The benchmark being used to make the statement that such a low number of students are ready for college is based on ACT’s College Readiness Standard. This national testing company determined that college readiness equates to meeting a certain score on all four subtests of the ACT, as shown in the chart.

I am not sure how many of you remember your own ACT scores, but to be clear, meeting all 4 of these benchmarks is a pretty high target to simply be considered “ready for college.” For example, only 31% of the students in America scored a 24 or better on the science portion of the ACT last year. Furthermore, this definition ignores the fact that a student could earn a composite score of 30 (a score that would almost guarantee admission to nearly all colleges/universities in Michigan), while earning a 23 in science, and thus not be considered ready for college. I think that seems a bit ridiculous!

I believe that being “college ready” should be defined by how students actually perform once they are in college. As you can see in the chart below, according to the ACT College Readiness Standard, only 8% of Carman-Ainsworth graduates in the Class of 2010 were ready for college…a number literally half the state average. However, when compared with the rest of Michigan, you can see that:

1. The same percentage of C-A grads attended college (76%);

2. A higher percentage of C-A grads who went to college earned a “year’s worth of credits” (57%); and

3. Fewer C-A graduates required remedial coursework in college (19%) note that this means 81% of C-A grads did NOT require any remedial coursework in college!

To me, it seems odd that C-A sends the same percentage of students on to college, but with more success in terms of earning credits and not having to take remedial courses, yet what is reported is that a dismal percentage of C-A grads (8%) are college ready.

(Click here for a bigger image of the graph)

Make no mistake, the ACT test, which all 11^th grade students across Michigan took on Tuesday, is among the most important tests that a student will take. The implications for students in terms of college admissions and scholarship opportunities cannot be overstated. For these reasons, our high school staff aligns our curriculum to the ACT. Furthermore, all C-A students take the ACT EXPLORE in 8^th grade, the ACT PLAN in 9^th grade, and a retired (practice) ACT in 10^th grade to help them prepare for this critical assessment. In addition, for a second straight year, many CAHS students took advantage of a comprehensive ACT-prep course after school. These are all examples of how important we believe the ACT is for our students. However, I caution how results from this test are being used to label students in our schools as not being college ready. The true proof of college readiness, is how students actually perform in college. To that end, the vast majority of our C-A grads are more than ready for college!

Please feel free to contact me at: stunnicl@carman.k12.mi.us

Steve

Steven Tunnicliff, Ph.D.

Superintendent, Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools