Accessibility in Admissions April 27, 2010

About ACT ACT is an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides more than a hundred assessment, research, information, and program management services in the broad areas of education and workforce development. Each year, we serve millions of people in elementary and secondary schools, colleges, professional associations, businesses, and government agencies, nationally and internationally. ACT has offices across the United States and throughout the world.

Annual ACT Test Takers 2009 Graduating Seniors = 1,480, Tested Juniors = 1,086,163 Over 2.5 Million Students Tested Each Year (PLAN Tested Sophomores = 1,024,164)

2009 Percent of Graduates Taking ACT/SAT More than 50% of graduates taking SAT More than 50% of graduates taking the ACT Source: 03/2008 WICHE data for number of H. S. Graduates per state, ACT Annual State Reports, College Board Annual State Summary08/09 CT 21/80 DC 30/74 DE 11/69 MA 18/79 MD 17/67 NH 15/72 NJ 16/73 RI 10/64 VT 24/61 18/53 33/51 19/49 30/40 29/46 16/26 22/58 65/11 30/51 70/5 74/7 100/20 72/4 74/3 78/3 54/22 58/18 99/5 68/6 68/7 59/3 67/4 73/5 89/6 93/4 76/7 92/10 97/6 67/5 100/5 24/62 64/22 14/69 25/81 8/84 20/67 100/7 15/62 50/66 40/70 62/58 62/18

Source: WICHE: Knocking at the College Door 2/ Projections of H.S. Graduates by State ACT Tested by State 2009 > 100,000 70,000–100,000 40,000–70, , ,982 82,640 81, ,297 88,754 51,087 52,052 46,923 43,642 46,65847,520 20,000–40,000 10,000–20,000 < 10,000 35,809 34,548 36,16525,976 45,419 27,054 23,147 22,377 23,229 22,523 10,228 11,560 12,285 12,55012,434 16,286 17,321 21,199 17,902 11,696 13,347 18,691 17,679 13,093 11,317 1,309 9,240 1,060 6,676 5,791 5,530 5,960 6,396 2,254 3,115 1,4382,008 2,469 1,548

Barriers in College Admissions Communicate college readiness Communicate college needs & preferences Connecting with the right college/university Accessing college admission tests Inadequate parental or high school guidance

College and Career Readiness System 8th–9th Grade  Score Scale: 1—25 8th–9th Grade  Score Scale: 1—25 10th Grade Score Scale: 1—32 10th Grade Score Scale: 1—32 11th–12th Grade Score Scale: 1—36 11th–12th Grade Score Scale: 1—36 Longitudinal Assessments English, math, reading, science, optional Writing Test (ACT only) Career and Educational Components *Colorado administers the ACT to all public high school juniors *

College Readiness Benchmark Scores Minimum ACT test scores required for students to have a high probability of success in credit-bearing college courses Empirically derived based on actual performance of college students Established using data from 98 institutions and over 90,000 students

College Readiness Benchmark Scores TestCollege Course PLANThe ACT 8th Grade9th Grade EnglishEnglish Composition MathAlgebra ReadingSocial Sciences ScienceBiology EXPLORE The minimum score needed on an ACT subject-area test to indicate a 50% chance of obtaining a B or higher or about a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher in the corresponding credit-bearing college courses.

% Meeting Benchmark % By Colorado Region Meeting ACT English College Readiness Benchmark 2009 Grad Class

% Meeting Benchmark % By Colorado Region Meeting ACT Math College Readiness Benchmark 2009 Grad Class

% Meeting Benchmark % By Colorado Region Meeting ACT Reading College Readiness Benchmark 2009 Grad Class

% Meeting Benchmark % By Colorado Region Meeting ACT Science College Readiness Benchmark 2009 Grad Class

% Meeting Benchmark % By Colorado Region Meeting All ACT College Readiness Benchmarks 2009 Grad Class

The ACT and Access A high percentage of colleges use test scores as one factor in the admissions process 81% require or use the ACT and/or the SAT in the process* *From ACT’s Annual Institutional Data Questionnaire

