2013 College Choice Report— Part 1 Steve Kappler Assistant Vice President, Career & College Readiness ACT

The National Research Continuum 2012 Grad Class Update (Enrollment Management Trends Report 2013) 2012 Grad Class Progression Report (Reality of Readiness 2014) 2012 Grad Class Report (The Condition)

Context

College & Career Readiness System Academic Readiness Academic Behavioral Readiness Career and Educational Planning

th /9 th Grade 10 th Grade 11 th /12 th Grade Longitudinal Assessments College Readiness System Scores

ACT College Readiness Standards

Define Knowledge and Skills College Readiness Benchmark Scores Test College CoursePLAN The ACT 8th Grade 9th Grade English English Composition Math Algebra Reading Social Sciences Science Biology The ACT Benchmark Score indicated a 50% chance of obtaining a “B” or a 75% chance of obtaining a “C” in corresponding credit-bearing college courses

8

9 Career development is a process that should start early and lead to students’ exploring more options The ACT College and High School reports provide counselors and advisors access to a wide variety of data to assess a student’s measured and expressed interests The findings in the report are not presented in terms of good and bad or right and wrong  Certainty, Interest-Major Fit, etc. can be positive or negative depending on the circumstances of individual students Assumptions Underlying the Report Findings and Recommendations

10 With respect to intended majors and careers, ACT collects two types of information: Expressed Interests:  When students register for the ACT they are asked to select, from a list of 294 majors and occupations, both a major and an occupation they plan to enter Measured Interests:  When a student registers for the ACT they are asked to complete an interest inventory. The student's career interests are linked to compatible occupational options and displayed visually on the ACT World-of-Work Map. Expressed Interests and Measured Interests Copyright 2012 ©ACT, Inc

11 For most students who specify a planned major, ACT calculates an Interest-Major Fit score, which is included on the ACT electronic record for colleges and universities The Fit score shows the strength of the relationship between a student’s profile of interests and the profile of interests of students in a given major Interest-Major Fit clearly benefits both students and the college they attend: students in good-fit majors are more likely to stay in college, stay in their major, and finish sooner Interest-Major Fit Score

12 Supporting fields:  ACT Composite Score  Level Mother/Guardian Education  Level Father/Guardian Education  Highest Level Education Student Expects to Complete  High School Courses and Grades  Advanced and Honors Courses Taken  Type of High School Curriculum Student-Level Data Detail: Supporting Fields of Value

13 You might find it helpful to imagine all the data fields on the ACT record as a picture of a student that is either in focus or out of focus A picture in focus has academic ability (ACT Composite and subscores), high school courses and grades, plans (intended major, intended occupation, highest degree expected), certainty of major and occupation, measured interests (map regions 1-3) and interest-major fit that make sense together and indicate (1) that the student made a thoughtful and informed decision about a major and career and (2) that the student has the ability and background and interests to be successful in an area Student-level Data as a Picture

14 4 out of 5 students selected a planned major Planned major varies by ACT Composite score Only 2 out of 5 students who indicated a planned major indicated they were very sure of their major choice Students with higher ACT Composite scores were far less likely to be very sure of planned major 15% of ACT-tested students indicated they were undecided about choice of major The likelihood of being undecided increases as ACT Composite score increases Key Finding 1: Although a Majority of ACT-Tested Students Selected a Planned Major, Many Students Are Not Sure of Their Choices

15 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates With Different Planned Major Statuses by ACT Composite Score, 2013

16 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates With Different Planned Major Statuses by Gender, 2013

17 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates Who Selected a Planned Major Within a Subset of Planned Major Areas by ACT Composite Score, 2013

18 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates Who Were Very Sure of Their Planned Major Choice by ACT Composite Score and Gender, 2013

19 About 1 in 3 students selected a planned major that is a good fit with their Measured Interests Only 2 out of 5 students who are very sure of their planned major selected a good-fit major Students with lower ACT Composite scores are far less likely to select a major that is a good fit with their interests First-generation students are less likely to select a planned major that is a good fit with their interests than are students from more highly educated families The likelihood of selecting a good-fit major varies considerably by the planned major area Key Finding 2: Few Students Are Selecting Planned Majors that Are a Good Fit with Their Interests

