Learners from underserved backgrounds tend to show lower levels of college readiness (ACT, 2016a; ACT, 2018). In part to address these disparities, the authors investigated growth in social and emotional (SE) skills in a cohort of largely Hispanic, high-poverty students who participated in GEAR UP. GEAR UP is a discretionary federal grant program…

This study was done in collaboration with the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) and Alliance College-Ready Public Schools (Alliance). This report, the second in the series, Examining the Efficacy of Career & College Clubs, explores how changes in the college readiness areas of social and emotional skills,…

This issue brief is part of a five-part series that reports findings from research conducted by ACT in collaboration with Region One Education Service Center. This brief focuses on the efficacy of SEL lessons implemented during the 2019-2020 school year and examines their relationship to school-reported student outcomes such as grades, attendance,…

This study investigated the relationships between social and emotional learning factors and course failure for 9,308 7th-9th graders. Student self-report measures of social and emotional learning (SEL) and biographical factors (ACT® Engage® Grades 6-9) were analyzed through multiple regression models with propensity score weighting techniques. The…

Formally launched in September 2018, the ACT® Certified Educator™ program is a professional learning and credentialing program designed to help educators improve their teaching and tutoring strategies and skills and be fully equipped to support student learning in the core content areas of the ACT® test. In this study, participants' views of the…

A hallmark of the US education system is the opportunity afforded to students to pursue education and career paths of their own choosing. This flexibility and autonomy, however, has drawbacks. Students must navigate a series of complex and often disconnected environments, as well as numerous decision points, before they attain a fulfilling career.…

The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP) is designed to provide assistance to low income students. The program provides discretionary grants for the purpose of increasing the readiness of low income students to attend and succeed in postsecondary education. The grants are up to six years in length and provide…