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States across the country are rethinking how education systems connect to life after high school. As policymakers work to ensure that every student has a clear pathway from school to career — whether that path leads to college, the workforce, or the military — one theme is becoming increasingly clear: Aligning K–12, postsecondary, and workforce data is essential to understanding and improving student outcomes.

This was the focus of a recent webinar titled, Partnering for Success: Aligning K-12, Postsecondary and Workforce Data, hosted by the Education Commission of the States in partnership with ACT. The conversation brought together state leaders from Alabama and New Mexico to share how their states are using multiple accountability systems, including assessments and collaborative data partnerships, to better define and measure college and career readiness.

Why data alignment matters

States are expanding their definitions of student success beyond a single test score. Many are adopting multiple measures of readiness that reflect academic achievement, career skills, and real-world experiences, such as work-based learning and industry credentials. But these efforts only work when data systems are connected across education and workforce agencies.

When K–12, postsecondary, and workforce data are aligned, policymakers can answer critical questions:

• How do students move through education and training pathways that lead to valued credentials?
• Which indicators within the accountability systems truly predict success after high school?
• Are there data gaps, and how should they be addressed?

As of 2024, at least 33 states have active or developing longitudinal data systems designed to answer these questions, including Alabama and New Mexico.

ACT plays a key role in this data alignment that states are utilizing. Assessments, including the ACT test and ACT WorkKeys, generate data that can be used consistently across systems to signal both academic preparation and workforce readiness.

Alabama: Moving beyond a one-dimensional model

Alabama’s approach reflects a deliberate effort to value both college and career preparation. As an ACT partner state, Alabama administers the ACT (with the writing section) to all 11th-grade students and ACT WorkKeys to the majority of 12th-grade students. This allows the state to examine college and career readiness through multiple lenses within a single accountability framework.

Shanthia Washington, assistant state superintendent at the Alabama State Department of Education, emphasized the importance of this dual approach. “We’re not just looking at students from the lens of college readiness, but also through the lens of career readiness,” Washington said. “Not only does this allow us to satisfy our state accountability indicators, but we all want to make certain that we have productive citizens who can successfully join the workforce or go to college.”

Alabama is weighing a proposal to add WorkKeys testing into its federal accountability system as a way of developing a more complete picture of student readiness.

Washington explained that with this strategic plan, it’s necessary to make sure the data around college and career readiness align with the state’s goals and reflects the priorities of the communities that were involved. “We want to make certain that everything aligns and provides us with transparency around the data because the accountability model is supposed to reflect the alignment with the state’s priorities. It’s important to ensure we are pulling the appropriate data in order to meet our goals.”

Relying on a single measure can ignore certain academic and workforce skills required for the multitude of pathways a learner can choose. “This would give us a true measurement of our student readiness overall and not just a one-dimensional approach to looking at assessment,” she said.

Under this model, Alabama estimates that readiness rates could increase significantly by recognizing both college-ready and career-ready students — more accurately reflecting the outcomes students are prepared for after graduation.

New Mexico: Building bridges across agencies

In New Mexico, the conversation about readiness is deeply connected to equity, economic mobility, and workforce needs. Lynn Vasquez, senior manager at the New Mexico Public Education Department, framed the issue in practical terms.

“In New Mexico, the question of college and career readiness is not abstract,” Vasquez said. “It’s closely tied to our workforce needs, as well as our rural, urban, and cultural context, and our responsibility to ensure that a high school diploma has real meaning after high school.”

New Mexico already includes ACT and ACT WorkKeys in its state accountability model under the ESSA school quality and student success indicator. However, a key challenge has been access to workforce data that lives outside the K-12 system. While ACT WorkKeys is funded and administered through New Mexico’s Department of Workforce Solutions, K–12 schools have not always had easy access to those results.

To address this, New Mexico is developing formal data-sharing agreements across agencies, with ACT serving as a key partner, who, Vasquez acknowledges, has been “a partner in building a bridge between the public education department and our department of workforce solutions.”

She adds, “One of the trickiest parts is creating a system in which data is accessible,” Vasquez explained. “We wanted to break down that barrier for schools and reduce the burden of reporting, so we’re developing a shared agreement with the Department of Workforce Solutions so we can easily access the WorkKeys data from ACT.”

By aligning data systems, New Mexico aims to better integrate workforce readiness data into education accountability and ensure students receive credit for skills that matter in the labor market.

ACT’s role in connecting systems

Across both states, both the ACT test and ACT WorkKeys function as a common language connecting K–12 education, postsecondary expectations, and workforce requirements.

Together, these tools support:

• Consistent readiness signals across systems
• Stronger accountability models that value multiple pathways
• Data-sharing across education and workforce agencies

As states broaden their definitions of success, ACT data helps ensure that students pursuing different postsecondary paths are equally recognized.

Stakeholders at the center

Both Alabama and New Mexico emphasized that alignment efforts must be built with — not just for — stakeholders. Educators, employers, policymakers, families, and students all play a role in shaping accountability systems.

Washington underscored this point clearly: “It’s important to survey and involve your stakeholders in the decision-making because it impacts them,” she said. In creating their readiness accountability model, “we made certain that we involved all the stakeholders, which included not just our education family, but government officials, educational organizations, students, and families. It’s amazing the feedback you receive when you bring everyone to the table.”

Vasquez echoed the importance of broader collaboration, “Don’t create something and then ask for permission. Draw in your stakeholders to be co-creators.”

Looking ahead

Aligning K–12, postsecondary, and workforce data is not a quick fix; it’s a long-term effort across all systems. But as Alabama and New Mexico demonstrate, states that invest in alignment gain clearer insights into student pathways and stronger tools to support success after high school.

As accountability systems evolve, ACT’s role in providing reliable, connected measures of readiness will remain central. For states looking to modernize accountability, alignment is no longer optional, they’re foundational.

Ultimately, these efforts move states closer to a shared goal: ensuring every student graduates with skills, credentials, and opportunities that truly prepare them for what comes next.

By Steve Tapp, CEO of ACT

As I reflect on my first few months at ACT, one thing has come into sharp focus: leading this organization is a privilege. Every conversation — whether with ACT team members, educators, state leaders, or partners across the country — reminds me why this work matters and why our mission continues to stand the test of time.

And there’s something else I’ve come to see just as clearly: We are more prepared than ever for what comes next.

For 65 years, ACT has been an engine for opportunity—a place where innovation meets purpose, where research creates real impact, and where every learner has a chance to show what they know and what they can achieve. That commitment isn’t just part of our history; it is the foundation for the future. And right now, we are building on that foundation with renewed clarity, energy, and momentum.
An unwavering mission

ACT has never followed a trend. Our founder charted a new path in college assessments, focusing on what students learned — not where they came from. That same spirit of innovation has shaped everything ACT has done since: school-day testing, online testing, pop-up centers during the pandemic, work-ready tools, and, most recently, our enhanced ACT, informed by direct feedback from students and educators.

That is ACT at its best—mission-driven, student-centered, and unafraid to adapt.

I am embracing that spirit now more than ever. Students are navigating increasingly complex and evolving pathways. States are seeking clearer, more complete measures of readiness. Higher ed needs reliable data that supports students’ success. Employers need job-ready talent. And families want to know their children have real choices and real opportunities.

At ACT, we are not just responding to these needs. We are leading the way.

The future belongs to the prepared

After more than 30 years in the assessment industry, I understand how critical it is to evolve from a position of strength. And ACT is strong. Our foundation of rigorous research, the modernization of our assessments, and our readiness solutions across college and career pathways are driving us forward.

Just as important, our people are driving us forward. Having served on ACT’s Board and now as CEO, I’ve seen firsthand the expertise, compassion, and relentless focus on learners that define this organization.

We are equally grateful to our partners —states, districts, educators, higher education, employers, and families—who trust us to deliver accurate, meaningful insights for millions of learners. That trust sharpens our focus and strengthens our resolve.

Together, we are delivering solutions that are connected, predictive, and aligned to real-world needs. This isn’t a vision for the future — it’s work that is already underway and accelerating because we know assessments change lives.

Our priorities moving forward

As we step into this next chapter, ACT is focusing on three foundational priorities:

1. Supporting readiness across every pathway

College and career readiness are related but distinct, and students deserve to have clarity about both to determine the best path for success after high school. ACT is the only organization delivering trusted, research-driven insights across the full spectrum of academic and workforce skills. This dual-pathway approach is essential to expanding opportunities.

Our recent research shows how states, like Louisiana and Kansas, can evaluate readiness for both college and workforce opportunities. This insight helps educators refine instruction, supports students in earning meaningful credentials, and provides employers with clear signals of job readiness.