20 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates Who Have Good Interest-Major Fit by Certainty of Planned Major Choice and Gender, 2013

21 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates Who Have Good Interest-Major Fit by Planned Major Area and Gender, 2013

22 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates by Best-Fitting Major Area and Undecided/Missing Planned Major Status, 2013

23 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates Who Have Good Interest-Major Fit by ACT Composite Score and Gender, 2013

24 The evidence suggests that students at all levels may need advising and help in selecting majors and careers Being sure of planned major or having good fit with a planned major could be positive or negative depending on whether the chosen major fits with a student’s achievement levels, high school courses and grades, degree objectives, and measured interests Colleges may want to consider the research in Findings 1 and 2 when deciding whether to offer direct admission to specific departments, programs, and colleges Implications of Key Findings 1 and 2

25 About 3 out of 5 students indicated a need for assistance with deciding their educational & occupational plans Students who are undecided about their choice of major were more likely to report that they needed assistance Among students who selected a planned major, students not as sure of their planned major were more likely to report that they needed assistance Among students who were very sure of their planned major, nearly half indicated that they needed assistance This suggests that educational and career planning would be helpful for a wide variety of students Key Finding 3: A Majority of Students Want Assistance with Educational and Occupational Plans

26 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates Who Indicated Needing Assistance in Deciding Their Educational/Occupational Plans by ACT Composite Score and Gender, 2013

27 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates Who Indicated Needing Assistance in Deciding Their Educational/Occupational Plans by Planned Major Status and Gender, 2013

28 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates Who Indicated Needing Assistance in Deciding Their Educational/Occupational Plans by Certainty of Planned Major Choice and Gender, 2013

29 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates Who Indicated Needing Assistance in Deciding Their Educational/Occupational Plans by Planned Major Area and Gender, 2013

30 Choosing a good-fit major and being academically successful in that major are very important factors to student retention and persistence to degree Because majors are so central to college degrees and to student success after college, and because students clearly want assistance with educational and career planning, colleges should devote necessary resources to advising and career development Implications of Key Finding 3

31 Females were more likely than males to select a planned major and to be sure of their planned major choice Among students who selected a planned major, males and females tended to select different fields of study, which creates gender imbalance across planned major areas  Large areas of gender concentration for females: Health Sciences and Technologies; Education; Health Administration and Assisting  Large areas of gender concentration for males: Engineering; Business; Computer Science and Mathematics Key Finding 4: Both Choice of Planned Major and Interest-Major Fit Vary in Meaningful Ways by Gender

32 A similar share of females and males selected good-fit majors, but there are significant gender differences in particular major areas  Areas where males more likely to select good-fit majors: Repair, Production, and Construction; Agriculture and Natural Resources Conservation; Computer Science and Mathematics; Engineering Technology and Drafting  Areas where females more likely to select good-fit majors: Communications; Education; Visual and Performing Arts If students who selected moderate or poor-fit majors had selected best-fit majors, there would be greater gender balance across many planned major areas Key Finding 4: (Continued)

33 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates Who Selected a Planned Major Within Planned Major Areas and by Gender, 2013

34 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates Who Were Very Sure of Their Planned Major Choice by Planned Major Area and Gender, 2013

35 The four “compass points” of the World-of-Work Map are working with data, things, ideas, and people While it is true that most majors and occupations fall within particular areas of the World-of-Work Map, it is also true that individual majors and careers can encompass multiple “compass points”  For example, a welding student could plan a career in welding or a career in marketing and sales for a welding supply company, one career working with things, the other working with people Helping students see their major and career interests in the context of the whole World-of-Work Map can be part of overall efforts to promote gender balance Implications of Key Finding 4

36 Half of all students who selected a planned major indicated that the availability of a particular college major or program of study was their most important factor in selecting a college Students’ likelihood of reporting college major as the most important factor in their college decision increases with the students’ ACT Composite score, parent education level, degree aspirations, certainty of planned major choice and Interest-Major Fit score Key Finding 5: For Many Students, Availability of a Particular Major is the Most Important Factor in Choosing a College

