ACT Newsroom & Blog

President Trump’s budget proposal, released this morning, paints a bleak picture for America’s students, families, and workers.

Investments in critically important education and workforce development initiatives would be drastically cut and, in many cases, eliminated. The proposal would, if enacted, reduce the budgets of the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor by 13.5 and 19.8 percent, respectively.

While Congress has the final say, the Trump budget stands in stark contrast to his campaign theme of “Make America Great Again” and to the needs of millions of people who depend on these programs for a fair shot at the American Dream.

The Trump Administration’s proposal lays out an unprecedented roadmap to educational and economic disinvestment:

• After-school programs serving 1.6 million children—eliminates all $1.2 billion.
• Teacher training programs and class-size reduction efforts—eliminates all $2.34 billion.
• Every Student Succeed Act’s (ESSA) student support and academic enrichment grants under Title IV, which could be used to support dual enrollment and early college opportunities—eliminates all $400 million.
• Career Technical Education (CTE), which increases graduation rates and increase academic achievement—reduces current $1.2 billion funding by $320 million.
• Adult Basic Literacy Programs—reduces current $594 million funding by $94 million.
• State workforce development grants from the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)—reduces by $1.3 billion at a time when workforce skills for critical infrastructure projects are sorely needed.

The cuts to education are to fund, at least in part, a proposed school choice program that would divert budget dollars from programs with proven track records to a new initiative that has never been put to the test at this scale.

The budget would also dramatically scale back social service and anti-poverty programs aimed at helping those most in need. Rather than “making America great again,” this budget would further exacerbate the immense levels of educational and economic inequality in this country.

As I wrote here in March, such a move is not sound business practice. If you’re trapped in a hole, why take away the ladders that offer the best opportunities for climbing out of the hole

Funding for afterschool programs, teacher training, class size reduction, career technical education, and job training are pro-growth investments that have a clear return—not just for the people who are helped, but for the nation and economy collectively.

Underscoring the importance of investing in education and workforce development, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports that, if the average U.S. student score on the PISA matched the OECD average, the GDP of the U.S. could more than double. An aspirational goal such as this would truly put America first, by lifting up students and workers and empowering them to achieve their dreams.

The cuts identified in this budget are precisely the wrong approach to moving this country's education and workforce forward. They will not only harm public education as a whole but will cause untold hardship on those most vulnerable in our system—students who are traditionally underserved, first-generation college goers, or those pursuing needed technical training in high-growth, high-demand fields.

Congress has time to act this year to ensure these proposed cuts are not made a reality. Lawmakers should build upon the progress they made in their last spending bill to make certain all Americans are able to achieve education and workplace success. There is no higher budget priority than investing in the American Dream.

IOWA CITY, Iowa—ACT, Inc. signed a ground-breaking agreement with a leading testing services and technologies provider in China to provide Chinese students with more options to gain acceptance to US colleges and universities. The agreement with ATA Online (Beijing) Education Technology Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of ATA Inc. (“ATA”) will allow Chinese students to better understand how to incrementally prepare for university by following a path guided by ACT resources.

Under this agreement, ATA will offer a host of ACT test preparation measures to students in the Peoples’ Republic of China. With the ACT resources, students will be able to:

1. identify gaps in their ACT-tested knowledge via diagnostic online assessments and complete any remediation study;
2. sit for a mock ACT exam to get a representative score, continue studying and engaging in preparation activities; and
3. take a practice exam that gives a scientifically valid prediction of performance on the ACT test.

Through these offerings, Chinese students will have supportive, personalized guidance for the steps they need to take on their path to attend university in the US. The agreement provides students with equal preparation opportunity for a US college entrance exam, so that they may take the assessment that best showcases their abilities at dates and locations most convenient for them.

“We are breaking down the barrier to provide much broader access to materials specifically designed to help students in China prepare for the ACT,” said ACT Chief Commercial Officer Suzana Delanghe. “This agreement clears the path to provide those students with the resources students in the U.S. and other countries already have—materials to help them do their best on the test and, in many cases, help them to gain access to the best educational system in the world.”

ATA will begin offering the test preparation materials prior to the September 2017 administration of the ACT test.

About ACT

ACT is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people achieve education and workplace success. Headquartered in Iowa City, Iowa, ACT is trusted as a national leader in college and career readiness, providing high-quality assessments grounded in nearly 60 years of research. ACT offers a uniquely integrated set of solutions designed to provide personalized insights that help individuals succeed from elementary school through career.

About ATA, Inc.

ATA is a leading provider of advanced testing technologies in China. It offers comprehensive services for the creation and delivery of assessments based on its proprietary testing technologies and test delivery platform. ATA’s testing technologies are used for professional licensure and certification tests in various industries, including information technology services, banking, teaching, asset management, insurance and accounting. As of December 31, 2016, ATA's test center network comprised 3,105 authorized test centers located throughout China. ATA believes that it has the largest test center network of any commercial testing service provider in China.

