For the U.S. high school graduating class of 2019, 52 percent of graduates had taken the ACT test; the more than 1.78 million students included virtually all high school graduates in 17 states.[3] In addition to the ACT test, ACT programs include ACT Academy, ACT Aspire, ACT CollegeReady, ACT Online Prep, Mawi Learning, ScootPad, PreACT and PreACT 8/9, ACT Tessera, ACT WorkKeys, ACT Work Ready Communities, and the National Career Readiness Certificate.
Founded in Iowa City, Iowa, in 1959, the organization has more than 1,000 employees.[4] Its Interim CEO is Janet Godwin, who assumed leadership of ACT in 2020. Previous CEOs include Marten Roorda (2015–2020), Jon Whitmore (2010–2015), Richard L. Ferguson,[5] (1988–2010), and Oluf Davidsen (1974–1988).
ACT Announces New Partnership With Nexus Capital Management LP, April 10, 2024 "Unification of ACT and Encoura promises to transform college and career pathways for students, educators, and employers"[6]
History
The ACT was co-founded by University of Iowa professor Everett Franklin Lindquist in 1959. Lindquist earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1927, and then immediately joined its College of Education faculty. In 1929, Lindquist constructed the tests used for the Iowa Academic Meet, a contest to identify Iowa's top high school scholars. In 1935, Lindquist and his colleagues developed the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). In 1942, he introduced the Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED) for students in grades 9–12. Lindquist also used the ITED tests to help develop the Armed Forces Tests of General Educational Development, better known as the GED.
In 1958 at a conference sponsored by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), Lindquist presented The Nature of the Problem of Improving Scholarship and College Entrance Examinations. Lindquist argued entrance examinations should evaluate students' readiness to perform college-level work, and should, therefore, be tests of achievement and not of innate intelligence or aptitude, a clear challenge to the test then known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (now called the SAT).
Lindquist and Ted McCarrel, the University of Iowa registrar, led a team that developed and then delivered the first-ever ACT test to 75,406 students on November 7, 1959.
ACT endorses the Code of Fair Testing Practices in Education[7] and the Code of Professional Responsibilities in Educational Measurement.[8] ACT has policy platforms providing recommendations in three areas: K-12 education, post-secondary education, and workforce development.[9] ACT also publicly publishes its Privacy Policy,[10] which describes protections for the privacy of its customers' personal information.
ACT, the organization which administers its namesake exam, was purchased by the private equity firm Nexus Capital Management April 2024 in a major shake-up for the standardized testing industry.[11]
Major events
On November 7, 1959, the first-ever ACT test was delivered to 75,406 students.
In 1964, the ACT introduced the ACT Student Profile, which collects information about students' interests, plans, and accomplishments.
In 1972, ACT offered its first professional services examination (Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment Program, or OKAP).
In 1973, the ACT Interest Inventory, a tool for education and career exploration, was incorporated into the ACT test.
In 1983, ACT introduced ASSET, a program for placing students in postsecondary courses, which later became known as Compass.
In 1992, WorkKeys assessments provided applicants, employees, and employers a means for assessing work readiness.
In 1996, ACT changed its name from "American College Testing" to ACT, Inc.
In 2005, the writing test was introduced as an optional element of the ACT test.
In 2006, ACT created the National Career Readiness Certificate, a credentialing tool to confirm foundational job skills.
In 2012, for the first time, more students took the ACT than took that SAT. In 2013, ACT established the ACT Foundation, intended to help working learners.
In 2014, ACT introduced ACT Aspire, a longitudinal system for connecting student growth from the elementary grades through early high school.
In 2015, the ACT test began including additional indicators and scores for English Language Arts (ELA); Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM); Text Complexity; and Career Readiness.
In 2016, ACT created the ACT Center for Equity in Learning, which focuses on issues affecting underserved students in education and the workforce.[12]
Products and services
The ACT test became the leading college readiness assessment in 2012, surpassing the SAT in the number of students taking the exam.[13] For the US high school graduating class of 2019,[14] 52 percent of all graduates took the ACT. The total number of 2019 high school graduates taking the ACT exceeded 1.78 million.
The ACT measures high school students' general educational development and academic readiness to complete first-year college-level work. For the tested students from the high school graduating class of 2019, 37 percent met ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks in at least three of the four subject areas the ACT tests—English, math, reading, and science.
Scores are reported on a 1–36 scale, with a composite score that represents the average scores from each of the four subject area tests. All ACT scores are reported as whole numbers (e.g., a score of 23.5 rounds up to 24). ACT score reports also include a STEM score, an English/Language Arts score, data on text complexity, and a Progress Toward Career Readiness measure. The average composite score earned by 2019 high school graduates taking the ACT was 20.7.
Virtually all four-year colleges and universities in the United States accept the ACT, but institutions place different emphases on standardized tests, relative to other factors including class rank, GPA, and extracurricular activities. Most colleges do not indicate a preference for the ACT or SAT and accept both. Some colleges accept the ACT in place of the SAT subject tests, and some accept the optional ACT writing section in place of an SAT Subject Test.
