ACT

Student writing at a desk balancing on a scale. Weighing test scores against grades.
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Assessment Grades and Standardized Test Scores Aren't Matching Up. Here's Why
Researchers have found discrepancies between student grades and their scores on standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT.
Ileana Najarro, October 4, 2024
5 min read
Student hanging on a tearing graduate cap tassel
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College & Workforce Readiness Infographic Students Feel Good About Their College Readiness. These Charts Tell a Different Story
In charts and graphs, a picture unfolds of high school students’ lack of preparedness for college.
2 min read
Illustration of students
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College & Workforce Readiness What the Research Says ACT: Only 1 in 5 High School Graduates in 2023 Fully Prepared for College
More than 40 percent of new high school graduates did not meet any of ACT's college-readiness benchmarks.
Sarah D. Sparks, October 11, 2023
2 min read
Image of a row of people using computers.
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College & Workforce Readiness Q&A A College Admissions Expert Explains What Going Test-Optional Means for High School Seniors
The movement to test-optional college admissions is helping colleges diversify their enrollments, this expert says.
Elizabeth Heubeck, January 9, 2023
5 min read
Arrows, with focus on downward turn.
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College & Workforce Readiness What the Research Says New Graduates' ACT Scores Hit a 30-Year Low
College-placement test scores sank for the graduating class of 2022, even as more students retook the test.
Sarah D. Sparks, October 12, 2022
4 min read
A+ in chalk on a traditional blackboard.
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Student Achievement What the Research Says Pace of Grade Inflation Picked Up During the Pandemic, Study Says
But the ACT found that the higher grades were not reflected in college-admission test scores.
Sarah D. Sparks, May 16, 2022
4 min read
Image of a line moving from point A in a disrupted path.
Serhii Brovko/iStock/Getty
College & Workforce Readiness What the Research Says The COVID Academic Slide Could Be Worse Than Expected
Across grades, subjects, and schools, lost learning is adding up for students, new studies find.
Sarah D. Sparks, February 2, 2022
4 min read
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Assessment ACT to Change How Students Retake Exam, Add 'Superscore'
Starting next fall, some students who take the ACT will be allowed to retake individual sections of the college-entrance exam, instead of having to sit for the entire test again.
Catherine Gewertz, October 8, 2019
4 min read
IT Infrastructure & Management Rural Students' Technology Access Still Lagging Behind, ACT Report Shows
While one in five students in U.S. public schools live in a rural area, they are often overlooked when it comes to ed-tech needs, report suggests.
Michelle Goldchain, February 19, 2019
3 min read
College & Workforce Readiness ACT Stops 'Flagging' Scores of Students with Disabilities
ACT has stopped telling colleges whether students who took the admissions exam have disabilities, a practice that sparked a lawsuit last summer.
Catherine Gewertz, October 4, 2018
1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness High School Counselors Think Colleges Should Drop SAT, ACT Requirements
A pair of new surveys shows deep skepticism about the value of college-admissions exams among high school counselors and college-admissions leaders. Both groups also worry about too much pressure to take AP courses, and lack of equal access to those classes.
Catherine Gewertz, September 24, 2018
3 min read
Special Education Suit Targets ACT on Student Privacy
The lawsuit alleges that the testmaker "stigmatizes" student with disabilities by flagging their test scores for colleges.
Catherine Gewertz, August 21, 2018
3 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Students With Disabilities Sue ACT Over Release of Personal Information
A lawsuit against ACT Inc. claims that the company illegally discloses students' disability status to colleges and scholarships organizations.
Catherine Gewertz, August 7, 2018
3 min read
Teaching Opinion ACT, Leader in Measurement, Shifts to Focus to Student Success
The nonprofit developer of the ACT test has been expanding beyond traditional measurement to new and broader ways to promote education and workplace success.
Tom Vander Ark, June 18, 2018
6 min read