The research summarized in this paper examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on student performance on the ACT® test, focusing on students who are Native American. It compares outcomes during the three years preceding the pandemic (2018, 2019, and early 2020) to outcomes in 2021 and 2022 while accounting for changes in the tested population…

From the first cases of COVID-19 emerging in early February 2020 to the wave of school closings across the country in mid-March, the effects of the pandemic have been felt across the United States. In light of unprecedented changes, ACT's researchers sought to understand how high school students, specifically rising seniors, were being impacted.…

Across demographic groups, incoming seniors (class of 2021) have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and some have altered their college plans accordingly. Most seniors are planning to attend the same type of institution they were planning on before the pandemic, but about half are planning on a different institution, one closer to home, or…

This brief summarizes five benefits of schools providing the PreACT® to all their students. The PreACT 8/9 (an earlier version of the PreACT test that is more appropriate for students in grades 8 and 9) and PreACT assessments are designed to provide students with an indication of their educational progress in the context of preparing for the ACT®…

With the disruption of the pandemic, it is important to study first-year college students' learning experiences and its potential effect on education plans. To understand first-year college students' learning experiences after the transition to online instruction during the pandemic, in June 2020, the authors of this study reached out to…

The purpose of this report is to examine results in mathematics for the ACT Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS) in schools nationwide. EPAS consists of three programs: EXPLORE[R] (for students in grade 8 or 9), PLAN[R] (for students in grade 10), and the ACT[R] test (for students in grade 11 or 12). The following questions are…

Do state standards and assessments provide accurate, meaningful information about the college readiness levels of the state's high school students? To suggest an answer to this question, this study examined data from one state in which students in grades 8 and 10 take both a statewide assessment and the corresponding component of ACT's Educational…