37 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates Who Indicated Availability of College Major as Most Important Factor in Choosing a College by ACT Composite Score and Gender, 2013

38 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates Who Indicated Availability of College Major as Most Important Factor in Choosing a College by Parent Education Level and Gender, 2013

39 Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates Who Indicated Availability of College Major as Most Important Factor in Choosing a College by Degree Plans and Gender, 2013

40 Percentage of ACT-Tested High School Graduates Who Indicated Availability of College Major as Most Important Factor in Choosing a College by Planned Major Area and Gender, 2013

41 Implications: This can especially be confusing with “pre-” majors such as Pre-Medicine, Pre-Law, Pre-Dentistry, etc., which can inhibit students’ educational planning if they assume that a “Pre-” major is the best path to a given graduate program or career Because availability of major is so important to student choice of college and because students can confuse majors and careers, institutions can support student educational and career exploration by helping students expand rather than narrow the major paths that lead to their desired careers Finding 5 Implications

42 Recommendation 1: Use students’ planned major together with their Interest- Major Fit score to better identify students who have a stronger interest in a particular major and who may be more likely to enroll in a particular major Implications: This information may be especially important when trying to recruit more male students to your campus or when trying to increase the enrollment of females within particular STEM fields Postsecondary Recruitment Recommendations

43 For prospective students who are undecided about their planned major, use student results from the ACT Interest Inventory to provide information about good-fit majors or programs of study at the college. Implications: This recommendation could be helpful when working with students who are undecided and students who are not in good-fit majors and may also be helpful when used to suggest other opportunities for students College faculty should be encouraged to talk about career implications of the courses they teach Recommendation 2

44 Promote institutional strengths in advising and career development, especially to those students who are undecided or those students who specifically request assistance with educational and career planning Implications: Highlight strengths related to educational and occupational planning Students wanting a Bachelors degree will be interested in hearing messages about institutional strengths in helping students prepare for and secure employment directly after college Recommendation 3

45 Recommendations 4: Use Interest-Major Fit scores (postsecondary) or World of Work Map Regions (secondary) along with planned majors and planned occupations to identify students who could benefit from advising and career planning interventions intended to guide students into better-fitting majors Recommendations 5: Use data on major/occupation certainty, need for assistance, and indicators of indecision in planned majors or the Interest Inventory to target students who may need or want help Post-Enrollment and Secondary Recommendations

46 Implications: High schools and colleges typically have very high student to counselor/advisor ratios. Data on expressed and measured interests can be used to identify a subset of students most in need of and receptive to help To leverage counselor and advisor resources, high schools and colleges should look for opportunities to use group settings or extended orientation classes to help students explore their strengths and interests and to make informed educational and occupational plans Recommendations 4 and 5

47 Recommendation 6: Consider different advising strategies for high-achieving and low-achieving students  High-achieving students are less likely to be very sure of planned major but more likely to have good Interest-Major Fit  Low-achieving students are more likely to be very sure about planned major choices but less likely to have good Interest- Major Fit Institutions may also find it helpful to use level of parent education as a further risk indicator for low-achieving students with respect to educational planning Recommendation 6

48 Implications: Academic achievement levels (including ACT test scores, high school courses, and grades) are important factors in determining whether or not a student’s educational and career planning picture is “in focus”  High-achieving students may face challenges because they have so many different skills, interests, and abilities  Low-achieving students may face challenges because their educational and career goals and interests may not be consistent with their skills and abilities Recommendation 6

49 Part 2 of the report to be released in July 2014 at the ACT Enrollment Planners Conference will focus on the college enrollment of these ACT-tested high school graduates and address topics such as:  The consistency of major between ACT registration and the first year of college  Student persistence within majors between the first and second year of college  Changes in Interest-Major Fit among students who changed majors  The relationship between Interest-Major Fit and persistence Looking Ahead to the College Choice Report, Part 2