% usage rate. The national rate was 74.5%. ~ 45.2%, or 766, of all unused fee waivers were issued to Hispanic/Latino students. ~ ACT provides students fee waivers to provide more access and opportunity for students. • ACT Educational Opportunity Service (EOS) opt-in rates ~ 66.7% of Washington students opted in to EOS, which allows postsecondary institutions to search for those students. This compares with 73.1 nationally. For students testing with a fee waiver, postsecondary institutions may obtain those students’ data for free through ACT’s “Get Your Name in the Game” initiative. • “Get Your Name in the Game”: EOS access to underserved students ~ A total of 8,841 student names were provided at no charge to the state’s four postsecondary institutions participating in this initiative. Your State College and Career Readiness Attainment, Participation, and Opportunity Washington Percent of 2016 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Meeting Percent of 2012–2016 ACT-Tested High School Graduates ACT College Readiness Benchmarks by Subject Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks* 100 100 80 73 80 76 75 74 73 68 66 61 60 61 60 62 61 nt 60 52 nt 60 62 58 58 56 60 e e 55 52 Perc 40 44 41 36 43 Perc 40 43 49 52 49 26 38 39 41 39 43 20 20 0 0 English Reading Mathematics Science All Four 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Subjects Washington Nation English Reading Mathematics Science All Four Subjects Note: Percents in this report may not sum to 100% due to rounding. * ACT College Readiness Benchmarks in reading and science were revised in 2013. Student Student Condition Data Interest Trends: 2012–2016, State vs. Nation Data Trends Outcome Cohort 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Washington 21% 21% 22% 25% 25% Percent Tested • Between 2012 and Nation 52% 54% 57% 59% 64% 2016, the number of Washington 13,929 14,316 14,667 16,944 16,652 N Tested students taking the Nation 1,666,017 1,799,243 1,845,787 1,924,436 2,090,342 ACT in Washington Average English Washington 22.3 22.1 22.3 21.5 22.3 increased by 19.5%. Score Nation 20.5 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.1 Average Reading Washington 23.3 23.3 23.4 22.7 23.6 Score Nation 21.3 21.1 21.3 21.4 21.3 Average Mathematics Washington 23.1 22.8 23.3 22.4 23.2 Score Nation 21.1 20.9 20.9 20.8 20.6 Average Science Washington 22.4 22.5 22.7 22.4 22.9 Score Nation 20.9 20.7 20.8 20.9 20.8 Average Composite Washington 22.9 22.8 23 22.4 23.1 Score Nation 21.1 20.9 21 21 20.8 www.act.org/research © 2016 by ACT, Inc. All rights reserved. 6320 Washington Your State College and Career Readiness Attainment, Participation, and Opportunity Percent of 2016 ACT-Tested High School Graduates by Trends in Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates by ACT College Readiness Benchmark Attainment and Subject Number of ACT College Readiness Benchmarks (CRBs) Attained 100 100 20 30 32 34 80 80 7 ent 60 10 7 14 Bbye l3o+w PBoeinnctsh mark ercent 60 erc Within 2 Points P 40 P 40 of Benchmark 73 Met Benchmark 60 61 20 52 20 0 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 0 Graduation Year English Reading Mathematics Science Washington Students Attaining 0 CRBs Washington Students Attaining 3 or 4 CRBs National Students Attaining 0 CRBs National Students Attaining 3 or 4 CRBs Percent of 2012–2016 ACT-Tested High School Graduates by Percent of 2012–2016 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Race/Ethnicity Meeting Three or More Benchmarks by Race/Ethnicity 100 1 4 1 4 1 4 1 5 1 4 100 10 10 11 11 12 80 80 12 13 13 1 1 1 15 14 64 63 66 64 66 1 ent 60 1 AAAfmsriiaecnrai ncAa Amnm eInreidcriiacanan n ercent 60 58 55 60 58 60 erc Hispanic P 40 33 P 40 60 59 57 52 54 PWahcitifiec Islander 27 262 8 26 23 24 Two or More Races 20 21 23 24 25 1281 1293 20 No Response 16 19 14 14 19 7 6 7 7 7 0 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 6 7 7 7 7 0 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 African American Asian Hispanic Pacific White American Indian American Islander Note: Values less than 0.5% will not appear. Percent of 2016 ACT-Tested High School Graduates by Educational Aspirations 100 There is good news in that 86% of Washington’s 2016 ACT- tested graduates aspired to postsecondary education. 80 Interestingly enough, 83% of Washington’s 2015 ACT- tested graduating class aspired to enroll in postsecondary nt 60 Perce 40 43 40 efudlulyc caltoiosne,d c tohme paasrpeidra ttoio 6na7l% g awph, oa na catdudaitlliyo ndaidl 2e,n7r5o9ll . oIff wthee 2015 ACT-tested graduates from Washington would have 20 14 enrolled in postsecondary education. 