Most colleges use ACT scores as only one factor in their admission process, as a supplement to the secondary school record and to help admission officers put local data—such as coursework, grades, and class rank—in a national perspective.
Traditionally delivered in a paper format, the ACT was the first national college admissions test to be offered in a digital format in 2014.
Every three to five years ACT conducts its ACT National Curriculum Survey,[15] which collects data about what students should know and be able to do to be ready for college-level coursework in English, math, reading, and science. The results of the survey are used to inform the ACT College and Career Readiness Standards.[16] The standards are empirically derived descriptions of the essential skills and knowledge students need to become ready for college and career.
ACT also publishes the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks.[17] The benchmarks are scores on the ACT subject-area tests that represent the level of achievement required for students to have a 50% chance of obtaining a B or higher or about a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher in corresponding credit-bearing first-year college courses.[18] These college courses include English composition, college algebra, introductory social science courses, and biology.
In addition to its use in college admissions, multiple states and thousands of individual school districts use the ACT to assess the performance of schools, requiring all high school students to take the ACT, regardless of whether they are college bound.[19] The states that tested virtually all (95% or more) students in their 2019 graduating classes were Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Exam fees and fee waivers
The ACT (no writing) test costs $55.00 for the 2020–2021 testing year. The ACT with writing costs $70.00. Additional fees are charged for services including late registrations, test date changes, test center changes, and standby testing.[20]
Fee waivers are available to students currently enrolled in high school in the 11th or 12th grade; who are either a United States citizen or testing in the US, US territories, or Puerto Rico; and meet one or more indicators of economic need listed on the ACT Fee Waiver form. During the 2018–2019 academic year, 487,749 students were awarded fee waivers to test at no cost.[21]
Other ACT programs
ACT Academy[22] is a free online learning tool and test practice program designed to help students prepare for the ACT test.
ACT Aspire[23] measures readiness in English, math, reading, science, and writing from the elementary grades through early high school (grades 3–10). Performance on ACT Aspire predicts performance for early high school students on the ACT. Tests are available in paper and online formats.
ACT CollegeReady[24] is a tool that identifies knowledge and skill gaps in math and English and creates a personalized learning path. It is administered at the high school and pre-college levels.
ACT | Mawi Learning[25] is a CASEL-aligned and research-based comprehensive SEL solution that includes professional development and student curriculum.
The National Research Center for College and University Admissions (NRCCUA),[26] a membership organization that links colleges and universities to the nation's largest college and career planning program for students seeking post-secondary guidance.
ACT Online Prep[27] provides learning content to help students prepare to take the ACT. The program includes lessons covering all four ACT subject tests (English, math, reading, and science), and two prompts for the optional writing test. Students can also take a full-length practice test, which will provide a predicted ACT score.
PreACT[28] and PreACT 8/9[29] are assessments designed to help 10th grade students practice for the ACT test. The PreACT program simulates the ACT testing experience within a shorter test window on all four ACT test subjects and provides scores on the ACT 1–36 scale.
ScootPad[30] is a personalized, adaptive learning platform to accelerate classroom and at-home learning.
ACT Tessera[31] is a comprehensive next-generation assessment system designed to measure social and emotional learning (SEL) skills. It provides assessments to help K-12 educators measure and evaluate 6-12th grade students' SEL skills, determine their strengths and areas for improvement, and identify interventions to help them succeed
ACT WorkKeys[32] is a skills assessment system that helps employers select, hire, train, develop, and retain their workforce. Its assessments measure foundational and soft skills deemed essential to workplace success. Successful completion of WorkKeys assessments in Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Reading for Information can lead to earning the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC).
The National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC)[33] is a WorkKeys-based portable credential. Issued at four levels (platinum, gold, silver, bronze), the NCRC certifies that its holder has essential work skills needed for success in jobs across industries and occupations. The NCRC has been earned by more than 3 million people across the United States.
The ACT Work Ready Communities[34] program has been adopted by states, counties, and economic development agencies across the United States as a means of providing employers evidence of a skilled workforce[35]
Global Assessment Certificate is a university preparation and foundation studies program that provides students from mostly non-English-speaking backgrounds with academic knowledge and skills to prepare them for western-style postsecondary study. It is owned and developed by ACT Education Solutions, Ltd. (AES), an international subsidiary of ACT, Inc.
Research
Each year ACT publishes its Condition of College and Career Readiness report,[36] which reports on the progress of US high school graduates relative to college readiness. In addition to the national report, ACT releases focused reports[37] with organizations such as Excelencia in Education,[38] the United Negro College Fund,[39] the National Indian Education Association,[40] and the Asian and Pacific Islander Scholarship Fund[41] to report on academic achievement within those demographic groups.