The ACT and Access When a student takes the ACT, colleges are able identify and reach out to potential students through: –ACT Score Reports (sent by students) –Educational Opportunity Service (search) Colleges are able to facilitate access by using these to connect students with appropriate campus programs and resources

Recent ACT Research Findings Related to Yield Score-senders will typically be the highest- yielding initial source code (aside from applications) in an inquiry pool Students sending official score reports are more likely to enroll than ACT-tested students who do not send official scores The more scores a student sends, the more likely they are to enroll –Sending multiple scores shows continuous interest over time

State Testing Is a Great Equalizer More males More minority students More middle and lower-income students More first-generation students Result… More opportunities to increase access and participation

Comparison of Colorado ACT-Tested Juniors Before and After State Testing

The Impact of Testing in Colorado & Illinois on College Enrollment 13% of Colorado students who had not planned to attend college at the time of testing ended up enrolling in college the next year (18% in Illinois)* From 2002 to 2007, the percentage of CO and IL high school grads enrolled in college the following fall increased by 1 and 2 percentage points, respectively* *2009 Case Study – Statewide Administration of the ACT: A Key Component in Improving Student Access to College and Work

The ACT Student Record More than a score…

More than 265 fields of data provide a complete student profile: Overview of Student Data in the ACT Record –Personal/demographic data –Admissions/recruitment data –ACT Scores, norms, and prediction research –High school courses and grades –Educational plans, interests, and needs –Activities and accomplishments

ACT Academic Data ACT Scores, Norms and Percentiles (42 items) Prediction Research (30 items) HS Grades and Courses (80 items)

ACT Student Profile Data Admission/Enrollment Information (5 items) Factors Influencing College Choice (12 items) Educational Plans, Interests, & Needs (6 items) Special Educational Needs, Interests, and Goals (8 items) Interest Inventory (22 items)

ACT Student Profile Data (cont.) High School Information (5 items) Financial Aid (4 items) Out-of-Class Accomplishments (21 items) High School Activities/ College Extracurricular Plans (26 items) Background (4 items)

Key Points about Personalizing, Customizing, Segmenting A school’s ability to segment, customize, personalize and target is entirely dependant on the amount of student-level information available … and when it’s available Through the ACT student record colleges have… –the most complete information available –at the earliest point in the recruitment cycle –in the most portable format

Examples of Postsecondary ACT Data Use University of Toledo –Multicultural Recruitment – Target schools with large percentages of African American/Latino students that meet admission/scholarship requirements and look at ACT trends within targets –Assist UT Band Department by providing mailing lists of score senders where UT is 1st-3rd choice and express an interest in college band –Assist Greek Life Department by providing list of score-senders expressing an interest in fraternities and sororities

University of Toledo (continued) –Identify students who won a science award in high school and send an e-invite encouraging attendance at science-related Summer Career Friday programs –Contact students that indicate an interest in Study Abroad programs about those opportunities at UT Examples of Postsecondary ACT Data Use

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs –Targeted messaging based on indicated student college choice –Postcard campaign with targeted messaging to “search names” based on score ranges, geographic regions and academic interest Examples of Postsecondary ACT Data Use

Colorado State University –Starting to make ACT score sender data available to advising community in hopes of reaching and advising students earlier (student data can help trigger new conversations in one-on-one advising) –Using family income data to target Pell-eligible students to inform them early about financial planning and CSU’s “Land Grant Award” Identified & contacted 2200 Colorado seniors this year 560 have applied for CSU admission Examples of Postsecondary ACT Data Use

"Without information like this from the ACT, Colorado State wouldn’t be able to let Pell-eligible families know all the support that we can offer them until they submit a FAFSA late in the process. Since our primary access-related goal on this front is to not let families with low- income self-select themselves out of even applying, utilizing this one simple piece of information and having it the minute a student sends us test scores is a profoundly impactful moment for reaching a student as much as 12 months earlier than ever before.” – Jim Rawlins, Executive Director of Admissions, Colorado State University Examples of Postsecondary ACT Data Use

Contact Information Joe Cruse Consultant, ACT West Region 3131 S. Vaughn Way, Suite 218 Aurora, CO phone fax