PeeDee Math, Science, and Technology Academy (PDMSTA) describes itself as a school that “implements a strategic educational program that teaches students through an innovative curriculum.”

When PDMSTA Director Keith Bailey recognized that the best strategy to strengthen student behavior, respect and responsibility was by doubling down on their social and emotional learning curriculum, he made the difficult but important decision to allocate his very limited personnel budget to this priority, staffing out a new Director of SEL position, occupied now by an experienced outdoor and experiential educator, Aimee Cox-King.

Then, at the ASCD Annual Conference, Keith set out to find an assessment system for his SEL initiatives. He was targeting a system that could inform their school-wide priorities, provide valid and reliable information about their individual students, and deliver them resources for enhancing SEL instruction and programming. He found and selected ProExam Tessera as his complete solution to meet those needs.

PDMSTA, a small charter Title I school in rural South Carolina, educates children in grades K–7, and next year will expand to eighth grade as well. Their commitment to whole child education and restorative justice, Aimee explained, was what led them to look more deeply into SEL, because they wanted to get ahead of bad behavior, preempting it rather than reacting to it. Tessera has fit right into that approach: 

This week lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been busy putting the finishing touches on a budget agreement for the remainder of the 2017 fiscal year. As I wrote a few months ago here, the need to invest in the nation’s students and workers has never been more essential.

I was pleased to see that the omnibus spending bill on its way to the President’s desk for signature protects many of the nation’s most important domestic priorities in education and workforce development. ACT applauds this bipartisan compromise which strengthens investments in programs that support underserved students and job seekers.

Here’s a recap of what’s in the bill:

• Modest increases for training and education of young adults as well as for apprenticeship programs administered at the Department of Labor.
• Renewed funding for grant programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act that serve vulnerable communities, many of whom are disconnected from the labor market.
• Restoration of “year-round” Pell Grants—a priority issue for ACT—that we believe levels the playing field and will allow low-income students to accelerate the time it takes to complete higher education.
• Historically high investments made in the Higher Education Act’s TRIO and GEAR UP programs to ensure more low-income, minority, and first-generation students have the opportunity to enter into and succeed in postsecondary education.
• New funding provided under Title IV of the Every Student Succeeds Act that can now be used for dual and concurrent enrollment programs. Much like year-round Pell Grants, these programs empower students to accelerate their studies while boosting persistence and achievement rates after they’ve left high school. 

These sorts of investments will pay dividends not only for students, but for the country on the whole. As noted by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, two-thirds of all new jobs will require some form of postsecondary education or training by the next decade. Workers with at least this level of educational attainment already make up 65 percent of the total employment. And those who have a four-year degree now earn 57 percent of the nation’s wages.

Clearly, investing in programs that allow students to invest in themselves is the surest path to education, career, and lifelong success. This week’s agreement certainly makes strides towards this laudable goal.

However, looking ahead toward the next fiscal year which begins in September, more can and should be done to invest in these programs to further expand opportunity. In order to make that vision a reality, Congress must build on the progress made in this spending agreement and ensure federal investments in education and workforce development continue to help all individuals achieve education and workplace success.

IOWA CITY, Iowa—ACT today announced the four national winners of the 2017 ACT College and Career Readiness Campaign, which highlights the exceptional achievements of students, schools and employers championing college and career readiness in their communities.

This year’s four National Exemplars—selected by a national committee of education and workforce leaders from across the U.S.—are:

• Jayne Hanna, Nunivak Island, Alaska—National Student Readiness Exemplar (High School Senior)
• Immokalee High School, Immokalee, Florida—National College and Career Transition Exemplar (High School)
• Early College Academies at Butler Community College, Rose Hill, Kansas—National Career Preparedness Exemplar (Postsecondary Institution)
• Martco, LLC (RoyOMartin), Alexandria, Louisiana—National Workplace Success Exemplar (Employer)

Hanna received a $4,000 scholarship for being named the National Student Readiness Exemplar. In addition, all competing student exemplars in each participating state received a $500 scholarship, which increased to $1,000 for the four student semifinalists.

The National Exemplars were chosen from four semifinalists in each campaign category: high school senior (Student Readiness Exemplar), high school (College and Career Transition Exemplar), postsecondary institution (Career Preparedness Exemplar), and employer (Workplace Success Exemplar).

“We’re delighted to celebrate the remarkable achievements of all 130 of our state exemplars across all 50 states and the District of Columbia,” said Scott Montgomery, senior vice president of public affairs at ACT. “In particular, we congratulate our four National Exemplars for advancing college and career readiness for all, while embodying valuable principles of perseverance, ingenuity, problem-solving, and educational equity.”

The four National Exemplars will be recognized and awarded at ACT’s annual corporate meeting on October 19, 2017 in Iowa City, Iowa, which will wrap up this year’s campaign.

Learn more about the ACT College and Career Readiness Campaign.

About ACT