2. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 2 The Current Status of High School Testing in Michigan : The ACT Perspective MICHIGAN

3. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 3 A set of four multiple-choice tests which cover English, mathematics, reading, and science. The Writing Test is optional. Today’s ACT Assessment...

4. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 4 ® ® ® Educational Planning and Assessment System Today’s ACT Assessment...

5. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 5 A systematic approach to: Student planning Assessment Instructional support Program evaluation

6. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 6 Comprehensive review of state educational standards documents Surveys of educators Consultation with content area experts across the curriculum Today’s ACT assessments...

7. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 7 Oriented toward the general content areas of high school and college instructional programs Test questions require students to integrate the knowledge and skills they possess in major curriculum areas Scores on the tests have a direct and obvious relationship to students’ educational progress in curriculum-related areas Today’s ACT assessments...

8. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 8

9. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 9 Reams of Reports Numerous reports on high schools were released last year. Among them: "Breaking Ranks II: Strategies for Leading High School Reform,” National Association of Secondary School Principals, Reston, Va. “Crisis or Possibility? Conversations About the American High School,” National High School Alliance, Washington. Double the Numbers: Increasing Postsecondary Credentials for Underrepresented Youth, Harvard Education Press, Cambridge, Mass. “Fast Track to College: Increasing Postsecondary Success for All Students,” Jobs for the Future, Boston. (Requires registration.) “High School and Beyond: The System Is the Problem—and the Solution,” National Center on Education and the Economy, Washington. () “The National School District and Network Grants Program: Year 2 Evaluation Report,” Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle. () “Profiles in Leadership: Innovative Approaches to Transforming the American High School,” Alliance for Excellent Education, Washington. “Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma That Counts,” the American Diploma Project, Achieve, Washington. “Stronger Fiscal Incentives Can Improve Secondary and Postsecondary Outcomes,” National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Washington. See papers commissioned for the U.S. Department of Education’s National High School Leadership Summit, held in October 2003. From the Archives “Bush Promotes Plan for High School Tests,” January 19, 2005. “Report: High Schools Must Demand More,” January 5, 2005. “Bush Test Proposal for High Schoolers Joins Wider Trend,” September 15, 2004. “High School Policy Gets Spotlight in Report to Southern Governors,” September 15, 2004. “Principals' Group Offers 'Field Guide' For High Schools,” February 25, 2004. “States Urged to Make High Schools A Priority, or Face Consequences,” October 8, 2003. “Getting Serious About High School,” April 11, 2001. For background, previous stories, and Web links, read High School Reform.

10. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 10 College for All? At the 30,000-foot level, there’s a growing consensus that high schools need to be more rigorous: preparing all students for postsecondary education, work, and citizenship…. “I would argue that the research base says,... they need to be prepared for postsecondary education because most of them will either go or need the same level of skills to have any chance to succeed in this economy,” argued Kati Haycock, the director of the Education Trust,...

11. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 11 When the nation’s governors gather in Washington this coming weekend for what is billed as a national education summit on high schools, many will come prepared to talk about initiatives already under way back home. But the summit’s organizers hope that an “action agenda” scheduled to be released this week—coupled with intensive planning leading up to the meeting—will encourage state leaders to leave the event ready to tackle some of the more fundamental challenges in high school improvement.

12. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 12 Defining ‘College Ready’ The 12-page action agenda encourages states to restore value to the high school diploma by raising standards for all students and tying high school graduation tests and requirements to the expectations of colleges and employers. Colleges and employers must then honor and reward student achievement on state tests through their admissions, placement, and hiring policies, it says.

13. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 13 COLORADO Statewide ACT Assessment is mandatory for all grade 11 students.

14. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 14 The Challenge Ensuring a uniform system of free public schools throughout the state, improving college attendance rates among minority and lower-income high school graduates, and decreasing college remediation.

15. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 15 The Solution Administering the ACT Assessment to 11th graders statewide

16. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 16 The Results

17. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 17  The number of graduating seniors taking the ACT Assessment increased by 69 percent in 2003 compared to 2001.  The most dramatic increases in test takers:  Minority graduates (+94%)  Males (+85%)  Graduates from families earning $30,000 per year or less (+70%) Many more Colorado students are taking the ACT.

18. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 18  The number of in-state, ACT-tested fall freshmen enrolled in Colorado colleges in 2002—the first enrolling class affected by statewide ACT testing—increased by 23 percent compared to 2001. College enrollment is up.

19. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 19  Included in the increased college enrollments in 2002 were 12 percent of the ACT-tested students who said they did not intend to go to college when they took the ACT as high school juniors.  The number of in-state, ACT-tested minorities enrolled in Colorado colleges increased by 18 percent in 2002 over 2001.  The number of ACT-tested Colorado graduates who aspire to further their education after high school increased by 33 percent in 2003 compared to 2001. Access to college has expanded.

20. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 20  The number of Colorado high school graduates earning an ACT Composite score of 18 (the low end of the range for admission to colleges with liberal admission policies) or higher was 42 percent higher in 2003 than in 2001.  Significantly more Colorado graduates were ready for college algebra (+32%) and English composition (+42%) in 2003 than in 2001, based on their ACT scores. College readiness has increased.

21. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 21 ALL grade 11 students take the ACT Assessment and 2 WorkKeys tests. ILLINOIS

22. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 22 Coming up with a set of high quality assessments that would accurately measure students' progress in meeting the learning standards set by the Illinois State Board of Education. The Challenge

23. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 23 Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE), which includes the ACT Assessment, two WorkKeys assessments, and three state-developed assessments in writing, science, and social sciences. The knowledge and skills measured by the ACT Assessment were determined to closely align with the Illinois Learning Standards. The Solution

24. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 24 The Results

25. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 25  The number of Illinois graduating seniors taking the ACT Assessment was 51 percent higher in 2003 than in 2001, before the PSAE was introduced.  The most dramatic increases in test takers:  Males (+61%)  Minority graduates (+50%)  Graduates from families earning $30,000 per year or less (+45%) Many more Illinois students are taking the ACT.

26. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 26  The number of in-state, ACT-tested fall freshmen enrolled in Illinois colleges in 2002 (the first graduating class affected by PSAE testing) was up by 24 percent compared to the previous year.  The number of these college freshmen from families earning $30,000 per year or less was up by 8 percent compared to 2001. College enrollment is up.

27. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 27  Included in the increased college enrollments in 2002 were 15 percent of the ACT-tested students who said they did not intend to go to college when they took the PSAE as high school juniors.  The number of in-state, ACT-tested minorities enrolled in Illinois colleges increased by 19 percent in 2002 over 2001.  The number of ACT-tested Illinois graduates who aspire to further their education after high school increased by 23 percent in 2003 compared to 2001. Access to college has expanded.

28. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 28  The number of Illinois high school graduates earning an ACT Composite score of 18 (the low end of the range for admission to colleges with liberal admission policies) or higher was 27 percent higher in 2003 than in 2001.  Significantly more Illinois graduates were ready for college algebra (+21%) and English composition (+29%) in 2003 than in 2001, based on their ACT scores.  Illinois' state average ACT Composite score rose from 20.1 in 2002 to 20.2 in 2003, despite an increase in the number of students tested. College readiness has increased.

29. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 29 Higher education system provides EPAS to ALL students. OKLAHOMA

30. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 30 Oklahoma students were graduating from high school without the skills they needed to succeed in college. There were also achievement gaps between racial/ethnic minority groups and Caucasian students in the state's K-12 schools. The Challenge

31. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 31 A combination of higher college admission standards and ACT's Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS ® ). The Solution

32. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 32 EPAS is the only assessment system in Oklahoma that measures student readiness along a continuum of college readiness benchmarks. In addition, the data, guidance, and feedback provided by EPAS are useful to students, parents, and teachers. Why EPAS?

33. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 33 The Results

34. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 34 For the 2002 graduating class, 26,717 students (72 percent of all graduates) took the ACT, an increase of 25 percent compared to 1992. More students are taking the ACT college entrance exam.

35. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 35 The average ACT composite score in Oklahoma rose from 20.0 in 1992 to 20.5 in 2002, outpacing the national growth in scores during this period. Oklahoma is one of only three (out of 16) member states in the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) to have made gains on the national ACT average score. ACT scores have risen.

36. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 36 The proportion of African American students taking core coursework has risen from 38 percent to 51 percent since EPAS was implemented. Native American core course taking rose from 39 percent to 46 percent during the same time period. Rigorous course taking has increased, particularly among minority students.

37. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 37 Educational aspirations of Oklahoma EPAS students rise between 8th and 10th grades, as well as between 10th grade and their taking of the ACT. Most students upgrade their aspirations to the level of a two- or four-year college degree. Students' educational aspirations have risen following administration of each assessment.

38. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 38 The college-going rate rose from 51 percent in 1997 (when participation in EPAS reached a critical mass number of districts) to 58 percent in 2002. College attendance rates are up.

39. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 39 Oklahoma higher education's core competencies for college readiness and success are clearly defined and communicated to students and schools through ACT's Standards for Transition. College remediation rates have dropped in all content areas.

40. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 40 Oklahoma's African American, Native American, and Hispanic students now outscore their national peers on the ACT. The most significant contribution to the state's gains in ACT scores comes from increases in minority student scores. Gaps between and among demographic subgroups have narrowed.

41. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 41 The Current Status of High School Testing in Michigan : The ACT Perspective MICHIGAN

42. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 42 Approximately 73,400 high school graduates took the ACT Assessment about 68 percent of the Michigan graduating class of 2004 Based on its 2004 ACT-tested high school graduates:

43. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 43 Based on its 2004 ACT-tested high school graduates:

44. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 44 Based on its 2004 ACT-tested high school graduates: Approximately 1 in 4 of Michigan’s students are ready for college and work

45. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 45 Based on its 2004 ACT-tested high school graduates: Approximately 1 in 4 of Michigan’s students are ready for college and work Almost half of Michigan’s students are nearly ready for college and work.

46. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 46 Based on its 2004 ACT-tested high school graduates: Approximately 1 in 4 of Michigan’s students are ready for college and work Almost half of Michigan’s students are nearly ready for college and work. Approximately 1 in 4 of Michigan’s students are not yet, but could be, ready for college and work.

47. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 47 ACT stands ready to work with Michigan

48. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 48 ACT stands ready to work with Michigan Create a common focus

49. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 49 ACT stands ready to work with Michigan Create a common focus Establish high expectations for all

50. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 50 ACT stands ready to work with Michigan Create a common focus Establish high expectations for all Measure and evaluate progress

51. March 2, 2005 45th Annual Michigan School Testing Conference 51 Thank You! Visit our website: www.act.org