Policy, advocacy, and government relations
ACT has articulated policy recommendations in the form of policy platforms in three areas: K–12 education, post-secondary education, and workforce development.[42] In addition to the platform-level policy papers, ACT publishes more targeted policy publications.[43]
In June 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, SAT and ACT tests have been waived and, according to The Washington Post, "States are learning they can live without them, having been given permission by the Department of Education to not give them this past spring."[44] Many universities and colleges set aside the requirement for an SAT or ACT score for school year 2020–2021 and some even until school year 2022.[45][46][47]
Related Research Articles
The ACT is a standardized test used for college admissions in the United States. It is administered by ACT, Inc., a for-profit organization of the same name. The ACT test covers four academic skill areas: English, mathematics, reading, and scientific reasoning. It also offers an optional direct writing test. It is accepted by all four-year colleges and universities in the United States as well as more than 225 universities outside of the U.S.
The SAT is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test and had two components, Verbal and Mathematical, each of which was scored on a range from 200 to 800. Later it was called the Scholastic Assessment Test, then the SAT I: Reasoning Test, then the SAT Reasoning Test, then simply the SAT.
A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner.
Educational assessment or educational evaluation is the systematic process of documenting and using empirical data on the knowledge, skill, attitudes, aptitude and beliefs to refine programs and improve student learning. Assessment data can be obtained by examining student work directly to assess the achievement of learning outcomes or it is based on data from which one can make inferences about learning. Assessment is often used interchangeably with test but is not limited to tests. Assessment can focus on the individual learner, the learning community, a course, an academic program, the institution, or the educational system as a whole. The word "assessment" came into use in an educational context after the Second World War.
The College Board, styled as CollegeBoard, is an American not-for-profit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a membership association of institutions, including over 6,000 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations.
The Iowa Assessments also known informally as the Iowa Tests, formerly known as the ITBS tests or the Iowa Basics, are standardized tests provided as a service to schools by the College of Education of the University of Iowa. Developers Everett Franklin Lindquist, Harry Greene, Ernest Horn, Maude McBroom, and Herbert Spitzer first designed and administered the tests in 1935 as a tool for improving student instruction. The tests are administered to students in kindergarten through eighth grade as part of the Iowa Statewide Testing Programs, a division of the Iowa Testing Programs (ITP). Over decades, participation expanded and currently nearly all school districts in Iowa participate annually in the program, as do many other school districts across the United States. In a cooperative relationship, participating schools receive ITBS test materials, scoring and reporting services and consultation in the use of ITBS for instructional purposes, and ITP utilizes participation by schools in research and test development. Both the ITBS and Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED) were revised in the 2011–2012 school year. They were rebranded the Iowa Assessments. In 2016–2017, Iowa Assessments will roll out their new testing program, Next Generation Iowa Assessments.
Everman Independent School District is a public school district based in Everman, Texas (USA). In addition to Everman, the district serves portions of Fort Worth and Forest Hill.
In an educational setting, standards-based assessment is assessment that relies on the evaluation of student understanding with respect to agreed-upon standards, also known as "outcomes". The standards set the criteria for the successful demonstration of the understanding of a concept or skill.
The National Center for Fair & Open Testing, also known as FairTest, is an American educational policy organization that opposes standardized testing and their use in university admission.
ACT WorkKeys consists of three elements:
Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) is an academic option open to high school seniors, juniors and sophomores in various US states, such as Minnesota, Ohio, Washington and Florida. The options allow students to take courses at the college level. It is possible for a student to graduate with both an associate's degree and a high school diploma at the same time via PSEO. The PSEO program was created in 1985 in Minnesota, and later adopted by Ohio's Department of Education. PSEO enables 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students to complete high school graduation requirements while earning credit at a given college, or university.
The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) is a state agency in Rhode Island that oversees the elementary and secondary education system from pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade. It is headquartered in Providence. RIDE works closely with the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner (RIOPC), the agency charged with overseeing higher education. Together, RIDE and RIOPC aim to provide an aligned, cohesive, and comprehensive education for all students.
The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, was an American, multi-state educational initiative begun in 2010 with the goal of increasing consistency across state standards, or what K–12 students throughout the United States should know in English language arts and mathematics at the conclusion of each school grade. The initiative was sponsored by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers.
Placement testing is a practice that many colleges and universities use to assess college readiness and determine which classes a student should initially take. Since most two-year colleges have open, non-competitive admissions policies, many students are admitted without college-level academic qualifications. Placement exams or placement tests assess abilities in English, mathematics and reading; they may also be used in other disciplines such as foreign languages, computer and internet technologies, health and natural sciences. The goal is to offer low-scoring students remedial coursework to prepare them for regular coursework.
The Postsecondary Education Readiness Test (PERT) is a computer adaptive test which measures a student's level of preparedness for college-level courses. The test is currently being used by all Florida high schools and the 28 members of the Florida College System. The PERT was created by McCann Associates in cooperation with Florida educators. The test is divided into three sections: Mathematics, Reading, and Writing.
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