1. Cut Scores and College Success: Data Matters A Presentation for the Higher Education Subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council Judy Trice, Senior Consultant ACT, Inc., Southwest Region August 19, 2010

2. Cut-Scores and Their Impact on College Success in Arkansas Factors That Can Improve Readiness for College Success Recommendations

3. College Readiness Benchmarks Determined by Content Area Empirically DerivedADHE Policy as by ACT* Cut-off Score to Avoid Remediation English1819 Mathematics2219 Reading2119 Science24N/A *A benchmark score is the minimum score needed on an ACT subject-area test to indicate a 50% chance of obtaining a B or higher or about a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher in the corresponding credit-bearing college courses. I. Cut Scores and Their Impact

4. College Readiness Benchmarks provide a valid, reliable tool that should be used along with other factors to determine college readiness.

5. Five-year Trend for Arkansas Percentages of Tested Students Meeting ACT’s College Readiness Benchmarks

6. Five-year Trend for Arkansas Percentage of Tested Students Meeting ADHE-established Cut-Scores of 19

7. Five-Year Trend Arkansas Students Tested with ACT

8. Implications of the Data: Remediation by the Numbers Based on 2010 Data Number of remediation courses needed if ALL tested students enroll in Arkansas colleges for Fall Semester 2010*: English 9,890 Mathematics 11,658 Reading 9,743 Total 31,291 * IF ACT College Readiness Benchmarks were used, the total # requiring remediation would be 35,737.

9. A Deeper Look at Achievement: Percentages of Students By Score Ranges [ENGLISH] Class of 2006 (21,005) Class of 2010 (24,578) 14,493 students College-ready 15,730 students College-ready Score Band Ranges Score Band Ranges

10. II. Factors That Impact Readiness Curriculum and instruction rigorously focused on College and Career Readiness Systematic measurement of academic strengths and gaps through assessments like EXPLORE (8 th grade) and PLAN (10 th grade) Educator Understanding and Use of Data to Inform Instruction

11. Adoption of the Common Core Standards strengthens an already- robust set of Frameworks as a bridge to college and career readiness. Language Anchor Standards100% Language Standards100% Language Progressive Skills100% EXPLORE PLAN ACT ACT Common Core State Standards (Grades 8-9) (Grade 10) (Grades Course 11-12) Standards -excerpted from The Alignment of Common Core and ACT’s College and Readiness System Visit www.act.org/commoncore to seewww.act.org/commoncore the entire alignment document.

12. College Readiness Benchmarks: Growth from EXPLORE (8 th grade) to PLAN (10 th grade) to ACT (11 th or 12 th grade) that achieves college readiness

13. College Readiness Benchmarks: Actual Growth in Arkansas* from EXPLORE (8 th grade) to PLAN (10 th grade) to ACT (11 th or 12 th grade) Class Of 2010 * Grad Class (2010) matched to 10 th grade (2007-08) and 8 th grade (2005-06)

14. Thorough evaluation of the reporting provided as part of EXPLORE and PLAN testing empowers educators to address student needs early and increase likelihood of college and career readiness. Extensive Student Report including Career Exploration Information and Item Analysis Intervention Rosters Item-Response Summary Report Aggregate and student-level data files by school, district and state To facilitate effective use of the data, ACT regional staff works through ADE to conduct regional workshops for educators as well as data interpretation workshops.

15. Recommendations  Fully fund and mandate ACT’s College Readiness System (EXPLORE, PLAN, and ACT) to assure access for ALL Arkansas students and to decrease college remediation costs.  Continue to mandate effective interpretation and use of data to impact readiness.  Advocate that VUAA students with scores below remediation level take rigorous coursework and re-test with ACT.

16.  Consider a course-placement study to assure that cut-scores are appropriate and students are being well served.  Evaluate teacher-preparation programs in the colleges of education to assure training in data-driven decision-making. Recommentations (continued)