2 0 Graduate/ Bachelor’s Associate’s/ Other/No Professional Degree Voc-tech Degree Response Degree What You Need to Know At ACT, we are inspired every day to make a positive difference. Here are a few ways we are making an impact each day in the lives of students, teachers, education, policy makers, and workforce leaders. • Enhancements to ACT Score Reports starting in • New Performance Level Descriptors coming in August 2016 September 2016 • More than 5 million ACT Aspire online assessments • Introduction of ACT Kaplan Online Prep Live in administered to US students since January 2016, a major September 2016 milestone for the program and up by more than 130% • New Score Reports compared to the previous year • New Score Reports • Affordable cost—$12 per student tested for schools, districts, and states • Helps schools face the challenge of preparing students for • Flexible administration—Schools, districts, and/or states may success after high school. Read the latest white paper, administer on any date between September 1, 2016 and Identifying Skills to Succeed in School, at Work, and in the June 1, 2017 “Real World.” • Structured test environment—Similar to what the student will • New Score Reports experience when taking the ACT test • Updated versions of the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate (ACT NCRC) assessments and credential • A virtual classroom experience that delivers all the benefits of coming in summer 2017 ACT Online Prep, plus an interactive teaching experience • Fully updated ACT WorkKeys curriculum and test prep • Live learning experiences available at no cost to students who available in summer 2017 to support the updated register for the ACT using a fee waiver ACT NCRC assessments • Recorded sessions available on demand to provide maximum • Will include a new test delivery platform that will introduce flexibility to students features and functionality important to ACT WorkKeys customers www.act.org/condition2016 Washington The Condition of College & Career Readiness Key ACT Research Recommendations The Condition of 1. Create an assessment model that measures a variety of skill domains and STEM 2016— competencies required for college and career success. Releasing Historically, college and career readiness assessments have focused only on November 2016 academic skills. ACT research has clearly established areas of competency This report provides important for college and career readiness success. While our research shows Tohf eS TCEoMnd 2it0io16n national and state that ACT solutions independently measure key components of college AND National data about the 2016 career readiness, we and others have begun to realize that no single solution can graduating class in measure the full breadth of this readiness, nor should it. Simply put, the ACT alone the context of STEM-related fields is not enough to measure the full breadth of career readiness. A more holistic (Science, Technology, Engineering, assessment model, incorporating multiple domains and specific skills associated Mathematics) to determine student interest with career clusters or occupations, will typically be most appropriate for levels in specific STEM fields and, more describing and evaluating student readiness for college and career. importantly, readiness in math and science 2. Optimize opportunities to influence awareness and engagement of of those interested in STEM careers. underserved learners. College Choice Initiatives designed to aid underserved learners are only as effective as they are Report 2015 visible. We must inform advocates and ALL underserved learners about the This report follows the available and effective programs designed for this purpose. For example, in the ACT-tested high 2015–2016 academic year, approximately 730,000 students registered to take school graduating the ACT using fee waivers valued at more than $36 million. Yet, not all eligible College Choice Report 2015 class of 2015, students took advantage of this offer. Similarly, institutions must use data to National focusing on specific inform intervention strategies if they are going to help underserved students be testing behaviors that prepared for postsecondary success. may expand college opportunities available 3. Take the guesswork out of STEM. to students. This is an important topic for It is critically important to align STEM initiatives to capitalize on performance, enrollment managers and admissions measured interest, and expressed interest. Essential to this effort is expanding officers to consider, as students’ and nurturing interest in STEM, which will impact the emerging pipeline of STEM participation in these testing behaviors majors, teachers, and workers. This requires capturing a wider range of students have implications for colleges’ chances to and employing concrete measures to inform intervention and programming. To do recruit, advise, and place these prospective so, states and districts must look for partnering opportunities from K–12 to students. postsecondary education to the workplace. 4. Focus on the implementation of fewer, higher, clearer, standards in K–12 classrooms to raise the bar for all students. No matter the adopted standards, proper implementation must focus on the most critical component for increasing readiness—effective, high-quality teaching. This requires investment in postsecondary teaching programs, professional development, and state-level collaboration among K–12 and higher education. 5. Don’t over test students. When states, schools, and districts build an assessment strategy that recognizes the limits and promise of test scores, they will reduce the likelihood of over testing. Used ethically and appropriately, assessments can inform decisions at individual and institutional levels. Misunderstood, misused, or abused, assessments cause confusion, can be perceived as punitive, or result in ill- conceived strategies. To quote ACT founder E.F. Lindquist, “Assessment is valuable to the extent it bridges teaching and learning.” *011749170* Rev 1