The Current State of College and Career Readiness in Iowa

Agenda

• ACT’s Holistic Framework• 2019 Graduating Class Data • What’s Next • Q&A

ACT’s Holistic Framework

5

6

The ACT

The leading US college and admissions test that measures what you learn in high school to determine your academic readiness for college.

How ACT determines if Students are COLLEGE READY

ACT COLLEGE READINESS BENCHMARKS

How ACT determines if Students are COLLEGE READY

ACT COLLEGE READINESS BENCHMARKS

BENCHMARK = Minimum scores required on

each subject ACT test to have

high probability of success*

BENCHMARK =Minimum scores required on

each subject ACT test to have

high probability of success*

*50% chance of obtaining a B or higher or

75% chance of obtaining a C or higher

in credit-bearing, entry-level college courses in that subject area.

Subject ACT Score First Year College Course

English 18 English Composition

Math 22 College Algebra

Reading 22 Social Sciences

Science 23 Biology

ELA 20 English Composition & Social Sciences

STEM 26 Calculus, Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Engineering

Math STEM 27 Science STEM 25

Benchmarks and Alignment

How ACT determines if Students are CAREER READY

ACT WorkKeys

Making the Connection

NCRC Certificate Level Corresponding ACT CompositeScore

27

22

17

13

Needs Improvement <13

15

16

Cumulative Percentage of US Jobs for Which an Examinee Is Qualified Based on WorkKeys

Skill Level Applied MathWorkplaceDocuments Graphic Literacy

3 50% 26% 21%

4 84% 74% 83%

5 96% 91% 96%

6 99% 97% 98%

7 100% 100% 100%

US Mean Wages by Level Score

Skill Level Applied MathWorkplaceDocuments Graphic Literacy

3 $33,586 $28,953 $28,418

4 $56,840 $46,294 $49,047

5 $91,371 $81,872 $86,147

6 $127,573 $75,063 $91,565

7 $111,235 $121,481 $139,132

CTE and Career Exploration

Occupational Profiles

http://profiles.keytrain.com/profile_search/

Introducing:2019 Graduating Class Data

2019 USHigh SchoolGraduatingClass

www.act.org/condition2019

Nearly

1.8MILLION

Graduates took the ACT 52%

Graduates took the ACT

41%Earned a composite score high enough to

correspond with a Gold or Platinum

Level NCRC

The ACT National Statistics

Iowa Statistics: Total Students Tested

2019: 22,965(66%)

Iowa Statistics66% Estimated percent of 2019 Iowa

Students who took the ACT test

Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates by Race/Ethnicity

Black/African AmericanAmerican Indian/Alaska NativeAsianHispanic/LatinoNative Hawaiian/Other Pacific IslanderWhiteTwo or More RacesNo Response

Iowa Statistics: Composite Score

21.6 Iowa Average ACT Composite Score

22.2 22.1 21.9 21.8 21.621 20.8 21 20.8 20.7

15

20

25

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Iowa Nation

2015-2019 ACT-Tested Composite Score Trend

What is the impact of a 0.1 increase in Iowa’s average ACT Composite score?

Less Remediation47 fewer students needing remedial English 74 fewer students needing remedial math

Greater Persistence61 more students persisting to year two68 more students persisting to year four

More Advancement53 more students enrolling in college73 more students earning a degree within six years

Iowa Statistics

29% Percent of Iowa 2019 ACT-tested graduates meeting all four Benchmarks

IOWA HAS

+3% graduates meeting all four benchmarks

compared to the National average

Iowa Graduates who met three or four ACT College Readiness

Benchmarks

44%10,057 Students

vs. 37% National Average

College and Career Readiness Benchmarks

67

52

44 44

29

59

4539

36

26

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

English (18) Reading (22) Mathematics (22) Science (23) All Four Subjects

Percent of 2019 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Meeting ACT College Readiness Benchmarks by Subject

Iowa Nation

STEM

Iowa STEM 11,276 Students (49%) have interest in STEM majors and/or careers

Iowa has a

6%higherSTEM Major/Career interest average than

National’s (43%)

21%2019 Iowa

Graduates meeting the ACT STEM

College Readiness Benchmark

+2.6Increased Science

Score if taking Physics

Students reaching STEM Benchmark

= 28.7

Avg. Science score28.3

Avg. Math Score

84%Iowa Graduates who took the ACT

are likely to attain the

SILVER or higherACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate or higher

19,229 Students(vs. 71% National Average)

Based on their ACT Scores

Iowa Students NCRC Levels Earned

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Bronze Silver Gold Platinum

By School Year

2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019

Iowa NCRC Examinees –By Certificate Level

Iowa NCRC Examinees – By Skill

Iowa NCRC Levels –By Education Level

Aspirations Matter

EnteringHigher Education

88%of Iowa’s 2019 ACT-tested graduates

aspired to enroll in postsecondary education

Percent of 2019 ACT-Tested High School Graduates by Educational Aspirations

Most commonly indicated college majors of interest2019 Iowa Graduates

• Undecided

• Nursing

• Registered (BS/RN)

• Medicine (Pre-Med)

• Elementary Ed.

• Business Admin Management

• General

45,368 score reports were sent to colleges

Reporting2019 Iowa Graduates

• Iowa State University• University of Iowa• University of Northern Iowa• Kirkwood Community College• Des Moines Area Community College - Ankeny

Reporting2019 Iowa Graduates

45,368 score reports were sent to colleges

• South Dakota State University• University of South Dakota• Northwest Missouri State University

Access & Opportunity

Retesting Statistics

23.2 Average Composite score of 2019 Iowa graduates taking the ACT two or more times

Average Composite score of 2019 Iowa graduates taking the ACT one time

47.1%

Percent of 2019 Iowa taking the ACT two or more times

Percent of 2019 Iowa taking the ACT one time

52.9%

19.9

2019 Percent of Fee Waivers Used in Iowa (approx.)

75%

25%

NATIONUsed Not Used

80%

20%

IOWAUsed Not Used

What’s Next

Provide all students with the opportunity

to benefit from college preparatory

coursework and CTE programs.

Give educators resources to personalize instruction

Assess student learning and implement

improvement strategies

throughout students’ education careers

Encourage career awareness and

advisement activities earlier in a

student’s educational

pathway

Ensure that students’ education

is holistic and addresses the

needs of the “whole learner”

Recommendations to Ensure Readiness

Q & A

Helping people achieve education and workplace success.

ACT is focused on providing better data to students, parents, schools, districts, and states so that all can make more informed decisions to improve educational outcomes. We accomplish this goal by taking a holistic view and using consistent and reliable historical information so that individuals and institutions have a better context to make critical decisions about the journey they have undertaken.

Visit ACT.org to learn more. Follow us @ACT.