In short, ACT is ready to help states more fully understand and recognize post-high school readiness — across all pathways.

2. Expanding test access by eliminating barriers for learners

Access to testing is central to our mission. We offer school-day testing, flexible paper and online delivery options, and work-ready solutions to meet all learners where they are.

Additionally, ACT’s Center for Impact and Learning further advances this mission through the ACT Fee Waiver Program, scholarships, and the American College Application campaign — all of which expand opportunity and access for students who might otherwise lack them.

3. Strengthening and deepening partnerships

Collaboration fuels progress. Listening to our partners keeps us grounded and ensures we’re building solutions that serve real needs.

Their insights help us grow not just quickly, but purposefully. Their trust holds us accountable for the mission we’ve carried out for 65 years.

A future built together

I am genuinely optimistic about where we are headed. Not because the work is simple—it isn’t — but because we are anchored by a mission that has endured and strengthened through every challenge. We are connecting education and workforce in ways that matter deeply to students, institutions, and employers. We are evolving thoughtfully while staying true to who we are.

We are not just prepared for the future; we are helping shape it.

As I continue meeting with our team, customers, and partners, I’m energized by what we can build together. ACT is entering this next chapter with purpose, momentum, and unity, and I look forward to meeting each of you exactly where you need us to be.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question almost every child has been asked and one they usually ponder more seriously as they reach high school and approach graduation. Some students have a clear idea about what they want to do, whether that be heading to college or the workforce, while others are more unsure about what path they want to take, or, more specifically, are ready to take.

The term ‘readiness’ is used frequently in both education and workforce conversations as students inch toward graduation and contemplate transitioning to the next chapter of their lives. When it comes to choices, there have always been multiple pathways a student could take after high school: university, community college, workforce with or without training, and the military, but assessments have historically favored, almost exclusively, the four-year college path.

However, that philosophy is evolving due to a variety of factors and changes in the higher ed landscape. More than ever, students have access to data and support that indicate these other pathways are just as viable and potentially lucrative as the traditional college one, and the resources to help them measure and build the skillsets needed to pursue those opportunities.

What does ‘readiness’ mean?

The term ‘student readiness’ generally refers to how well a K-12 student is equipped for college or the workforce, focusing on vital academic and professional skills. While the K-12 curriculum includes several embedded accountability systems, some of the most widely used tools by higher education admissions officers and employers are scores from assessments like the ACT test for college readiness and the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate for workplace readiness.

According to the latest ACT research, performance on the ACT closely aligns with WorkKeys NCRC results. However, students are distributed across different readiness groups: about 31% were both college and career ready, 34% were only career ready, 2% were only college ready, and 33% were not ready for either pathway. College readiness was determined by earning at least a score of 20 on the ACT as defined in the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks, while career readiness was defined as earning a Silver-level or higher ACT WorkKeys NCRC. These findings demonstrate that each assessment offers distinct insights into future success.

With room to improve in each category, schools and districts can use these insights to adjust curriculum and instruction strategies to help students prepare for their postsecondary journey.

There is more than one type of readiness

It’s also important to acknowledge the emotional and preparation readiness factor that is often overlooked; do students feel ready to tackle college or the workplace, and what do they need to do to get there?

In another ACT study, three-quarters of students thought that their chosen paths – whether a degree or a credential – would lead to more specific job options, however a majority of those students also reported that they needed support and guidance to achieve their goals.

Additionally, a recent study by YouScience ٰ showed that 70% of high school graduates surveyed reported lacking strong confidence in their post-graduation plans.

The WorkKeys Essential Skills assessment enables students to identify their strengths in areas such as integrity, work ethic, collaboration, resilience, leadership, and creativity, thereby fostering confidence in pursuing their aspirations. Additionally, this assessment provides colleges and employers with a means to evaluate essential skills that are not typically addressed by standard academic assessments.

The culture shift

Evolving economic and education trends have more students considering nontraditional postsecondary options. By encouraging the use of both the ACT test and the WorkKeys NCRC, ACT supports both colleges and employers with validated, correlative data points and resources that provide a much clearer picture of student college and career readiness and predictors of success.

“It’s time for a new conversation—one that asks what postsecondary readiness really means today,” says Catherine Hofmann, ACT senior vice president of government and public relations. “That conversation should expand beyond the traditional college pathway to include the full range of options available to students: technical programs, trades, military service, apprenticeships, and yes, four-year degrees.”

