Report: High school students not ready for college
By Anita Hofschneider, Wall Street Journal
First, the bad news: Nearly 75 percent of 2013 high school graduates who took the ACT college readiness exam aren’t fully prepared for college, according to a report by the organization that administers the test.
Now, the (moderately) good: Student performance has improved slightly since 2009, when just 23 percent of high school graduates tested met all four of the exam’s benchmarks for college readiness, compared with 26 percent this year.
The report, out Wednesday from the ACT, shows that American high school students are making slow progress toward college readiness and raises concerns about whether they’ll have the skills necessary to fill jobs in the future, said Jon Erickson, president of educational division of the ACT.
More than half of all 2013 high school graduates in the U.S. took the exam, which assesses proficiency in English, reading, math and science.