Three-fourths of students who take a standard core curriculum in high school will graduate unprepared for college, concludes a study by the Iowa City, Iowa-based ACT Inc.
Unless students seek out more demanding courses outside the core curriculum, they are unlikely to gain the skills necessary for success in college, the report says. To improve college readiness, the report suggests that schools strengthen the quality and rigor of courses, specify which courses high school students should take and for how long, align the core curriculum with state standards, provide support for teachers, and measure students’ progress with benchmarks. The study used data from 2006 high school graduates who took the act college-entrance exam.
“Rigor at Risk” is available from ACT.