The college test and the career test come together

Instead of siloing the ACT test for college and the WorkKeys NCRC for career, many states are administering both assessments to students. Doing so allows them to provide a more complete view of college and career readiness and, more importantly, to understand which category students fall into.

Louisiana, for example, has incorporated both the ACT and WorkKeys assessments into its school accountability model, offering districts credit when students score at least a 20 on the ACT and achieve a Gold-level or higher on the WorkKeys NCRC. ACT is actively working with other states to showcase the value of using both tests in tandem and identifying ways to support their needs.

This encourages students to explore a multitude of pathways forward, gauge their readiness with these assessments, and make more informed decisions about future plans. Colleges and employers can use this data to help predict applicant success rates or where they may need some extra support.

The bottom line

By using ACT’s multiple measurement tools, including the ACT test and the WorkKeys NCRC, educators, colleges, parents, and employers have access to more comprehensive data on what readiness really looks like for individual students. These insights help guide students toward the postsecondary path that best aligns with their strengths and goals, whether that leads to a four-year degree, a skilled trade, military service, or another meaningful opportunity.

In today’s economy, a region’s competitiveness rests on one essential asset: its workforce. To strengthen that asset, nearly 600 communities across the U.S. have adopted ACT Work Ready Communities, a data-driven framework that aligns education, industry, and policy around one goal: developing a skilled, job-ready talent pipeline.

What is a Work Ready Community (WRC)?

A WRC is a community-wide workforce development ecosystem that:
Links education to workforce development by offering the ACT WorkKeys NCRC in school
Aligns talent preparation with regional economic needs
Helps employers match candidates to jobs based on verified skill levels

Together, these elements create a stronger talent pipeline while helping communities compete for new business and industry.

Tackling the skilled worker shortage

Ford CEO Jim Farley recently highlighted a troubling national trend: 5,000 open mechanic positions at Ford are unfilled because candidates lack necessary skills. This mirrors a widespread shortage across trades and technical fields.

WRCs address this challenge head-on. By using ACT WorkKeys assessments in high schools, colleges, adult education programs, and incumbent worker training, communities help residents validate foundational skills while giving employers access to qualified, job-ready talent.

The result: individuals gain meaningful employment opportunities, and businesses hire employees who have what it takes to train or work from day one.

The WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate: The heart of an ACT WRC

At the center of every WRC is the WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC): the credential that turns workforce readiness into measurable, verifiable skill data. The NCRC evaluates three foundational skills employers say are most critical: Applied Math, Workplace Documents, and Graphic Literacy. According to ACT’s JobPro database, these skills are required for about 77% of U.S. jobs, making the NCRC a common assessment tool across education, employers, and workforce systems.

The NCRC delivers clear value:

ACT has long promoted the idea that postsecondary options should be accessible to every student, from every background. The ACT Fee Waiver Program supports this mission by covering registration for two ACT tests and providing free test prep, extra score reports, and potential college application fee waivers for eligible students.

Partnering with organizations that share ACT’s mission to provide access to testing and resources has afforded students even more opportunities to explore their postsecondary options.

Unite Inc., founded in August 2011 by Dr. Travis Smith while he was a student at Alabama State University, is dedicated to serving rural Alabama high school students. Its mission is to increase college access, academic achievement, and degree attainment, especially with HBCU colleges across the country.

Dr. Smith, executive director, and his team provide ACT college preparation courses, professional development workshops, and college transition coaching to expose students to a wide range of postsecondary opportunities.

A cornerstone of Unite’s work is leveraging the ACT Fee Waiver Program to eliminate financial barriers that often prevent students from taking the ACT, an essential step toward college admission and scholarship eligibility. Dr. Smith explains, “These waivers give students increased motivation, knowing they can now afford to take the test and ease the financial stress that is often exacerbated in rural communities. This makes studying and test prep materials more accessible when knowing you can actually register for the test.”

ACT College Readiness Benchmarks: predictor of college success

The ACT College Readiness Benchmarks are data-driven predictors that indicate how the ACT subject-specific skills translate into success in first-year college courses. Meeting these benchmarks means a student is likely prepared for college-level work in those subjects and represents the likelihood that a student will achieve at least a B (50% chance) or at least a C (approximately 75-80% chance) in related first-year college courses.

Current ACT benchmarks: