Barely half of students are ready for college reading
Student readiness for college-level reading is at its lowest levels in more than a decade, according to results of the 2005 ACT college entrance exam, which will be officially released today at a Capitol Hill news briefing. Only 51 percent of the 2.1 million students who took the test last year were judged ready for college-level reading.
The test results also show that the percentage of students on track to become college-ready readers actually declines between eighth and 12th grades. Sixty-one percent of eighth graders were judged to be headed toward college-level reading proficiency, but their progress had slowed considerably by senior year. Lack of reading proficiency has been linked to a host of challenges, including high school and college dropouts, increased need for remediation, and nearly $16 billion in lost productivity for employers.
"Reading skills cross disciplines and effect student's ability to succeed in other subject areas, so the problem is more complicated than simply a lack of reading preparedness," says Richard Ferguson, chief executive officer of ACT. The recent focus on science and math education is important, he says, but improving reading skills will be crucial for students to reach that goal.
The ACT established benchmarks for college readiness by tracking students from high school into their first year of college and matching ACT scores with marks earned in college-level classes. A score of 21 out of 36 possible points on the ACT reading section is estimated to give students a 75 percent probability of earning a C or better in a college course.
The 2005 results reflect several long-standing and troubling education trends:
- The gap between minority students and their white classmates is significant: 21 percent of African Americans, 33 percent of Hispanics, and 36 percent of Native Americans met the college-ready benchmarks, compared with 59 percent of white students.
- Girls scored better than boys: 53 percent of females met the college-ready reading benchmarks, compared with 49 percent of males.
- Economic disparity was also stark: 33 percent of students from families earning less than $30,000 per year were prepared for college-level reading, compared with 54 percent of students from families earning between $30,000 and $100,000. 70 percent of students from families earning more than $100,000 per year were prepared for college work.
A majority of students in American high schools take the SAT college entrance exam, but the ACT is favored in about half the states, mostly in the Midwest, Texas, and Florida. The test covers skills in English, math, reading, and science, and an optional writing section. About 40 percent of the high school class of 2005 took the ACT.
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