This report focused on the extent to which students who are academically far off track in preparing for college can catch up in four years. We studied multiple cohorts of students in eighth grade whose EXPLORE[R] scores were more than one standard deviation below the EXPLORE benchmark scores associated with being on track. We found that 10 percent or fewer of the students who were far off track in eighth grade attained the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks[R] by twelfth grade. We did a similar analysis for two cohorts of students beginning in fourth grade, using scores on state-developed tests in grade four and EXPLORE scores in grade eight, and obtained similar results. For both the fourth grade and the eighth grade cohorts, the overall percentage of students catching up was lower in higher poverty schools. At some higher poverty schools, however, the percentage of students catching up exceeded the average for lower poverty schools. These findings will help inform policymakers who set accountability expectations for schools. For example, reasonable growth goals might be set based on student performance in the more successful schools. Furthermore, goals for percentages of students reaching college and career readiness achievement targets should take into account the students' starting points and the number of years that schools have available to catch them up. In addition, research can be conducted to identify educational practices that distinguish schools and school systems that are more successful at working with off-track students and getting students on track starting in preschool and the early grades. (Contains 11 tables, 13 figures and 17 footnotes.)